Republican Lawmakers Gird for Rowdy Tea Party

Republican lawmakers gird for rowdy tea party:

The Washington Post published an article about the tea party's strength in upcoming congressional elections. Rand Paul suggested that tea partiers form a caucus of like-minded senators after the November midterm elections. Article author Shailagh Murray asked Trent Lott for a response:

Former Senate majority leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.), now a D.C. lobbyist, warned that a robust bloc of rabble-rousers spells further Senate dysfunction. 'We don't need a lot of Jim DeMint disciples,' Lott said in an interview. 'As soon as they get here, we need to co-opt them.'

But Lott said he's not expecting a tea-party sweep. 'I still have faith in the visceral judgment of the American people,' he said.

One might say to Lott: "The visceral judgment of the American people produced you and other partisan jerks in Congress, whose approval rating hovers just above the teens. Now the visceral judgment of the American people would like to correct its mistake. If it does correct its mistake in November, we'll have a robust block of rabble-rousers who care more about the Constitution than they do about their own careers."

I've had faith in voters' judgment my whole life. When voters reelected George Bush in 2004, a big crack appeared in that faith. You could explain why Americans reelected him, but you couldn't defend it. If people vote for more of the same in the United States Congress, you have to wonder what else the dog will drag in. Bring on the rabble rousers. The republic won't survive the people in office now.