I agree completely with stringsingers comments about the mosque and freedom to build a religious edifice of any creed, so long as it is non-violent.
The many Muslims in NY city have just as much right to their places of worship as do Episcopalians, Greek Orthodox or any other religious group. I am a non-believer, but I hope we all have equal rights.

In the demonstration in Washington, most of the attendants were middle class, not extremists of any kind. They are unhappy, and Beck and Palin were a focus. That does not mean that those who gathered there, 300,000 at the minimum and from all parts of the country, will support the so-called 'tea party'. I do think most will vote Republican in the next election because of their dislike of current conditions, but they make up their own minds, and can be fickle.

So far the tea party is not a party, and I doubt that it will ever be more than a focus for discontent.