What if they didn't like massive borrowing to fund an unjust war, or a massive expansion of bureaucracy? Perhaps they were just as apalled at the idiocy of Bush's capital gains tax cuts (during war!) as card carrying liberals. Maybe they didn't approve of the erosion of civil liberties, or massive tax payer funded handouts to Wall Street, either.
What if they had been intimidated into silence and quiet desperation by calls of "Traitor!" and "Coward!" blared by conservative media? And now, finally, they've been given a green light to vent their frustrations?
What if the Tea Baggers are a lot closer to becoming our allies than conventional wisdom has thus far suggested?