Why Tea Party has So Many Joke Candidates

At this Wednesday’s Tea Party and the 2010 elections conference at University of Maryland, congressman Roscoe Bartlett inadvertently explained why the T Party has run so many jokesters as serious candidates, from Carl palladino to Sharon Engle to christine O’Donnell. Of O’Donnell, Bartlett said the witch and other comments and past experiences are not important. She would do well in the Senate he says because she follows the script on the larger narrative against the fed govt and for deregulated markets. No minimum wage. Put all entitlements on the table. It’s neoliberalism on steroids, with Burkean outrage at the enlightenment. The chastity and masturbation stuff is just entertainment. Presumably this holds for the other candidates too. It’s all about being able to follow the script: let them eat cake!