I think you’re right. It’s astounding that Pelousi et al. find it inconceivable that Tea Partiers would show up without getting paid—how much they are not understanding! (I’ll be painting my signs in the morning & will be out in the afternoon. If I had the money I’d be in DC.)
Pelosi knows better. She's just making unsubstantiated claims to try to make the grass-roots Tea Party movement seem nefarious to the general public.
Problem is, we ARE the general public! She's only made herself look like a fool, with those remarks.
If she and her co-conspirators in Congress are lucky, they'll only suffer being kicked out of office in November. It could get much uglier for them, given the fury of the public mood right now.