Nothing we write can live up to the headline, so let’s just dish the facts:

Rep. Michele Bachmann has become the latest high-profile conservative to bag the rapidly unraveling Tea Party Convention in Nashville next week…

Bachmann’s office cited the same concerns that other Tea Party activists have voiced about the first-of-its-kind national gathering: namely, the for-profit model of organizer Judson Phillips, a self-described “small town lawyer” with a history of financial problems.

Still on board for the rapidly unraveling event: Sarah Palin, who’s picking up her standard six-figure paycheck for an appearance. Talibunny banquet-only tickets still available for only $349!

Oh, and “Tickets are non-refundable,” just in case you get any ideas.

Bachmann cancels Tea Party appearance [Star Tribune, via TPM]

Usually I read Jalopnik because of the car reviews, the photographs of old cars, and due to the fact that I’m an incurable gearhead. But now they offer Teabaggers too? Best site EVAR (save this one):

Detroit Auto Show Attracts World’s Worst Protesters [Jalopnik]

BREAKING: Stopped clock right twice a day:

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) said Wednesday night that despite the groundswell of grass-roots conservative energy, the tea party movement is not likely to revive the Republican Party.

“I don’t think you can talk about the tea party as a party,” Paul said during an interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow. “It’s made up of a lot of different people. And I don’t even see them as being Republicans.”

I don’t even see them as being carbon-based life forms, but hey, that’s me. This bit of ass-covering was what I found most interesting:

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Make them, that is, against the wonderful cartoonist Mark Fiore:

The death threats keep coming this fine morning.  I guess the Tea Party crew is determined to have “death panels” one way or another.  The dustup started because of this cartoon:

And what caused the orcs of the right to rise up and threaten the ringbearer?

NPR ran the cartoon, the orcs found it, and you know the rest.

When we first heard Wednesday that Sarah Palin would be headlining the “National Tea Party Convention” in Nashville next month, we had only one question: How much are they paying her?

And we now have the answer: $100,000.

Which is an interesting amount for a “grassroots” movement.

As is the price to attend the speech: $349. The CPAC convention — which Palin is skipping, because they don’t pay squat — costs only $149 to attend.

So, our next question: Which teabaggers are ponying up the bucks? They’re by no means a united front, you’ll recall — the “Tea Party Patriots” see themselves as the real deal, as opposed to the “Tea Party Express,” which TPM calls “a group run by GOP political consultants” that manages to funnel two-thirds of its money back to its founders.

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While everyone else is fretting about Barry’s 47 percent poll rating, let’s instead enjoy the day’s real news:

Running under the Tea Party brand may be better in congressional races than being a Republican.

In a three-way Generic Ballot test, the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds Democrats attracting 36% of the vote. The Tea Party candidate picks up 23%, and Republicans finish third at 18%. Another 22% are undecided.

In case you think Rasmussen went Jaywalking — pause while we scourge ourselves for even mentioning Leno — “respondents were asked to assume that the Tea Party movement organized as a new political party.” So everyone knew it was a fantasy ballot ahead of time.

But today’s hypothesis is tomorrow’s reality, and we look forward to Wolf Blitzer sterning informing us how Teabaggers are getting licked by their opponents election night.

Tea Party Tops GOP on Three-Way Generic Ballot [Rasmussen, via Political Wire]

So close:

In a press release touting “unfriend” as the word of the year, the New Oxford American Dictionary may have unwittingly made a more controversial move than the New Oxford American Dictionary pretty much ever does.

No, it wasn’t another cutesy tech neologism: they included “teabagger” as one of their Word of the Year finalists.

According to the release, they define “teabagger” as “a person who protests President Obama’s tax policies and stimulus package, often through local demonstrations known as ‘Tea Party’ protests (in allusion to the Boston Tea Party of 1773).”

I think I know why “teabagger” didn’t win ….

‘Teabagger’ Was Oxford Word of the Year Finalist [ThinkProgress]