There are two things that, when mixed with politics, become dangerous threats to the stability of society: ignorance and racism. Now, to be sure, there are those who will tell you that the so-called Tea Party movement is not fueled by either ignorance or racism but is instead powered through some kind of populist rage at runaway government spending.

            The second point on the topic of ignorance is a simple one: if the Tea Party activists are so upset about government spending, where was this rage when George W Bush cut taxes for the rich while fighting two wars? This had the effect of ending the fiscal surpluses the government had been running, turning them into debt so staggering that no president in American history has run debts as large as those W accrued in his tenure. It is true that the budget deficit has grown under the Obama administration, but this is due largely to President Obama actually budgeting for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, instead of relying on fake “emergency” budget requests every three months, like his predecessor did. When political rage is partisan but labeled populist I become extremely suspicious.      

            As for the charge that the Tea Party movement is fueled by racism, let me be clear: I know that not all of the Tea Party members are racists. But enough of them are to undermine whatever justifiable rage they may have. An example of racism is the case of Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), who has received faxes of nooses and racial slurs in his Congressional offices since the passage of the sweeping health insurance reforms. In the hours prior to the passage of the bill on March 21^st, a group of Democratic lawmakers were spit on by angry Tea Party protesters, with racial slurs hurled at African American members of the Democratic caucus.

            Ignorance and blind hate are a deadly mixture that leaves those who fit this description as ripe targets for demagogues like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, who have pushed the Tea Party protesters to the brink of insanity. As of the end of March, the FBI is responding to death threats and murder attempts made on the lives of members of Congress and their families, most notably with the attempt to kill a member of Congress's family by cutting the natural gas lines in their house. The instances of gunshots and bricks being thrown through Congressional office windows will not stop until conservative leaders take control of the Tea Party movement, instead of fueling the rage with tales of death panels, Marxism, and other blatant lies. Things will remain scary until responsibility is taken by those who can influence the Tea Party.