To get a comprehensive perspective on the subtext for the rage roiling the right these days, read Frank Rich's column today. When it comes to the right-wingers today, it all comes down to race and ethnicity, whether it's the Arizona immigration bill, the tea baggers, birthers, or Confederate History Month. That's the real problem with the Rethuglicans and their angry, ill-informed, extremist base, and it's only driving them farther and farther away from the American mainstream.
