Back during the height of the glorious tea party summer, Democrats were genuinely frightened. Congressional offices were getting slammed by hostile phone calls constantly and, for some reason, it was really messing with their heads. I don't know why Dem congressional offices pay attention to phone calls from people who would obviously never vote for them, but for some reason they do. And of course back then the media was portraying them all as glorious non-partisan independent Real Americans, instead of the right wing crazies we've always had with is.
Things change.
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley added that he believed Republicans should compromise earlier to remove what he called their “Tea Party obstructionist stench.”