IS THE "TEA PARTY" REALLY A POPULIST MOVEMENT?

. . . GOPs have stated that they wont compromise.

And somewhere in the darkness the gambler, he broke even
But in his final words I found an ace that I could keep

You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away and know when to run
You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealing's done

... They sure as hell won't spend us into a hole the way they did from 2001 to 2007 when there's a Democrat in the White House for them to deal with.

If so, that's only because the Democrat in the White House and the outgoing Democrat Congress have already put us in the hole.

Prologue.
Republican Bill Jerky, a very conservative former Colorado State Legislator known as a tax "enemy," has a surprising job this election season. He's going around to lots of different conservative groups and urging voters NOT to vote for three Colorado ballot initiatives that would cut state taxes so severely, they'd essentially strangle state government from here on out. Jerky says he appreciates the sentiment behind the ballot initiatives but says they simply go too far. It's a weird election year—it's not just the political parties fighting each other but it's also the parties fighting amongst themselves, trying to figure out what they stand for, what they want for the future and what's the best path to get there. (4 minutes)

Act One. Patriot Games.
Rich Carlson and Tom Swenor, two best friends in Michigan, got so fed up with the political process in the country this year, they decided to form their own Tea Party chapter in Petoskey, Michigan. But as election season revved up and push came to shove, Rich and Tom had very different ideas about how to advance a conservative agenda. In the end, their idealism, their jobs and their friendship have suffered the consequences. This American Life producer Ben Calhoun tells the story. (34 minutes)

Act Two. Mr. Hitt Goes To Washington.
Jack Hitt has spent the last two years watching the Obama administration lose the news cycle and war of soundbites to Republicans day after day. Watching the Democrats run away from issues like health care reform and middle class tax cuts, Hitt wonders if there is some secret long-term master plan the Democrats are deploying, or if they're just incompetent. He goes to a Democratic Party insider—Paul Begala—to try to understand what the thinking behind the last two years of Democratic messaging has been. (16 minutes)

Song: "Whose Side Are You On", GW McLeannan