one good thing about the tea party, problematic though it is in many respects, is that it broadens the almost unbelievably narrow and unimaginative range of viable american political positions. there are people here (rand paul, e.g.) who are actually capable asking fundamental questions, or of critiquing what john boehner and barack obama have in common, the assumptions they share. i believe i would say the same if a far-left viable movement were to emerge; if, say, dennis kucinich or someone farther out than that suddenly appeared in an effective role. i just want to see a broader and more challenging political discourse. this would entail, for example, the collapse of the two-party system, which just has got to go if we actually are committed even vaguely to democracy.