While I agree with the overall theme of your article ("Right wing extremists taint Tea Party protests, hurt conservative cause"), I feel it is guilty of a double standard. Undoubtedly, there were people during the "Tea Party" protest that held views in varying degrees outside the political mainstream, such as the "birthers" or those that equate Obama to Hitler. However, it is not that shocking that a few people would hold these views, considering the tens of thousands that attended the rally. By comparison, out of the thousands that attended anti-war rallies during Bush's presidency, some also held rather distasteful views, such as the "truthers" and those equating Bush to Hitler. Just as I did not judge the entire anti-war movement based on the crackpot views of some of the people there, I feel that it would be equally unfair to cast aspersion on the Tea Party movement as a whole based on a few of their bad apples.
Your article further suggests that the entire Tea Party protest was, essentially, a fringe movement. Respectfully, I must vehemently disagree with this analysis. President Obama and his policies, in many ways, are much more outside the mainstream than the views of your average tea partier. The American public has shown that it is fed up with out-of-control deficits and spending. There is nothing "dangerously outside the mainstream" about wanting more economic freedom, lower taxes, or balanced budgets.
I agree that the protesters screaming about death panels, Socialism and Obama's birth certificate may get more than their fair share of media attention, but the American people are not dumb. Ultimately, the rabble-rousers may make for entertaining reading, but their ability to actually drive the debate is limited. I wouldn't worry about them "outshouting" the legitimate conservative movement, or being mistaken with it.
Caleb Enerson SPA/CAS 2009 (alum)
