Coffee, Tea or...

There's a post up at Legal Insurrection about the new "Coffee Party", one liberal's answer to the TEA Party movement. Professor Jacobson has some interesting background on the organizer Annabel Park that's worth checking out, and quotes her (from the NYT) as saying:

“We’re not the opposite of the Tea Party,” Ms. Park, 41, said. “We’re a different model of civic participation... "

I've been thinking about this "Coffee Party" since I saw the first news stories. I think it is, in actuality, a perfect analogy for the state of American politics. Stay with me here a sec...

Now, accuse me of generalization or stereotyping (I don't really care. It's my blog.) but to my mind, Annabel Parks and her fellow liberal activists strike me as the type to prefer chain-brand, designer coffees that have half a dozen hyphens in the title - and a price tag of over $6 a cup - which are served up by people who would sneer if addressed by the title waiter or waitress.

Anyone who could justify such an expense on a regular basis probably sees nothing wrong with the same lack of financial priorities on the part of their government.

On the other side of the coin, you have folks like myself - and probably the bulk of TEA Party activists. Gimme a cup of plain black coffee (or tea) at my local diner for under a buck (with free refills!), served up by a waitress who smiles and calls me "Hon"... and I'll spend the money I've saved on something a lot more important than my morning java.

See where I'm going with this?