But sometimes I find the exquisite sensitivity of these Tea Party correspondents exhausting. I tire of engaging with people who present themselves as my put-upon victims, wronged by prejudices I do not harbor, especially if they start quoting Sarah Palin or Rush Limbaugh, which makes me suspect that projection is a factor. That is to say, they harbor general disdain for broad categories of cultural or ideological adversaries—liberals, atheists, community organizers, academics, public employees, journalists—and presume that anyone arguing with them must harbor a similar disdain in their political disagreements.

Yes, some people criticize Tea Partiers out of cultural prejudice. Get over it. There is plenty of criticism grounded in honestly-held disagreements too. Yeah, it can be tough to read a column positing that a protest you believed in was a waste of time, but you know what? Public discourse is supposed to function as a crucible. It isn't personal. And given the titles of liberal-hating books published by Tea Party favorites (not to mention the terrible things Tea Partiers say about me in the emails positing that I've insulted them), I sometimes think, don't you see that the opinionmakers who keep telling you how hated and disrespected you are dish out more cultural disdain than anyone? And that you follow their lead as if you think that's how things ought to be?

Yes, sensitive Tea Partiers, lots of Americans strongly disagree with you. Most of them don't harbor disdain for you. Yes, the media is sometimes biased. That doesn't mean all mainstream journalists are constantly engaged in a conspiracy to spy on you. Yes, sometimes the charge of racism is used cynically as a political cudgel against conservatives. That doesn't mean the charge is never legitimate, or that you're constantly being victimized by false charges of racism. Stop letting the talk-radio hosts of the world play on your anxieties and convince you that everyone in the world is arrayed against you and only they are on your side.

I'll leave you with an example of a talk-radio host playing on anxieties. Immigration is an issue that divides the Republican Party. That is to say, there is honest disagreement about the best way forward, both as a matter of politics and policy. Going back to Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, there has been a pro-immigrant faction in the party, a willingness to pass amnesties, an optimistic belief that it's good for America to welcome a lot of newcomers. And there has long been a faction that disagrees and takes a more restrictionist attitude.

There is no reason to doubt that when Senator Marco Rubio says he believes comprehensive immigration reform will be good for the country, he really means it, whether right or wrong. When Karl Rove says moderating the GOP's stance on immigration is good politics, there is no reason to doubt that he means it.