A peek at two of last month’s headlines would make anyone think that we have returned to the 1700’s. First, pirates hijack an American ship in the Indian Ocean (a lot less charming than Jack Sparrow, mind you). And more recently, “tea parties” were staged across the United States to oppose Obama’s tax raise on people making more than 250,000 dollars a year and various other government decisions which right-wingers vow are hastening the apocalypse. These tea parties attracted thousands of supporters, including several 2012 Republican presidential hopefuls such as Newt Gingrich, Bobby Jindal, and our very own Mark Sanford. "All you have to be is a mildly awake Republican candidate for office to get in front of that parade," said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform.

After finally but reluctantly accepting the stimulus money, I concede that Sanford is at least mildly awake. The rest, though, seem to still be somewhat drowsy. Listen to this: In Salt Lake City, many in the crowds booed their governor Republican Jon Huntsman for accepting federal stimulus money. Yes, you read that correctly; they booed him for accepting the money meant to help them out. In tapping the well of ingenuity that managed to lose them the election, (such as making a guy with a 6-figure salary their underdog) Republicans demonstrated to oppose what they branded as “wasteful government spending and hurtful tax hikes”. In Wisconsin, a state which he won in the election, Obama was compared to the Anti-Christ while ticked-off Alabamians drew Hitler moustaches on Obama posters. And not to be outdone, Detroit mother Deborah Mourray advised, "I'm really opposed to spending the way out of our problem.” Unbeknownst to Debby apparently, Detroit automakers take up the bulk of government bail-outs while the city slowly becomes a financial ghost-town.

The reasons why Debby is oblivious to her city’s despair could be easier to pin down than it seems, though. For someone to be protesting tax cuts for those making under $250,000, one can assume that they are fairly well off. Presumably, it is a lot easier to oppose stimulus money when you are not the one who saw his job and pension disappear as quickly as the auto plant he worked at.

There are, however, Republicans who oppose stimulus money and tax cuts that would actually benefit from them, and their situation is even more confusing. Their cries for lower taxes seem only to be drowned out by their refusal to accept their own tax money, and for many it is a question of pride. Joe the Plumber, whose expert piping leads to the aforementioned well of ingenuity, has said that he refuses to “let someone else help him out with charity money,” even though the money he would receive draws from revenue that his dollars helped finance. Is anyone truly stupid enough to make this argument?

Probably not, so it seems these tea parties are just frustrated right-wingers venting their negative Obama sentiments. Some have even called this “the beginning of a new right-wing revolution”. Unfortunately, revolutions require a vast number of supporters, or at the very least a majority. Luckily for the rest of us, as of November 4, 2008, that majority is a long way off.