continuum

three consecutive items from Talking Points Memo:

Looking at the American Patriot Foundation's representation of Lt. Col. Terence Lakin, it occurs to me, what's more patriotic than an active duty member of the military refusing to obey a lawful order?

and

Gay Stein, founder and leader of Armed Forces Tea Party Patriots, sends out statement offering reassurance that his group is not calling for a military uprising and recognize[s] Barack Obama as the legitimate Commander-in-Chief of the United States Armed Forces.  

and

We now have another Republican (albeit one in the House) saying that the seemingly preposterous claim that Health Care Reform is unconstitutional will be a key issue in the upcoming Supreme Court confirmation hearings.

It occurs to me that the Tea Party is to the Republican Party as the Republican Party is to the Democratic Party. Yeah, I know it's not a truth derived from the three propositions above. But it did just occur to me.

Post scriptum, 60 seconds later:
Firedoglake's Scarecrow eviscerates Treasury Secretary Timothy Geitner's editorial in The Washington Post:

I’m not an economist, but I think his answer boils down to “trust the not-really bipartisan Senate bill to give not-even-close-to-credible regulators like him the authority to get it right next time.” 

Tea Party is to Republican Party as Republican Party is to Democratic Party.