In "The Gospel According to the Tea Party" (November 2010), Jim Wallis overlooked points. The tea party would exist if the winning Democratic Party candidate were white; these people think a Democratic president saying "hello" to China is traitorous. However, they would approve a Republican sale of ICBMs to China.
Unfortunately, probably the only way the tea partiers would change their opinion of "love thy neighbor" is if they experienced a major calamity (loss of a job or a major medical expense their insurance company refuses to pay). Then their view of social programs would change. It would make Saul's "road to Damascus" experience look like a shirt change.
David Ish
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania