Not YOU again. Get out of here with your fake “right”ing.
No matter what happens in Nov., Paul Ryan is positioned to be the next leader of the GOP. That’s a victory for the Tea Party.
The following is the complete article and the real title
WARNING Conservatives: Tepid TEA Party Not Boiling In Florida.
I’m concerned about the unrestrained euphoria of conservatives who believe that the Tea Party is unstoppable and that the election will be a rout in November. As a Cub fan I haven’t dealt with it often, but I’ve heard that over confidence can lead to disaster. (Somehow the Cubs are able to invite disaster without it.) The TEA Party candidates lost Tuesday in Florida and Wisconsin. Even after flirting with attractions to elements of ObamaCare, former Governor Tommy Thompson won in Wisconsin. The Queen of TEA herself endorsed Rep. Sandy Adams but even that couldn’t create a repeat of the Texas grassroots tsunami experienced by the Palin/Cruz combo. What happened? If this brings new calls that the TEA Party is dead, that is just as ignorant as thinking that it can’t be stopped. I’ve been trashed for trying to bring a little perspective to the real TEA Party power, and no doubt the Pollyannas will think I’m trying to water it down. Nothing could be further from the truth. What I’ve learned in 30 years of business is that while faith may move mountains, NOT accurately understanding your predicament can bring a mountain crashing down upon you. Even in Texas where the Cruz win is cited as a TEA Party victory, only 1/3rd of GOP voters would self-identify themselves as with the movement. This fits with national statistics that only about 27% of Americans drink the TEA. The more sobering stat is that 24% support Occupy Wall Street. But you won’t hear that in conservative media. According to RedState last week, TEA candidates have only about a 46.6% success rate in elections. That’s quite good compared to ANY movement, but it also highlights some realities. It is not a big enough constituency to overcome infighting. Both of Governor Thompson’s challengers in Wisconsin could be considered TEA Party candidates, but they split the vote three ways, must like they did in the GOP Presidential Primary. There is no way around the fact that the TEA Party has influence. I’ve been meaning to blog about a local Texas “conservative” who tried to dismiss the Cruz win as political opportunism instead of riled up grassroots patriots who turned out in record numbers. It’s simply not true. In Texas, the TEA affiliates turned out over 75% of their “members” as opposed to the rank and file GOP who turned out less than 50%. It made the difference. But just as Reagan’s wins didn’t mean that the “blue dog” Democrats became Republicans, we TEA types can’t assume our numbers are greater than they are. They still require us to keep focused on a few core issues or we will continue to let less disciplined and conviction minded candidates into power who are much more likely to be usurped by the establishment. The GOP establishment is in control as witnessed by Romney’s clear delegate advantage and the nearly-invisible absence of even one TEA Party affiliate on the 168 member GOP governing committee. Ted Cruz was right in saying that if we can get from 4 or 5 reliable TEA Senators to 10 or 12, you can start making changes. The TEA Party 22 wasn’t enough to stop the O-Boehner-nation in the debt ceiling debate (Paul Ryan was with the GOP establishment) and even a 2010 increase still might not be enough to make a difference. It will take time. It’s a shame we lost two opportunities yesterday. There are still some candidates to support. Martha Zoller is one of those that has Gingrich/Palin TEA support and is neck and neck with another CINO. Please help her before her August 21 runoff. The difference will be in DELIVERING real spending cuts and reforms. Paul Ryan, Eric Cantor and John Boehner made a Pledge to America and broke it almost instantaneously upon taking power. No apologies. Just typical rationalizing rhetoric. Even the freshman TEA class of 2010 ended up being baby RINO’s as a whole, further tarnishing the “conservative” brand. It was the same GOP leadership under George Bush that turned a 60% Congressional approval rating under Newt Gingrich, into the depths that let Pelosi and Reid into power. It turns out RINO Senator Trent Lott was right. Once they get in Washington they turn them. And it is why we can not settle for those who capitulate to the big government, GOP establishment or cheer them too loudly. The TEA party IS enough to put the fear of Good Government into them. But if you hop and board and cheer endlessly as if they were Ronald Reagan or Milton Friedman, they will continue to think they can say what they want on the stump, and soften their stance when it really counts. When they have they have the power. Moreover, Florida is the swinging-est of swing states and needs to coalesce around whoever the nominee. But I feel it poetic that the TEA party couldn’t get it done in the state where the GOP Presidential convention is being held. Maybe we’ll get lucky and a few remaining patriots will actually stand up to the establishment and not make it so easy for Romney and company to bamboozle the assembly with a watered down platform and key elected positions.
Here in Wisconsin I voted for Mark Neumann, the Tea Party candidate. Neumann finished third for among other reasons he was relentlessly negative and most of his ads consisted of throwing mud at the other candidates. Add that to the fact that Thompson is still very popular in Wisconsin and maybe the most well-known state pol. Tommy still only got 35% of the vote. I find it more curious that Tammy Baldwin ran unopposed in the Dem primary. Not one Dem challenged her for an open seat while four Pubbies ran in their primary.
No one bats .1000!
Here’s an historical analogy:
Pearl Harbor- defeat
Wake Island- defeat
Bataan- defeat
Singapore, Burma, Nanking- defeat after defeat
Air Raid on Tokyo- sacrificial, minor win
Midway?
Coral Sea?
Iwo Jima?
Hiroshima?
Perseverance and one swing of the bat...can change everything.
27% is huge. Moat of these people will vote, 50% of the nation won't bother. Initially only about 33% supported the idea of independence from England, so that's getting close. I wouldn't poo poo 27%. Consider what gay "rights" activists have done with less because they fanatically promote their cause. The key is ambitiously doing something.
Thanks for throwing cold water on an energized base...maybe if enough of these articles are posted it will become a self-fulfilling prophesy. Why don’t you join the MSM?
I hate to see Mica going back to Congress and its disappointing that three candidates that were more conservative than Tommy Thompson squared off against him and split the conservative vote.
I wish we could win them all. But the establishment candidates are usually better funded and sometimes are better campaigners.
We know we will be fighting the commies in the general election. We are going to have to get better at fighting in the primaries. My opinion is that we too often let the primaries sneak up on us and then find we have several conservatives splitting the vote against one squishy moderate.
The struggle never ends.
“only about 27% of Americans drink the TEA. The more sobering stat is that 24% support Occupy Wall Street”
I’m concerned that any conservative would believe these are equal movements.
The TEA Party is grassroots.
OWS is a paid group of do-nothings being used to stir the pot against capitalism.
Allen West, Tea Party hero kicked ass and took names. (As usual)
Allen West, Tea Party hero kicked ass and took names. (As usual)
Allen West, Tea Party hero kicked ass and took names. (As usual)