Mad As Hell

Lots of ink and electrons being spilled on the Tea Party and its chosen candidates this election cycle. Just about every major newspaper I scanned this morning has at least one article on the Tea Party, and most had more than one still being listed on their sites. The one that grabbed me, however, is from the Boston Globe which deals with the Delaware senatorial race between Christine O'Donnell and Chris Coons.

Coons holds a lead of about 18 points, but the election is still a couple of weeks away and voter turnout may be the key. The irony is that Mike Castle, the man O'Donnell defeated in the GOP primary, would have won the election for Joe Biden's old seat and still holds a lead over Coons in a hypothetical race. That doesn't bother O'Donnell's supporters in the least. They are out for vengeance:

But even if she cannot beat Coons, many supporters say they would rather lose the election with a candidate they like.

“We defeated a RINO and that’s a start,’’ added Skip Neubeck, 61, a retired engineer, using slang for “Republican in Name Only,’’ a scornful term for moderates.

“Castle would have won; yes, I know,’’ said Bill Ward, 62, of Bear, Del., an O’Donnell supporter and retired construction worker. “This is about sending the people in Congress a message.’’

To the GOP establishment, however, this was supposed to be about sending Republicans to Congress and controlling the agenda. Many in the party are still trying to fathom O’Donnell’s stunning rise: from being belittled by Tom Ross, the state’s GOP chairman, as someone who “could not be elected dog catcher’’ before the primary to becoming their standard-bearer after it.

“This was so destructive from a political perspective,’’ said Delaware Republican political strategist Don Mell, a Castle friend and supporter. “You’ve got to be pretty angry to burn down your own house.’’ [Emphasis added]

Now, the candidates with Tea Party support are all pretty much from the fringes (birthers, tenthers, war re-enactors, anti-Education department, anti-Medicare and anti-Social Security, anti-Civil Rights Act, anti-federal government), and nearly all of them are rookies in the political arena, which has made for some pretty hilarious gaffes on the campaign trail. Still, I have to admit that I understand the anger fueling their supporters who indeed are perfectly willing to burn down their own house.

We liberals are getting the same message from the Democratic Party that the Tea Partiers are getting from the Republican Party. We too are being told to hold our noses and vote for corporatist Democrats or, AIEEEEE!, the Republicans will be back in business and this time they're even crazier! We've been called "fucking retards" and idiots for wanting real health care reform and for demanding the end of corporate welfare to the banksters who triggered our economic collapse and are now stealing our homes. The promises made in 2008 have all been broken. We still have "Don't Ask Don't Tell," Guantanamo Bay Military Commissions, and State Secrets. We are still being lied to, and our president has seen the allure of an imperial presidency and likes it.

Fortunately for the Democratic Party, we liberals haven't gotten angry enough and energized enough to start our own version of the Tea Party. At least not yet. And that's a real shame. It's also unfortunate for the nation. The corporatists will still continue to hold the real power the first Wednesday in November, regardless of the election's outcome.