Yes, indeedy, Swatantra - I too am very worried about the Libdems' rightward slide. These days, I have to tell people that I'm from the Liberal Democrat wing of the Liberal Democrats.

"What is wrong with the tea party message?"

...Read what he said, his main beef is with the Tea Party's strategy of no-compromise-screw-eyes-shut-and-stamp-on-the-floor until they get what they want.

Which is fair enough, IMO.

@David - How can a self-made millionaire legal eagle started with nothing, paid her own way through uni, who also brought up 20 foster kids and 5 of her own not be worthy?

Sorry, but what exactly had Obama done to prove he was worthy of the stage apart from speak other peoples words from an autocue?

Yer, yer, thanks for that!

@marcus, I think the reason we should be extremely worried about the tea party is that they are ALL extremist evangelical christians with some profoundly disturbing and dangerous views that could well turn the US into a christian version of Iran, as someone said here before me.

People who have their finger on the nuclear button,believe in the rapture and who celebrate wars as a sign of its imminent arrival are dangerous. They also believe that God created the universe about 10000 years ago, jesus walked with dinosaurs,and stem cell research is evil. They will try and get it taught in schools too.Along with banning abortion,gays and anything else that takes their fancy.

They also beleive in survival of the fittest so rich people will prosper and pay little tax and the ordinary Joe will be left to fend for himself. They might be libertarian but its not worth all the dangerous extreme nutter stuff that comes with it. And the idea that it's racist to call them extremist is just pathetic.These people are the most un christian christians on earth.

@Suzanne - No, i do not agree with the Tea Party. I am not left-wing, or right-wing. I believe in liberty and personal freedoms, not some small minded tribal left vision some of you seem to deem acceptable.

I do however think they need to be heard and to be understood as they have a popular mandate from a certain proportion of the United States' population.

Vilifying them as stu-pid rednecks and extremists as others have done over the last few months is both dumb and racist.

I understand that Palin has set herself up to be vilified, but tarring Democrats, Republicans and independents as the same because they call themselves Tea Party supporters is stupid.

Sorry if this sounds harsh, but the derision of Bachmann (whom i am not a fan) is a good example. It is not down to policy or intellect or resume. It is down to the fact that she looks like Palin and is a ballsy Republican. This makes her an open target for unthinking tribalists like yourself.

According to The Hill, the leading DC political mag, some 41% of Democrats and Independents are Tea Party members.

It is you who is not reasonable as you do not understand the basics of what they stand for.

@David - Not a great comparison, but still.............

Nick Griffin preaches ethnic cleansing by proxy and has past form as an (alleged) violent thug. He is racist against a population living within this country.

Being anti-American purely based on their nationality and supposed belief systems is racist. It is the same thing.

Those that slate people with generalisations based on race, nationality, sexual preference, disability or belief system deserve to be deemed ignorant. Many on the left, as on the right are ignorant.

I do agree with you on Bachmann - she doesnt inspire me with her policy beliefs. Then again neither does Obama who has a truly woeful record.

Tarring an entire grouping of people from that country that agree that personal and economic freedoms are important is just........ well.......... dumb.......... and actually illiberal.

Suzanne,

When you don't have any answers, you accuse the other of having a hidden agenda.

You can't be bothered to go in to any detail about the tea party's "offensive" views on liberty and small government, because you don't actually know.

In order to criticise these policies you'd actually have to educate yourself as to what they are, and who needs an education when you can just blather on the internet, eh?

I'll take a tea party over spineless, wet, limp-wristed liberals any day of the week. Less government sounds good to me. Roll on the the tea party ! Wo-Ho !

Renationalise the energy companies. Perhaps by imposing a much higher rate of corporation tax on them, with strict regulation to prevent any passing on to workers or consumers, until their shares became worthless. Chris Huhne, over to you. After all, you did run the College Labour Club when Tony Blair was oblivious to its existence.

Meanwhile, there is much to be said for Vince Cable's scheme, which is sending his Coalition's partners into highly amusing apoplexy, to enable shareholders to veto executive bonuses. This rather recalls the industrial democracy advocated by Cable's erstwhile Party Leader, David Owen. Especially if the employees were to be encouraged and assisted to purchase the shares in question, most obviously through their pension schemes, though by no means necessarily by that means alone. The trade unions do rather spring to mind here. In fact, why not have the controlling interests in the City bought up by the not exactly cash-strapped trade unions representing the public sector?

Anyway, Ed Miliband, to whom Owen is close, should declare his support for Cable's proposal, for a remedy against short-term shareholding by the enemies of the human race in the form of a 12-month qualifying period before voting rights could be exercised, and for mass employee purchase of the shares, including with some form of public assistance in certain cases. He should therefore and thereby challenge Cable to bring forward legislation to that effect.