Tea partiers reach final stage, get their own blimp (Americans for Prosperity balloon)

Aside from conducting parades dressed in Colonial garb, one of the cheap stunts that glassy-eyed Ron Paul fans pulled was flying their own blimp. Hey, it beats trying to make an argument.

Starting earlier this year, the tea parties-promoting "grassroots" group Americans for Prosperity (linked to the Koch family [1], which is in the energy business) skipped the dress-up game stage and went straight for the gold: they've been conducting their own "2009 Nationwide Hot Air Tour" featuring a "70-foot-tall hot air balloon" (hotairtour.org, [2]):

"This cap-and-trade scheme is nothing more than a tax on energy- plain and simple," said AFP President Tim Phillips. "We think American families need to know what these proposals will cost them - lost jobs, even higher energy prices, and less freedom."

[1] Per one of their state directors (americansforprosperity.org/afp-florida-news-dan-quiggle-interviewed): "Americans for Prosperity was founded by David Koch. Mr. Koch is the same individual who helped found the Cato Institute and the Institute for Justice." See also sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_For_Prosperity

[2] americansforprosperity.org/072809-afp-takes-its-hot-air-balloon-tour-cross-country-
expose-hidden-energy-tax-hike-cap-and-trade-