So Fox "News" is upset with Bill Maher for referring to the Tea Party folks as "teabaggers" instead of some less embarrassing name they would prefer to be called. I suppose that is understandable. After all, we can't expect the family values crowd to want to be associated with teabagging, can we? What is really going on here, and why would the left select such an uncivil label to apply to the Tea Party movement?

Surely, "teabagger" is a derogatory term chosen by the left - without any basis in reality - to demonize patriotic Americans. It isn't like anyone in the Tea Party movement ever used the term to refer to themselves. That would be silly. No, they are just innocent victims here, and they deserve our respect.

The Tea Party protestors are simply exercising their right to free expression. They are upset with what they perceive as excessive taxes, unaware that their taxes are lower under President Obama than they were under President Bush. But the fact that they are misinformed and perhaps a bit too gullible certainly does not justify the "teabagger" label.

And why would the left select "teabagger" out of a nearly infinite number of potential insults? I suppose it must be a play on "tea party," but it isn't like saying "teabaggers" instead of "tea partiers" is any more efficient.

Besides, most of the people who attend Tea Party rallies in my area are Republicans. They don't belong to any other political party, don't seem especially interested in starting a new one, and certainly don't seem to prefer tea more than any other beverage.

No, I suppose we may never know the true origin of the term. If only we had some clue, some indicator of why those on the left might have selected such a label. But alas, this will have to remain one of the mysteries of the universe.

In the interest of full disclosure, I suppose I should mention that even I have been scolded for using "teabagger" right here on this blog. Why did I choose this word? I guess we'll never know.

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