This shift will certainly surprise those who naively believed that the grassroots Tea Party movement was a creation of big business. But “Tea Party as Wall Street front group” has been a popular belief among the left for years.

When the Tea Party first emerged in 2009, the phenomenon so dumbfounded liberals that the only explanation they could fathom was conspiratorial — these groups must have been bought and paid for by evil capitalists. “It’s not really a grassroots movement,” proclaimed then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. “It’s Astroturf by some of the wealthiest people in America to keep the focus on tax cuts for the rich instead of for the great middle class.”

In the real world, however, entrenched corporate elites have always viewed conservatives with some trepidation. Now their lobbyists are readying for war against those who promote principles like limited government, free enterprise, and individual liberty. And liberals are cheering them on.

This potential bootleggers-and-Baptists alliance could be a powerful combination — one that could render our economy even more sclerotic, weakening innovation, job creation, and living standards. And for what? Anemic long-term GDP growth, predictable earnings targets, and business as usual in Washington.