by Ted Rudow III   

Well, I think it’s important to look at who the tea party is, what the tea party is. I mean, let’s remember, it’s many different organizations. They wouldn’t be there if it hadn’t been for an enormous amount of money from a few ... well, Simon Johnson calls them the “13 bankers.” 13 bankers is the rise of concentrated financial power and the threat it poses to our economic well-being.

It turns out that not quite 20 percent of Americans are tea party supporters. Those who are tend to be white, Republican, male, older than 45 and wealthier than the rest of us. Fifty-seven percent hold a favorable opinion of George W. Bush. And where most Republicans describe themselves as "dissatisfied" with Washington, tea partiers are apt to use a different term.

They say they're angry. It is a telling word, especially in light of another survey, this one from the University of Washington's Institute for the Study of Ethnicity, Race & Sexuality. That poll offers strong evidence that, contrary to the denials of tea party enthusiasts, President Barack Obama's race plays a big role in their outrage.

After all, if the tea partiers were truly only concerned about so-called "tyranny," they'd have started howling when Bush claimed he need not be bound by laws with which he disagreed.

Ted Rudow III, MA