Tea...

[Buzz]

I kinda like the whole tea party concept - Private citizens organising to make the government sit up and pay attention to their concerns. 'Course, I maintain the best way to do that is with the ballot - but we all know how the dyed in the wool sheep herd mass-mentality of partisan politics screws that up.

A nation wide group of politically-informed (hopefully) citizens getting involved in impacting government policy - what's not to like about that? As long as it does not become a mouthpiece propaganda tool for one party or the other, or morph into an agenda-driven, slogan-spouting, self-serving political entity unto its ownself, it may just become the check/balance that allows the democracy to work in the interests of the people who pay the taxes.

The danger always exists that a charismatic, ne'er do well politician who didn't cut it in the mainstream (Palin? ) or even a silver-tongued narcissist with strong ambitions can use such a movement as a campaign platform to launch a new career, but what makes something an actual movement - as opposed to a small group of people shouting loudly - is the sheer number of people who become involved.

If a few people jump on a bandwagon and make a bunch of noise, it will make some news headlines and then eventually fizzle out. If the movement swells with massive popular support, then its impact will be justifiably significant as a reflection of the sentiment and wishes of the majority of the citizens of the nation. And majority rule's a good thing, isn't it - whether it happens now or in, say, 2042... (just kidding, guys...just kidding)