It’s extraordinarily difficult to respect the Tea Party Republicans when you read something like this:

Recently released census data show that, on average, the share of residents without insurance is almost as high in districts represented by House Republicans as in those represented by Democrats. Slightly more Republicans (107) than Democrats (99) represent districts where the uninsured percentage is above the national average. Even about half of the 80 conservative members whose letter hatched the strategy of funding government only if Obama agreed to defund the 2010 Affordable Care Act represent districts where the uninsured share exceeds the national average.

It just goes to show that these people, despite their patriotic blatherings, aren’t really in Congress to serve the public which elected them. Instead, they’re in Congress to serve a belief system, one which says all government is bad and it must be destroyed bit by bit until it does nothing but pay for a strong military and subsidize corporations.

With the gerrymandering of electoral districts done in 2010 it will be terribly difficult to vote these nihilists out of Congress, but the Democrats and Independents have an obligation to the country to try.