The teabaggers are an angry minority in this country. As is often cited on this site, just 18% of Americans are tea party supporters.
An angry minority of people who have always been there fighting against civil rights, against equal rights, against immigration, against quality education, against responsible foreign policy, and on and on and on.
The temptation is to dismiss them. Certainly they aren't as big a deal as the MSM is making them out to be.
But here's the reality: the Teabaggers have more than enough numbers to win in November.
After the fold:
-MATH! (yay)
-What does this mean?
-What do we do?
Line up ten random adults from a Congressional District. If two out of those ten people vote for candidate A in 2010, candidate A wins.
We all know that voter turnout is important. But, take a moment and think about that statement. Two people out of ten. That's what you need.
When you're walking down the street, or strolling through a store. Look around you. Count out ten people. If just two of those people vote for some crazy Malkin wanna be in November, that crazy candidate wins.
MATH:
This is pretty quick and simple.
Voter turn-out is about 37% in midterm elections.
50% of 37 is 18.5.
That's pretty close to the 18% of the population who sympathizes with the tea party movement in this country.
UPDATE: This math assumes a 100% voter turnout among teabaggers. I do so for illustrative purposes. Turnout is what matters, not how many people agree with you. So much so that even 18% of the population can decide an election. That's the simple point. You only need 2 out of 10 to vote for you. That's a mathematical reality.
What does this mean?
It doesn't mean much. I'm not freaking out, I'm not trolling, I'm not saying that the tea party is some unstoppable behemoth. But we underestimate them at our own peril. It's that simple. It's important to continue to remind the media and the public that the tea party is just a tiny minority of this country. But, if we allow that fact to make us complacent, November will be very very unpleasant.
What do we do?
That's pretty obvious. All of us here know how important it is to energize our own base. I wrote a diary awhile back explaining why an awful Republican Party doesn't ensure increased participation in the Democratic Party.
We need to remember that the Democratic Party stand on strong ideas and progress. We need to keep our eye on the ball and espouse the virtues of what we're doing and trying to do for the future.
GENERAL DISCLAIMER: It is important to note the difference in turnout numbers when looking at 'voting age population' and 'registered voters.' But my point is still the same. To win in 2010 you need 2 out of every 10 people to vote for you. That's a reality we all need to keep at the forefront of our strategy as we head into this election.