WAKE UP AMERICA
Posted on 06/24/2010 11:13:32 PM PDT by Jet Jaguar
With the election season more than halfway over, the "tea party" movement has notched some impressive victories but also learned a hard lesson: There are limits to the power of its anger-fueled insurgency.
The movement scored a big win this week in South Carolina, where state Rep. Nikki Haley romped past a four-term congressman to win the GOP nomination for governor. Still, for all the attention the tea party movement has gotten and all the passion of its followers, a rough accounting at the ballot box shows the movement has just about as many losses as victories.
Money has proved an impediment. Organization — or, rather, the lack of it — has become another.
"Just being a tea party candidate or being an outsider is not enough," said Nathan Gonzales, who tracks elections nationwide for the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report. "You have to have money to establish a level of credibility in order to win. You have to have an organization and a focus to have an effect."
The two candidates who have arguably done the most to raise the party banner, Senate candidates Rand Paul in Kentucky and Sharron Angle in Nevada, were both well funded: Paul through supporters of his father, former Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul, and Angle through a hefty cash infusion from the anti-tax group Club for Growth.
Most tea party candidates have been less fortunate. In the California primary for U.S. Senate, GOP Assemblyman Chuck DeVore of Irvine was a favorite of the movement, but he fell to the millions spent by wealthy businesswoman Carly Fiorina, a more mainstream Republican.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
It is the wins that are important not the losses.
These wins deny leftists and RINOs access to positions of power.
The MSM is just trying to demoralize the Tea Party movement, again.
Now don't tell anyone where you got this but here's a real scoop for you.
In the upcoming election, some Democrats will win, and some will lose.
Some Republicans will win, and some will lose.
Some Tea Party candidates will win, and some will lose.
I know this must be a shock, but it is what it is.
Yep.
How’s the Coffee Party thingie working out for ya?
Coffee Party Victories = NONE
Yea, they are jealous, afraid.
Unlike liberalism, which has no limits.
Seriously, what an idiotic "point".
While I am not positive about this but channeling my President in his ability to decide things without “all of the facts”, I would guess that the LA Times has never seen a spending bill that it did not like or a GOP / Conservative candidate that it would support in a general election. Given that California, the former “Golden State”, has had a Legislative totally gerrymandered to Democratic control for the past several DECADES, how is this advice from the LA Times anywhere close to relevancy? If, as the truism goes, psychotic behavior is demonstrated by doing the same thing over and over again (elect Democrats to control) and expecting a different outcome. Surprise, California, you are a basket-case and the LA Times thinks it is because not enough liberals are being elected! SHOCK!!! /sarcasm
That's a 50 percent win from a group of people that formed a little over a year ago with little money and no organization. Sounds impressive to me.
We'll see if the Democrats who have a lot more money and organizational power can do as well this fall.
Both DeVore and Campbell raised more money than Fiorina.
She bought the election with her own bank account (thanks to that HP payoff when they fired her arse)
"More mainstream" are not words I would use to describe her. Amateur? Yes. Arrogant? Yes. Elitist? Yes. Politically irresponsible? Yes. Trainwreck? Yes. I could go on, but...
Only a dedicated statist would think we're not Taxed Enough Already. The 'fuel' is intelligence, love of country, and real hope for the future.
"Just being a tea party candidate or being an outsider is not enough," said Nathan Gonzales, who tracks elections nationwide for the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report.
Okay. Stop right there.
Anytime a left-wing fish wrap calls an organization, "nonpartisan", you can bet the rent it's so far LEFT it considers Stalin a 'moderate'.
LA Times...hehehe, does anyone actually use this for anything but bird cage liner???
Notice the only ones saying the Tea Party needs to “organize” and “raise money” to be anywhere near a credible political force are the liberal-statists who are deathly afraid of this movement...
The movement is the people, how much more crediblity do you need???
I would advise those that believe that the Tea Party needs to organize more and raise money, and establish some sort of “leadership” caste...Those people with those aspirations should be mindful that it may be better to hold off on that vanity pursuit until after this next election...Let the movement dictate policy and pick its leaders...
Don’t just assume that if your out there humping it, organizing and getting the word out about events and politicians schmoozing you to get some microphone time at a rally, that there should be an assumtion that your a “leader”...
I believe the movement and the so-called leaders should keep it real, keep the people fired up and aware of issues and those politicials and candidates who are doing the right things, get those people to the polls in November (first and foremost!!!) lets get them elected and then look at fine-tuning this into a credible entity...If it needs to...
Just my opinion...
The title is correct, the Tea Party is not a shoe in...so we have to make sure we don’t buy into polls and all show up to vote in November.
Post #6 and #7 Thank you! I was wondering about the Coffee Party which was so touted by the MSM. Funny, we don’t hear a peep out of them anymore?
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