weekly response

Not that it's much consolation, but it was at least a little gratifying to see President Obama call out Tea Party shenanigans this Saturday, chastising "one faction of one party" for refusing to compromise their extreme positions in the debt ceiling debate. And following this frank, pleading address, it seems that Congressional leaders have finally reached a deal sufficiently revolting to the wings of both parties. The deal includes $2.4 trillion of cuts over ten years, no tax hikes for the rich, and no cuts of Social Security, Pell grants, Medicaid or Medicare. Barring unexpected political fiasco, the broad (and, sadly, unorganized) moderate caucus of Congress will be able to pass this legislation tomorrow, presumably without the votes of extreme Tea Partiers or hard-line liberals.

Among the accomplishments of the last few weeks, the Tea Party may have finally and conclusively outed itself to the American masses as a band of bona fide wack jobs. Their unyielding stance on taxes and blithe embrace of default leave no doubt (if any remained) that this powerful caucus is not fit to govern. But we are stuck with them for the immediate future, and I heard for the first time today on NPR's "All Things Considered" a gesture towards an organized and practical response to our predicament. A "restoration of sanity," as Jon Stewart might have.

The American Dream Movement is the brainchild of Van Jones, a former White House advisor to President Obama. Unlike Mr. Stewart's Rally to Restore Sanity, which placed a premium on fun, this movement presents itself as a serious political player designed to combat Tea Party fervor. Whereas the Tea Party calls for the end of government, the American Dream Movement values some of the things that government offers, such as Social Security and education grants. Mr. Jones believes that a silent majority of Americans oppose Tea Party policies, and he hopes to inspire them to political protest and action.

We will soon know whether this movement has as much traction as Mr. Jones claims. But if the last few weeks have taught us anything, it is painfully clear that any political voice, no matter how radical and irrational, has the power to tarnish the compromises that occur every day in government. In such a scary, precarious world, all thinking citizens have sacred responsibility to yell back. By adopting some of the Tea Party's organizing tactics (if not their positions), perhaps Mr. Jones will be able to lug the center of out policy debates back towards the left, closer to where it belongs.