With apologies to Stephen Covey, I have compiled my "fun list" of  "The Seventeen Habits of Highly Successful Tea Party Republicans" below.

1. Authority: Leaders lead, subordinates follow. Do not question authority. Obey.

2. Punish: Resistance is futile.  Break party ranks and you will be punished.

3. God: Invoke God when answers to questions elude you.  No one can question God's will.

4. Loyalty:  Loyalty to the party is the same as loyalty to God and country. Scratch my back and I'll scratch yours.

5. Patriotism: Wrap yourself in the flag and support the troops.  Supporting the troops is supporting the war.  Those who don't support the war, don't support the troops.

6. Fear:  Be a monger of fear to manipulate the masses.  Fear always trumps critical thinking.

7. Terror:  The word 'terror' invokes fear. Use it often.

8. Self-righteousness: Never admit a mistake. To do so is a sign of weakness.

9. Blame: Shift blame quickly as first impressions stick. Never ever admit responsibility.

10. BIG LIE: People succumb to the BIG LIE. Tell the lie, distort the truth, ignore the truth. Facts that don't fit with our lie should be discarded or ignored.

11. Repetition, repetition, repetition:  Repeat the lie often. The more the lie is repeated the more  the media will repeat it, and soon it'll be accepted as a fact that even we can believe in.

12. Ignorance: Take pride in ignorance as our enemy is education. Liberal intellectuals are elitists.

13. Inequality: It's a "survival of the fittest" world out there. People are not created equal.  White men are proof of that.

14. Demean: Humiliate and demean those that oppose you; it helps you to hate, and lessens their self worth.

15. Bully:  Bully the tired, the poor, the weak, the handicapped into submission. Dominate.

16. No, no, no: We are the party of "NO".  If Obama is for it, we must be against it.

17. Vote, vote, vote: Fickle Democrats stay home on voting day. We vote in big numbers;  we win the day.

 Does anyone have a No. 18?

 First we make our habits, then our habits make us. -- Charles C. Noble