In the US, Tea Party Hatriots are setting the tone - and more.

Things are not looking very good south of the border. DJ! first reported on the Harris poll earlier this week. Now, a second survey published in Forbes confirms the first results - that the majority of Tea Party Hatriots, aka Teabaggers are willfully ignorant.

Tea Partyers also seem to have a very distorted view of the direction of federal taxes. They were asked whether they are higher, lower or the same as when Barack Obama was inaugurated last year. More than two-thirds thought that taxes are higher today, and only 4% thought they were lower; the rest said they are the same. As noted earlier, federal taxes are very considerably lower by every measure since Obama became president. [...]

In fact, 40% of Obama's stimulus package involved tax cuts. These include the Making Work Pay Credit, which reduces federal taxes for all taxpayers with incomes below $75,000 by between $400 and $800. According to the JCT, last year's $787 billion stimulus bill, enacted with no Republican support, reduced federal taxes by almost $100 billion in 2009 and another $222 billion this year. [...]

No taxpayer anywhere in the country had his or her taxes increased as a consequence of Obama's policies.

Clearly, politicians such as Michele Bachman are either lying to their Tea Party followers or choosing to ignore the facts.

Also, from here:

These polls show more than a basic lack of understanding about the facts on the ground, the irrationality of the respondents leads one to get an overwhelming sense of foreboding—all I have to say is that if someone gets hurt the blame will rest squarely with the Republican Party members who have cheered on these opinions and the conservative media outlets that have provided the platform for vitriolic speech to thrive. I would never tell them what they can and cannot say, freedom of speech is a fundamental right that I cherish, but the responsibility for harm done in support of their rhetoric is undeniable.

While Republican officials, such as House Minority Leader John Boehner, have finally come out against the actual violence if not the rhetoric, it may prove a little too late. Especially since just last week he insinuated that Representative Driehuas "may be a dead man" if he voted for health care reform. Granted it could be argued that he was speaking metaphorically but considering the inability of the current conservative base to understand any type of nuance I am inclined to believe they would miss that it was a metaphor. But the truth is, once you’ve told your fans or constituents that Obamacare will bankrupt the nation and bring about the end of democracy, capitalism, liberty and grandma how else do you think they will react?

With foaming-at-the-mouth hate for anything or anyone that challenges their beliefs.

This will probably escalate. The Repulsicans provoking these hatriots may soon have blood on their hands. But you can expect they won't take responsibility for the violence they've been encouraging through their words and graphics, such as the crosshair targets that appeared on Sarah Palin's website and her urging that it's time to "re-load".

Linky goodness: As posted at CC, Dr Dawg and JJ, this open letter to conservatives covers it all, regarding the rapid, furious descent of rightwing zealots in the US.