Checking in with the loons
by digby
In case you were wondering what the right wingers were doing in response to the recent economic turmoil, here are couple of good examples.
First, they are lying of course. Here's self-serving liar in chief, Rush Limbaugh today talking about the fabulous economy that the Obama administration inherited from George W. Bush and how he is sinking it on purpose so that black people can finally stick it to the white man:
Well, he inherited a AAA credit rating, an unemployment rate of 5.7%. Does anybody doubt that this is on purpose?
(If you doubt the sticking it to the white man part, check this one out.)
And then there are the Tea Partiers up in Wisconsin cheering their role in downgrading the United States' triple A rating:
I can't tell you how disconcerting that is. This is, after all, they hyperpatriotic political tribe who have, during my lifetime, made a fetish out of national pride (and belittling any criticism as "blaming America first.")
This is truly something new in my experience, a form of destructive right wing nihilism that I don't recognize. Usually this sort of accusation would have resulted in strong denials, and righteous indignation that anyone would ever blame them for doing something destructive to the US of A.
It looks to me as if their "revolution" has reached a critical point. It will either turn into a truly revolutionary force to "bring down the state" (the methods TBD)or they will disappear back into the GOP fold, having made it far more reactionary and destructive than it has been before. I don't know which way it's going but either way they've given up any claim they have to being the patriotic defenders of the flag and country with their proud willingness to bring it to its knees for what appears to be the sheer pleasure in seeing it go down.
Lying, America haters. That's the Tea Party circa 2011. They would have fought on the side of the British.
Update: obviously, I wasn't clear. I don't believe the tea can actually be a "truly revolutionary force to 'bring down the state.'" No, I don't think these elderly folk on disability are actually going to take up arms and march on Washington. Only that they could delusionally begin to see themselves as "succeeding" with destructive consequences. Take, for instance, their apparent desire to default on the nation's debt and their pride at being the instrument of the US's credit downgrade. Power of any kind is very intoxicating. And these people aren't that bright.