New York is apparently not interested in participating in the Tea Party fervor that has been sweeping the nation these last twelve months. Turns out the more New Yorkers get acquainted with Carl Paladino and his “straight talking” ways the better Andrew Cuomo seems. Not great, mind you, just better.

On last night’s 4th of July episode of Hannity, Sean Hannity had “Rock Star/Hunter” Ted Nugent on to spread some holiday cheer, but thanks to the Obama administration, he only had bad news. Did you know that the White House is currently “spitting on the U.S. Constitution, the Bill Of Rights, the Ten Commandments, the Golden Rule”?

Conservatives have been taking a victory lap, of sorts, in honor of Rand Paul‘s win in Kentucky on Tuesday, and last night Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann appeared on Hannity to discuss the election results and the American people’s “clearly anti-big government, clearly anti-obama agenda” preferences.

I think that a far more productive use of everyone’s time would be for the President to conduct one briefing a month, unannounced and on a day chosen at random, from Gibb’s podium in the Brady Briefing Room. This would result in a much freer exchange, a more diverse roster of questioners, and more relevant, spontaneous questions.

Something about Joe Klein‘s sedition claim against Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin has struck a very deep chord with conservatives. Although Palin herself hasn’t responded, Beck has reacted with calm but passionate reiterations of his love for America, which even garnered him some tender reinforcement from Bill O’Reilly. Rush Limbaugh shot back at the criticisms in a WSJ op-ed this morning, calling the claims “self-serving nonsense.”

Former CNBC host Donny Deutsch is filling in on MSNBC as 3pmET anchor all this week, with a show titled America The Angry.

The first couple minutes of the show ended up serving as a monologue/mission statement for the program, with Deutsch dramatically urging viewers to stop with all the anger.

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner was interviewed exclusively on Meet the Press yesterday, and the wide-ranging sit-down touched on a variety of financial topics.

But one topic that got Fox News’ attention (they’ve aired the answer several times already this morning) was the “positive side” Geithner talked about when moderator David Gregory asked him about tea parties.

On Wednesday’s Factor, Bill O’Reilly examined the charges of racism and lack of diversity at Tea Parties by interviewing “The Big Black Lie” author Kevin Jackson, a black conservative who speaks at Tea Party events all around the country. Jackson responds that he hasn’t seen evidence of this at the rallies he has attended. O’Reilly gets Jackson to admit that he is paid to speak at the events, creating a credibility problem raising questions about his role.

CNN tried to bring some levity to the health care debate yesterday with their coverage of the Tea Party march on Washington attended by representatives Louie Gohmert and Michele Bachmann– and the now-traditional homemade signs that are staples of the movement. The network assigned its comic relief correspondent Jeanne Moos to preside over a montage of clips from the rally and, while the segment was obviously intended to be funny, the jokes flopped, and Moos’ hostile commentary belies CNN’s insistence on objective news coverage.

Politico has set out to find what Tea Partiers think of some of the conservative movement’s top leaders. While most results were predictable– their love of Glenn Beck and suspicion towards John McCain, for starters– Politico also found some surprises in the attitudes towards some of their biggest supporters.

The internet has made definitive revolutionary changes in the way Americans consume their media and interact with their federal government– not exactly a shocking statement. But Michael Scherer at Time Magazine is now proposing that the most tech-savvy government in history is being hurt by its inability to control the flow of information (and misinformation) online.

The shooter in last night’s Pentagon police attack has been identified as John Patrick Bedell, 36. According to reports Bedell attempted to enter the Pentagon by force, shooting and wounding two Pentagon officers before being shot and killed himself. The police described him as “well dressed, well educated and well armed.”

New York Times columnist David Brooks was a guest last night on The Colbert Report and seemed to relish in being back in the “conservative” media after regularly appearing in more “liberal” outlets.

Brooks weighed in on Pres. Obama, health care and tea parties, coining a new term for the movement.

Pack up the picket signs and stop what you’re brewing: the American Prospect has officially declared the Tea Party Movement dead. Correspondent Mark Schmitt has released a shocking piece highlighting the short half-life of right-wing populists movements in America that is sure to put many on the left at ease knowing that the Tea Parties will be done before they know it.

The organizers of CPAC have heard Mike Huckabee‘s sour-grapes complaints about the convention’s increasingly libertarian direction (presumably a jab about the fact that he lost the 2012 presidential straw poll to Congressman Ron Paul), and they are, more than anything, confused. David Keene, the organizer of CPAC, told CNN: “We were frankly a [little] perplexed by Governor Huckabee’s comments about CPAC given our long and cordial relationship with him and his family.”

Keith Olbermann‘s Special Comment last night on his MSNBC show was about the undertones of racism within the Tea Party movement, and like he often does, he posted a portion on his Daily Kos blog.

Well that set off a series of back-and-forth comments between Olbermann and others about the diversity on the MSNBC airwaves.

First Lady Michelle Obama was a guest on Larry King Live last night to discuss her new anti-obesity, “Let’s Move” campaign.

Somewhat surprisingly, Obama was put on the spot by the CNN host with some tough-ish questions about Sarah Palin and tea parties, although the first lady has learned to give a good political answer.

Bill O’Reilly spent several segments last night discussing the tea party movement and attempting to defend Fox News VP of News and Washington managing editor Bill Sammon for his blanket statement about the mainstream media’s ‘hatred’ of the partying. It included a contentious interview with Politico executive editor Jim VandeHei, a talk with Brit Hume (who previously held Sammon’s job) and a “Talking Points” opening (including some ‘original reporting’).

Who: Jeffrey Toobin, Calvin Trillin, Janeane Garofalo and Jonathan Alter, moderated by Andy Borowitz What: The Andy Borowitz Report: Obama’s First Year Where: 92nd St. Y When: January 27, 2010 Thumbs: Up Host/moderator Andy Borowitz set the tone for the evening with ten minutes of stand-up comedy at the top of the event. It sent [...]

On today’s “This Week” roundtable, The Nation editor Katrina Vanden Heuvel invoked the term “tea-bagger,” prompting a disgusted protest from Daily Caller’s Tucker Carlson. Vanden Heuvel’s response was to plow through Carlson’s objections, a strategy which, no doubt, delighted liberals and infuriated conservatives. The term “tea-bagger” has become a gargantuan red herring, almost a “red spermwhale,” if you will.

Every successful production requires a sequel. Looks like the GOP may be attempting their own with regards to this summer’s town halls which managed to hijack the health care debate for most of August: They want to bring them back. But can a summer blockbuster sell be successful at Christmas?

Call it Bachmann Tea-Party Overdrive: Last night Jon Stewart and the Daily Show staff revealed something remarkable: That in his coverage of Michele Bachmann‘s so-called “Superbowl of Freedom” last weekend in D.C., Sean Hannity used footage of Glenn Beck‘s 9/12 event to make the Bachmann rally look bigger. By a factor of thousands.

The Conservative candidate in that hotly-contested Upstate New York special congressional election, Doug Hoffman, lost to the Democratic candidate Bill Owens last night.

What does it mean? Well since Hoffman is the first national candidate to come out of the 9/12 Project/Tea Party movement, it’s not insignificant.

Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity really want Doug Hoffman to win that special congressional election in Upstate New York’s 23rd district. It’s not just because he’s a 3rd party “Conservative” candidate in a race that saw the shunned, moderate Republican candidate drop out. It’s because this race is a referendum on town halls, on tea partying, on the 9/12 Project.

Ironically, right as the march began, a very real and very vivid rainbow appeared in the sky. This was clearly a sign of support from God.