CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: As counter-media fuels tea party movement, main stream media catches on.

UPDATE: Reader Kenneth MacDonald notes some racism:

One caller to C-Span – which aired nearly the entire convention – said the sight of primarily white and older self-described “patriots” frightened her. She said the gathering looked like a lynch mob.

Yeah, if you see a bunch of white folks and the first thing you think is “lynch mob,” you’ve got no business complaining about racism. Because, you know, you’re a racist.

But not everyone felt that way: “A Swedish radio reporter who sent an earnest piece back to Sveriges Radio on Friday, explaining how a modern-day tax revolt movement that appeared at first to be woefully fringe is looking more and more mainstream.” If only American progressives could be as free of racism as the Swedes . . . .

UPDATE: Splitting the liberals? Plus, various readers note that the event wasn’t any whiter than a Kos or Howard Dean meetup. . . ..