Paul Waldman, as usual,...

...gets it right, this time about the tea partiers:

And we'll also see whether the Tea Partiers can put the taxpayers' money where the newly elected officeholders' mouths are. Once you're in Congress, you can't just talk about "spending" in the abstract -- you have to decide where you stand on specific kinds of spending. Will they be voting against projects for their own districts? Will they be railing against things like the billions we spend on farm subsidies? Will they be rooting out waste in the Defense Department? Or will they adopt the typical Republican version of "fiscal conservatism," which is to oppose spending money only on programs you don't like anyway?

The problem is that the tea partiers -- like everyone else -- actually like government spending. Polls have shown they think Social Security, Medicare, public schools, a strong national defense, et cetera, et cetera, are worth the cost. In other words, they approve of the spending that benefits them.

You see, they like their entitlements -- they just don't like yours.