ARE THE BAGGERS DEFENDING A MYTH?

That may go a long way to explaining their inconsistent behavior. Mark Thoma writes:

I've been thinking about the extent to which the tea party movement represents resistance to and resentment over waning power in rural America. Obama is a symbol of a shift toward urban interests. Rural America senses that he represents a major shift in the political landscape, one that will no longer put the white male farmer at the center of the American political landscape. Even though the majority of the population moved to cities long ago, the rural myth persisted in American politics. The "small town values" that politicians pay so much attention to is a reflection of this, and Obama is a signal that the special place rural America holds in American politics is coming to an end.

I think the Baggers incessant screaming about socialism is part of this because socialism goes against the myth of the wholly self-made man.