They're Not Who They'll Say They Are

As the Tea Party/Don't Tread on Me revolt grows we can count on the media churning out dismissive accounts of the drooling wackos and conspiracists (as they disdainfully regard them) who participate. Matt Welch of Reason was at the D.C. march yesterday and provides a different account from that you will surely read and see in the The New York Times and on network TV news.

Of the people I ended up talking to, the general vibe was that they were conservative, and then either Republican, formerly Republican, or independent. Every single one had unkind words to say about George W. Bush's spending and governing record, though none had protested him. None expressed trust in Republicans, and most preferred a "throw-all-the-bums-out" strategy. All but one did not care about Obama's birth certificate controversy, and those I asked thought it was foolish to bring guns to political gatherings.

UPDATE: It's also worth noting most of those who marched are employed and paid their own way to get to this shindig. It should be dawning by now on D.C. and state capital apparatchiks they have a serious problem on their hands: a revolt by the middle class, the largest class by far in this country and big government's meal ticket.