The Tea Party was written off as a spent force after November. Much like Occupy Wall Street, the funny radicals in three-cornered hats seemed destined to fade away. But the obituaries arrived too soon. In scheduling in the next cliff to coincide with the expiry of America’s sovereign debt ceiling, President Barack Obama has handed them an opportunity. The next seven weeks will be the Tea Party’s point of maximum leverage. The goal will be to conserve it for as long as possible (the more cliffs the better). But the urge for a showdown will also be strong.
11月之后，茶党(Tea Party)已被人一笔勾销。就像占领华尔街(Occupy Wall Street)运动一样，这些戴着三角帽的滑稽的激进分子似乎注定会被人淡忘。不过先别急着宣告他们的湮灭。巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)总统将下一个财政悬崖推迟至美国触及国债上限的时候，这将令茶党人士获得可乘之机。今后七周是茶党用最小的努力就能获得最大收益的时期，他们的目标将是把这段时期延续得越长越好（“悬崖”越多对他们越有利）。不过，摊牌的冲动也将非常强劲。