Just read this post by Heather from C&L re. a debate between Cenk Uygur and teabag leader Wayne Allyn Root. In her post, she makes some very insightful observations about the composition of the teabaggers that reminded me of a certain nemesis from Star Trek: Next Generation. [I highly recommend watching the clip in any case.]
Heather describes the teabagger party demographic as:
... one part Dick Armey and company fake astroturf protest, one part angry McCain and Palin soreloserman, one part abortion clinic protester, one part white nationalist militia movement/gun rights nuts, one part ClusterFox/Glenn Beck brain dead watcher, one part anti-immigration Lou Dobbs/Tom Tancredo fan, one part southern racist that isn't done fighting the Civil War yet and one part Ron Paul/Libertarian.
As a Trek fan, this sounded to me like the teabagger party has become the political equivalent of Armus, the sentient pool of black tar that was the remnant of an entire civilization's purging of its collective evil and dark instincts.
Here is all of America's worst traits collected together for us all to behold in shame: fear, blame, bigotry, jingoism, ignorance and cold-heartedness. The moral conflict in the episode, and here too in America, is that although Armus is literally evil incarnate, there is also a pathos in his existence that elicits sympathy. So too, when I look at these teabaggers irrationally yelling and ranting at their protests, I realize all their anger and fear has been skillfully played upon to benefit the very people who caused so much of the pain and dispair in the first place. This was very clearly brought out in Cenk's relentless questioning of Mr. Root. So I find at times I have a bit of sympathy for those sorry SOBs out there yelling to limit government so it can be easier for Wall St. to devalue their homes. And I ponder what this reflection says about us. As we behold our giant sludge monster before us, how is it we conjured such an abomination in our midst? And what does it portend for the future?
But unlike Armus, each of those protesters has a choice whether to be what they are, or to become something better. They're adults and it's their responsibility to stay informed and aware. So in the end, I hold them accountable for their actions and words. I'll do what I can to combat their ignorance, all the while being conscious not to become one of them myself, lest the tar monster sucks me up!