GOP Bluebloods Should Stop Bashing Tea Party

The Republican Old Guard should stop dissing less pedigreed newcomers who share their far-right views, argues Glenn Greenwald on Salon. The radical "commonsense conservatism" espoused by the likes of Sarah Palin and Christine O'Donnell is not much different than the Bush doctrine, yet Karl Rove feels it necessary to call out her "character and rectitude." What gives? Classism, says Greenwald.

"Much of the patronizing derision and scorn heaped on people like Christine O'Donnell have very little to do with their substantive views...and much more to do with the fact they're so . unruly and unwashed," he writes. O'Donnell's views are extreme, but her problems are ordinary; most Americans are like O'Donnell, the "poor, unprivileged, very ordinary Wal-Mart shopper." (Want more Rove? Click here.)