I think it’s less about insulting them, and more a out no longer treating them with the utmost respect. We (and by we I don’t just mean lefties) should have called them weird when they called themselves the the tea party, but we handled absolutely insane rhetoric by trying to meet it from a place of thoughtful and respectful academic discussion. It was always the wrong strategy.

That said it could very easily backfire. Going to far would look really childish. I think weird really hits home with how most reasonable people feel about these guys.

Anyone who is afraid of bears has absolutely no experience in the wild. It might do you some good to actually get that experience in the wild. A hike is much better for your brain than writing a post about how outraged you are that someone “made a ridiculous exercise meant to rile people up”