On Line Cribbage

“You know what I think is funny?” said Moon Dimple, my back home pal.

Your waist line? Your bank account? The fact that you’ve never once beaten me at cribbage?

“Very funny, smart guy. I think it’s funny when people get what they ask for good and hard.”

And what have people been asking for?

“For a third political party, dummy. For decades people have grumbled that they’re fed up with the Democrats and the Republicans and said what this country really needs is a third party so voters have a choice.”

And?

“And so now people have one and no one can stand it.”

I was unaware we had a third party.

“Hello, the Tea Party? Ever heard of it? You gotta start paying attention.”

That’s true, but the tea party is not a party. It’s a movement.

“Yeah, well, for now, anyway. During that whole debt ceiling thing old school Republicans acted like tea party types barely belonged on the same planet with them much less in the same party. Did you see what Sen. John McCain called ‘em?”

I believe he called them hobbits.

“That’s right. That was kind of weird, actually, but then I always thought there was something a little bit off about that guy. He meant it as an insult but in the book he was referring to hobbits are the good guys. They defeat the evil eyeball and save the day and then they go back home and eat second breakfasts and stuff like that.”

Maybe McCain simply meant tea party types have big, hairy feet. Although I think what he was trying to communicate in his own awkward way is that tea partyers – to use an elementary school report card term – don’t play well with others, meaning fellow Republicans.

“See? Again, that’s funny!