I beg to differ. The core group of the Democratic party is what runs the Dems. So I can say that the DNC is made up of marxist, socialist nutjobs who want to suspend the Bill of Rights and that’s not really much of a slam, since I’m also going to acknowledge that most of the Dems aren’t like that?

“I think that it is a still-loose amalgam of forces. There is a part of the tea party movement that actually did exist before i was elected. We saw some of it leading up to my election. There are some folks who just weren’t sure whether I was born in the United States, whether I was a socialist, right? So there is that segment of it, which I think is just dug in ideologically. And that strain has existed in American political for a long time.

“Then I think that there is a broader circle around that core group of people who are legitimately concerned about the deficit, who are legitimately concerned that the federal government may be taking on too much. And last year, a bunch of the emergency measures we had to take in terms of dealing with the bank crisis, bailing out the auto industry, fed that sense that things are out of control. And I think those are folks who have legitimate concerns.

“And so I wouldn’t paint in broad brush and say that everybody who is involved or have gone to a tea party rally or meeting are somehow on the fringe. Some of them i think have some mainstream legitimate concerns. My hope is that as we move forward and are tackling things like the deficit, imposing a freeze on domestic spending and taking steps that show we’re sincere about dealing with our long-term problems, that some of that group will dissipate.

“There’s still going to be a group at their core that question my legitimacy or question the Democratic Party generally or question people who they consider to be against them in some way. And that group we’re probably not going to convince.”

Not much of a slam if you ask me.. Because there *are* those in the movement who question the legitimacy of the president. A real slam would be to say the whole movement is full of complete morons. Which is not what he said nor implied, and would alienate any of the ‘broader cirle’ that exists in the movement.

But a couple of people with birther signsat the back of a Tea Party rally of several thousands is a clear indication that while there may be one or two petty concerns about Obama’s policies, anything more serious is the result of misguided people being led by racist demagogues.

I should think this is clear and of course anyone who indicates a belief that perhaps giving favorable treatment to certain states in return for their senators’ votes might warrant legal action is a virtual Klansman.

I hope you now understand the error of your ways.

-ls