Thank you, Rick Santelli

It's been a year since he stood on the CBOT floor and gripped the country with his heartfelt outcry. The White House press secretary singled him out for abuse, as did many in the MSM, but Santelli is still around, and now it's a movement with electoral clout:

"Tea parties and these movements have been around, obviously. I think it did find a moment of clarity and maybe I helped bring that about, but it was not through any actions of mine I did post-Feb. 19. … I have no desire to be its leader, but I'm proud as hell … to have been a part of creating it."

I happen to think it's no coincidence he came out of Chicago, where the corrupt Dem political machine is in stark contrast to the trading transparency on the floor of the exchange, and sounded a warning on moral hazard that is even more acute today:

The tea party movement has snowballed in the interim, a political force borne of distrust of what the government and its priorities have become, giving those who feel disenfranchised a sense of empowerment.

"It doesn't need an explanation. It just needs a voting booth," Santelli said. "I identify with the philosophy … that this country is about entrepreneurship, capitalism, individualism, speaking up, having an opinion."

Thank you, Rick Santelli. You are a great American.