Recently, the MSNBC special report “Rise of the New Right: A Hardball Documentary with Chris Matthews” took a hard look at the current surge of of rightwing anger and anti-government fervor — a trend I’ve documented since the election of Barack Obama as president. On June 16, I reported on the original cablecast of the documentary. Now, in a 6-day period, I’m featuring a different segment of the six-part series each day.

“Rise of the New Right” — Part 4: Who Runs the Tea Party?

Just who is in charge of the Tea Party? Its rising stars. (05:00)

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Related video

Rise of the New Right: Rand Paul on Rachel Maddow (June 11, 2010) — Tea Party favorite Rand Paul appears on the Rachel Maddow Show on May 19, 2010, the day after he won the Republican nomination for Senate in Kentucky. (19:19)

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Related reports on this site

Extremism Rises in America (June 16, 2010)

The growing fear among some citizens of losing their rights and freedoms has created a political backlash toward the U.S. government and manifested itself in violent rhetoric and anti-government groups who want to “take their country back.” Chris Matthews takes a hard look at the recent surge of anger on the political right in “Rise of the New Right: A Hardball Documentary with Chris Matthews” on MSNBC.

“Rise of the New Right” — Part 1 (July 7, 2010)

“Rise of the New Right” — Part 2 (July 8, 2010)

“Rise of the New Right” — Part 3 (July 9, 2010)

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — July 10, 2009

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) at the Sartell SummerFest Parade, Sat., June 14, 2008, promising $2 gas with a “Drill Here, Drill Now” strategy of increasing supply. (Photo credit: St. Cloud Times)

Michele Bachmann’s March of Folly

One-year retrospective: One year ago today, I provided a comprehensive summary and documentation of U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann’s extremist rhetoric, incendiary demagoguery, and misrepresentation since her 2008 reelection to the United States House of Representatives in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District.