He’s kidding himself, but it’s hard to fault him for being cynical given the track record of populist movements. After all, the Perotistas were a force for a few years in the early 90s, but they eventually went away. Or … did they? One of the points to ponder from yesterday’s Gallup data about independents dominating in party ID is how much continuity there might be between Perot voters and modern-day tea partiers. Not all indies are fiscally conservative, granted, but I’d bet that a heavy majority are; the “tea party” label might dry up, but the people to whom it applies will still be there. And in an age where conservative media is around to champion them and the Internet is available to make organizing easier than it’s ever been, there’s really no reason to think they’ll fade. Even if Reid’s right that the economy is driving people into the tea-party camp who might not otherwise be there, we’re looking at four to five years, at least, of poor unemployment to come. Plenty long enough for a grassroots movement to get its sea legs and develop into a sustainable lobby, I’d think.

That’s the first clip; the second clip is of Reid noting that the media thinks repealing ObamaCare is a waste of time. Really, Harry? The media?

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