and yet somehow, it is a formidable army.
"Barack Obama is racist". "Barter chickens for healthcare". "I read all of the newspapers that are put in front of me." "I can see Russia from my house" (ok, fine that one wasn't her exact quote, but still). "Terrorist anchor babies". Birthers. Railing against high taxes when 95% of Americans received a tax cut - the biggest middle class tax cut in history. "Barack the magic..." well, never mind. An American where "freedom" means that you love the country so much that your spouse can join a separatist political party as you talk about how great this country is. Conspiracy theories about ACORN, about unions, about "big government", except when it was a few years ago and it was in the name of "freedom". And of course, "death panels".
I really could go on and on and on.
How the fuck did this become mainstream and acceptable enough that Sharon Angle and Rand Paul are where they are, and how Glenn Beck isn't mocked in every (other) corner of reality and society - is beyond me. How empty and hypocritically ironic slogans, sheer ignorance and stupidy - willfull, proud stupidity and ignorance - has become a bigger force in politics and American discourse than ever before is just baffling.
This rally, like the ones before it, has racists denying their racism (I guess "some of their best friends are minorities") has blatantly false, outrageous and ridiculous underlying premises that it is truly laughable. The fact that this "movement" funded and pushed by Koch, Dick Armey's Orwellian "FreedomWorks"(did he get sued by Spielberg for coming too close to DreamWorks?) and FauxNooze isn't mocked as the hate-based radical fringe that it is.
Sure, lots of people are angry, and rightfully so. But let's at least live in reality instead of a cult of personality that would be laughable if it weren't so dangerous.