Tim Pawlenty warns Arizona about the ruling class | Michael Tomasky

I wonder what C. Wright Mills would make of this:

Tim Pawlenty made a splash at the Tea Party Patriots American Policy Summit on Saturday in Arizona. The former governor scored a close second in the event's straw poll and threw plenty of red meat to tea party activists in his speech Saturday evening, including thanking the tea party for "standing up to the ruling class" which includes unions.

Former Godfather's Pizza CEO Herman Cain was the favorite of the summit attendees with 22 percent of the straw poll vote. Pawlenty finished second with 16 percent, followed by Ron Paul at 15 percent, Sarah Palin with 10 percent, Mitt Romney with 6.5 percent and Rep. Michele Bachmann with 5.6 percent.

"The mood at this summit shows that Tea Party activists are looking for leaders who share our principles of fiscal responsibility and limited government and who will vow to uphold policies that reflect those principles once in office," Jenny Beth Martin, national coordinator of Tea Party Patriots, said in a statement.

"I'm here today to say, 'Thank you.' Thank you for standing up to the ruling class," Pawlenty told the crowd. "Thank you for standing up to the liberal power brokers, guardians of the status quo and the royal triangle of greed: big government, big unions and big bailed-out businesses."

We've really hit a bizarro historical point. When did 200, or even 2,000, years of agreed-upon reality get turned on its head so that now "the ruling class" is not the actual objective ruling class but a bunch of school teachers and child services workers in Wisconsin? Don't answer that, ngavc, that was a rhetorical question.

US elections 2012RepublicansTea Party movementMichael Tomasky
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