Tea Time in my senile mind

One more political thought I forgot to put in my previous geezer rant. I just gotta get this out into the cybersphere. It's about the Republicans, whom I don't want to pick on because we all know both parties are essentially the same. I just can't understand why the Republican Party would use junk yard dogs and crazies to try to voice their messages. Their appeal is that they are conservative. If Sarah Palin isn't an embarrassment to them now, eventually she will be and they will have to distance themselves from her. Now they have the Tea Party. Don't misunderstand me. I like protest. I like civil disobedience. I like to shake up the power structure. I like the folks in power to know that they can be overthrown. But abuse and violence over health care? Sarah Palin and the Tea Party are a one-two punch that seems to dent the "respectability" of the GOP. The Democrats have always had crazies so it's built into their system. They've never met a wacko fringe group they wouldn't welcome into their party. Votes is votes. Promise them anything. I can think of two wacko fringe groups that the GOP has had associated with them in the past, that they can not count on. The gun rights folks and the religious right. Make no mistake. These groups are extremely well organized and, unlike the Tea Party, they actually have an agenda that is written down and they clearly know what they want. No party can count on them because they are "one issue" voters. Democrat or Republican, if you promise to help them get what they want, you will get their vote. It almost seems like the Republicans are desperate if they must hitch Palin and the Tea Party to their wagon. Talk about a toxic fringe. How can it help them? They've always had more "class" then the Dems and they were supposed to be the brakes and the voice of reason. The two parties are just melding into one another and the issues are all out on the web and the whole electorate is now just about ten thousand little "tribes" of voters with their own little manifestos. My pet issues are split between the parties. And everyone I talk to is in the same boat. What is the Tea Party? I guarantee it is not about health care. The rich have the most to lose in the health care fiasco. Protesters in the street are not rich. The Tea Party is made up of people who are mad. And they want to lash out and hurt somebody. They are unhappy, they are hurting. What are they mad about? The biggest thing they are mad about is that there is a black president. The next biggest thing they are mad about is that our government is becoming more socialistic. And they are seeing a loss of "traditional values". They're afraid that their children won't grow up in the "wonderful free America" that they grew up in. They don't like gays and minorities, and non-Christians. If I'm wrong about the Tea Party, I need someone to explain to me what they want, what they stand for. The alliance between the Tea Party and the GOP is bad for both groups:. It's bad for the Tea Party because the Republicans are using them much like pawns in a chess game. In chess, the pawns are your front lines. They are very much in play as the game begins. When you move a pawn, it's called "promoting a pawn". So the Tea Party is in play for the GOP and they have been promoted into the media spotlight. But later in the game the pawns are sacrificed, and gone. It's bad for the GOP because they are using a radical group that will not be entirely dependable and controllable. Remember way back in '69 the Rolling Stones had a big concert which was supposed to be the epitome of Rock. It was held at a race track in California. Some stoned genius hired the Hells Angels to be security. Bad idea. Ya think? That was the end of the peace, love, flower child image that at least part of the hip generation had. Like Dr. Frankenstein, they lost control of the monster. So the beat generation got their image tarnished badly. Alas, this Tea Party will tarnish the Republicans. LLITTY ::::+::::