To commemorate this, the opening day of the first Teabagger's convention, I bring you the Grifter's Tale.

The beginning of Tim Egan's tale compares Palin to John Edwards (I bet she enjoys that comparison), and it ends with this scathing debunking of Palin's motives for supporting this movement.

If Palin truly believed in the Tea Partiers and their discontent, she would not be charging $100,000 to stoke their fears. She can do that for free, on Fox. And what policy solutions does she offer the troubled middle class? Tax cuts, like the ones that caused this massive deficit to begin with? Preventing new regulation of the banks that got us into this horrid economic collapse, under the guise of “less government”?

She has nothing to offer but honeyed words, the syrup for suckers.

Say what you will about Tea Partiers, but many of them can see through this scheme in Nashville. “Smells scammy,” wrote Red State Blogger Erick Erickson, no friend of the media elite. Others are boycotting it, citing the $549 price for the convention, or the single night tab of $349 to hear Palin.

You could even see a bit of suspicion creep into Glenn Beck, Palin’s enabler on Fox, during the strangest of interviews a few weeks ago.

Beck to Palin: “Who’s your favorite founder?”

Palin: “You know, well, all of them.”

Beck was skeptical.

So Palin, who can’t name a founder any more than she could think of a Supreme Court decision, wants to lead a movement inspired by the founders. If the original tea party had charged a week’s wages to register political outrage, we might still be wearing fussy stockings and bowing to some Lordship arriving in Boston Harbour.

Palin says she’ll plow her take back into “the cause.” Her favorite cause, of course, is Sarah Palin. It came to light this week that her political action committee spent $63,000 to buy copies of “Going Rogue.” It’s a sweet deal: get average people to donate to Palin. She then spends their money on her book, increasing her royalties and exposure. (To read the rest of this New York Times opinion piece, just click the title.)

By the way kids don't forget that today is the first day of the great Teabagging convention. And today's kick off speaker is none other than Tom Tancredo!

You remember Tom don't you? He is the perfectly reasonable guy that called Sonya Sotomayer a racist and who thought that, if attacked by terrorists who happened to be Muslim, the United States should bomb Mecca.

When asked how he would respond if terrorists struck several U.S. cities with nuclear weapons, he said, quote, "If this happens in the United States and we determined that it is the result of extremist fundamentalist Muslims, you know, you could take out their holy sites."

Campbell said, "You're talking about bombing Mecca?"

And Tancredo responded, "Yes."

I guess if the Empire State building were attacked by an Italian that Tancredo would suggest the army blow up the Vatican as well. It only seems fair.

Yep the First Great Teabagging Convention is certainly starting off on the right foot.