Broward County, a longtime bastion of Democratic politics, is under siege -- not by Republicans, mind you, but by their indefatigable libertarian wing, the Tea Party. Don't believe me? Then watch the video below, apparently shot by an Austrian economist and tourist who is fascinated by the Tea Party's growth in the United States.
This weekend, he talked to a guy named John Sykes, who not only claims that South Florida has the longest-running Tea Party but that it has been demonstrating on the corner of Oakland Park Boulevard and North Federal Highway for 46 weeks straight. So it must have started about two months after Obama was inaugurated. Good to know they gave him time to test out his economic recovery plan.
Hear that? Only 25 honks per hour when the Tea Party started demonstrating at the traffic-clogged corner. Now? Says Sykes; "In a good hour we have 1,500 horn honks." Yes, they count the horn honks. But do they count the ones that are accompanied by middle fingers? I demand a recount!
So what did the Austrian economist/tourist learn from his encounter with this strange American political phenomenon?
Before I show you that video, I should remind you that he comes from Europe, which according to the Tea Party is a breeding ground for dangerous socialist government. With that caveat:
"The problem with the Tea Party movement is that there is no coherent idea" besides the government-is-evil mantra," says the man at the video's 2:30 mark. "There's no platform to unite on." Ultimately, after speaking with our South Florida tea party, the observer pronounced its members, "confused."
Quick study, this guy.
