The Third Party Movement---This Time It's Different?
There has been entirely too much made of the Tea Party and its potential for real impact outside of this election. The primary reason being the small number of candidates that really stand a chance of winning relative to the number that have already spoiled opportunities--see Sharon Rangel, Carl Palodino and Christine O'Donnell. In time they be recognized as too extreme for the majority of the population and by 2012. Tea Party candidates that do win, Rand Paul et al, will probably be greatly diminished when their libertarian views and ramifications are fully understood by the electorate. So The Tea Kettle Movement by Tom Friedman in today's New York TImes, column attached below, was refreshing given the national attention and clear deficiency of ideas and misplaced anger that it really represents. I greatly admire Tom Friedman for his ability to parse the partisan divide and have tried to do the same. He is also especially impressive with his ability to provide a snap shot of t...