The bonfire of sanity

But to say that fear animates the tea parties is not to concede, as the left wing contends, that it's panic or phobia. Panic was when others proclaimed just a year ago the death of conservatism. Phobia is when TV news anchors use vulgarities to describe protesters who simply want to limit government's appetite. The partiers, rather, feel the kind of fear that makes you buckle up, the fear you get from a rattler on the path ahead. It is a fear that does not disable but moves people to act against threats. This is what an ideological president and an unchecked Congress have done in one year. They turned what had been resignation, unease, doubt and skepticism into an icy, rational, justified and motivating fear. They do not yet realize what kind of bonfire they've ignited...read more