Rick Santelli's Chicago Tea Party

Rick Santelli of CNBC seemed to capture lightning in a bottle with his anti-Obama housing plan rant on CNBC Thursday morning (you can see the video here). I've probably received 25 invitations to join new "Chicago Tea Party" Facebook groups or events, and CNBC ran a poll to see what percentage of web viewers would want to join Rick for his July 4th Tea Party. Here's what the poll looked like after I voted:

K-Lo at The Corner described the reaction she's been hearing:

I've had a case of deja vu today.

I'm noticing the tone. I'm seeing the enthusiasm. And I'm digging out from the sheer volume of e-mails I've been getting today about that CNBC dude. The reaction to Rick Santelli's Chicago-trading-floor incident this morning echoes the emotional reaction my inbox had to Sarah Palin's convention speech this summer.

I make no endorsements. It's just an observation.

I think people are hungry for someone who is fed up with the way things are and who seem to believe in something enough to know there in an alternative worth fighting for. Some of the voices may be far from perfect, but Americans are looking for signs of the life of an alternative. And so if a representative pops up — someone who appears to have roots and energy, folks will cheer them on in the hopes there's a candidate here. Maybe not a presidential candidate, but a leader of some sort. Someone who can offer a vision of something other than a culture of bailout.

Today, Rick Santelli was that sign of life.

The enthusiasm will probably die down, but I think a new star is born.

UPDATE: With nearly 140,000 responses, the poll now shows 93% "yes". The idea is very popular.