It's a weird move for Glenn Beck to ask Tea Partiers to lose the signs and wardrobe. The homemade costume vibe that makes it all seem like a white supremacist Burning Man event isn't the problem with the Tea Parties--it's more like the whole of their charm.

I frankly think the costume thing is adorable. If political activism leads some guy to learn to play the fife late in life, that's a beautiful thing.

But the short-form literalism of homemade sign-making isn't everyone's medium. Many folks have taken the First Amendment train all the way to Crazytown, and it's understandable that their corporate overlords might want to encourage them to, y'know, shut the hell up. That may not happen--having made this monster, they're going to have to ride it till November.

In any case, Republicans own it. GOP, meet your new brand ambassadors. They're angry, demonstrative, and won't take "that makes sense as neither policy nor theater" as an answer. Good luck with that.

In any case, a schism may soon emerge on the right. To wit: