The Tea Party and the GOP

Wall Street Journal Online ^ | 9/8/2010 | Opinion Journal

[mac_truck]

The tea party movement has largely been a boon for the country, reviving the case for limited government and a properly understood Constitution. Now that the general election campaign is near, however, we'll see how well the movement and its favored candidates can close the sale and pragmatically advance their goals.

We say this in particular about their relationship to the Republican Party, and vice versa. The GOP is a more natural ideological home for most tea partiers than is the other major party, but they also suspect many Republicans of committing pragmatism, if not selling out too easily to Beltway mores. They have a point.

On the other hand, sometimes you need a few "wets" to gain a majority and advance your own ideas. Ask Nancy Pelosi, who rode the victories of Rahm Emanuel's hand-picked Blue Dog Democrats to the House Speakership in 2006 and then used them to pass 40 years of liberal dreams in this Congress.

This political dilemma is coming to a head in next week's Senate primary in Delaware to determine the GOP nominee for Joe Biden's former seat. Congressman and former Governor Mike Castle is running and is thought to be an easy general election winner. This would be a net GOP gain in a blue state that gave President Obama 62% of the vote in 2008. Such pickups aren't easy to come by.

[MNJohnnie]

Maybe instead of mindlessly whoring for the RNC they might check the polls. In July O’Donnell was tied in that same poll with Coons. Now, after the multi million RNC smear job on her, she is behind.

Well if an RNC funded smear job can move the polls against O’Donnell in 30 days, then more ads for her from them can move the polls back in the next 45 days.

Castle is a Jeffords in the making. A political sell out who will take the election to the Senate as a Republican then sell his seat to the Dems in Jan. Instead of propagandizing for a traitor in waiting, they should get behind the only Republican candidate in the race.

[Westbrook]

> Instead of propagandizing for a traitor in waiting, they
> should get behind the only Republican candidate in the
> race.

They won’t.

That means they are either the Stupid Party or the Complicit Party.

I’m beginning to lean towards the latter characterization.

[Zack Nguyen]

On the other hand, sometimes you need a few "wets" to gain a majority and advance your own ideas. Ask Nancy Pelosi, who rode the victories of Rahm Emanuel's hand-picked Blue Dog Democrats to the House Speakership in 2006 and then used them to pass 40 years of liberal dreams in this Congress.

Here's the problem: in the Democrat Party, the hard left is the tail that wags the dog. Pelosi will tolerate a few Congressmen who mouth words about being pro-life, but when it's crunch time she'll do whatever it takes to pass a bill.

In the Republican Party the hard right has no such hold on the party. I can't imagine the Republican Party pushing as hard to pass, say, a Fair Tax, as the Democrats did to pass health care. I plan to vote straight Republican this fall; but I do so with eyes wide open. The Republican Party must learn its lesson.

[AndyJackson]

The GOP is a more natural ideological home for most tea partiers than is the other major party, but they also suspect many Republicans of committing pragmatism, if not selling out too easily to Beltway mores. They have a point.

A point? A point? How about a full up conviction on multiple counts of incest, rape and treason? The only question is whether they should be sent to work camps for reeducation or just made to walk the plank.

[mac_truck]

In July O’Donnell was tied in that same poll with Coons.

Here is the latest Rasssmussen poll. It was taken yesterday. It shows Castle easily beating Democrat Coons and Democrat Coons easily beating O'Donnell.

Rasssmussen 9/7/10 Election 2010: Delaware Senate

[MNJohnnie]

Last month, Coons held a similar 46% to 36% lead over O’Donnell after the candidates were virtually tied in July.

Would you RNC drones try actually READING the poll you all are so keen to site? 30 days ago in the SAME poll she was TIED with Coons.

Instead of working so hard to elect a Jeffords in waiting, get behind the only real Republican in this race.

[mac_truck]

I’m not interesting in statistical anomilies Johnnie, I’m interesting in taking control of Congress.

[mac_truck]

interesting =interested.

[Apple Pan Dowdy]

Westbrook, do you mean “Complicit Party” as in “also guilty”?

If so, then I agree. They are not only Complicit, but they are complacent about it. They know that in the end we will vote for one of the two main parties (to vote for a 3rd party is wasting a vote). And they also know that Tea Partyers won’t vote Democratic. As we have done in the past, we will vote for the lesser of two evils. That’s how we got George Bush, who wasn’t exactly Mr. Conservative and who led us gently towards the New World Order that his father also spoke of.

The question is .... who can we vote for if there is not a real conservative in the running? We seem to have a few in local and state positions. Even a tiny few in congressional positions, but I doubt seriously that the “machine” that runs the politics of the country (both parties and the same guys who are ushering us ever forward to that New World Order) will allow a conservative to get past the primaries for POTUS. My guess is that the Rebublican Party will try the same ole trick they tried last time around..... a RHINO for President paired up with a conservative for Vice President just to insure we get excited about it and vote.

I don’t know what the answer is. We need a shining knight to ride in on a white horse (another Reagan).

[mac_truck]

Here's the problem: in the Democrat Party, the hard left is the tail that wags the dog. Pelosi will tolerate a few Congressmen who mouth words about being pro-life, but when it's crunch time she'll do whatever it takes to pass a bill.

In the Republican Party the hard right has no such hold on the party. I can't imagine the Republican Party pushing as hard to pass, say, a Fair Tax, as the Democrats did to pass health care.

You raise a good point and the Tea Party does seem to be attempting to fill the hard right void in the Republican party. It remains to be seen how effective that strategy will be going forward.

[lowtaxsmallgov]

Hmmmmmm, we are very close to blowing it in Nevada, now we want to risk blowing it in Delaware too? Delaware is not where we ought to be fighting these battles.

The Dems followed exactly Buckley’s strategy “recall William F. Buckley Jr.’s counsel that his policy was to vote for the most conservative candidate who could win” and that’s how they got to be in the position they are in.

I agree that Castle will give us heartburn at times, but he’ll be better than Biden was or Coons would be. We need to be fighting the battle in places like...
- Nebraska - Ben Nelson (D)
- Florida - Bill Nelson (D)
- Pennsylvania - Bob Casey (D)
- Ohio - Sherrod Brown (D)
- North Dakota - Kent Conrad (D)
- Missouri - Claire McCaskill (D)
- Montana - Jon Tester (D)
- Virginia - Jim Webb (D)

There may be a few others, maybe if Chris Gibson wins in NY20 this year he’ll come after Kirsten Gillibrand in 2012, that would be kind of fun.

[mac_truck]

Delaware is not where we ought to be fighting these battles.

I agree. The Tea Party would be much better served plowing an additional 250K into the campaign to defeat Harry Reid.

[Westbrook]

By nature, conservatives are private individuals who like to mind their own business. They don’t usually have a lot of time or a lot of money, since their focus is mostly faith, family, and work or business.

By nature, leftists are meddling busybodies with a lot of time on their hands. Their kids are raised by the nanny state, so they don’t bother with them, and they don’t tend to be churchgoeers, so they don’t get involved with faith-based activities.

They usually have alot of money at their disposal, placed there by one-world-order gazillionaires who see the average Leftist as a useful idiot.

The Leftist busybody thinks everybody should live in squalor with a standard of living like, say, Kenya. That way, he thinks Mother Earth is being protected and he is an active part in preserving his beloved Gaia.

Meanwhile, the gazillionaires that finance these morons are living large and mixing it up with pubescent sex slaves.

The Leftist-Useful-Idiot-Loser and the Gazillionaire-One-Worlder: a symbiosis made in Hell.

[Apple Pan Dowdy]

WOW, Westbrook, you summed it all up nicely. And I totally agree!

[lowtaxsmallgov]

And therein lies problem - the Dems have way more money than we do. We could have taken an easy win with Tarkanian in Nevada and saved our firepower for some other battles, but instead we go with Angle and have to pour a tremendous amount of resources - money and people - to help her out - and even then she might lose.

[mac_truck]

Clearly a grassroots organization like the Tea Party can make a difference by supplying resources to like minded candidates who otherwise would not be able to compete. The question (imo) is whether this has a overall positive or negative effect on election outcomes.

In the case of Joe Miller I would argue the effect is positive, in the case of Sharron Angle you might argue the effect is negative.

My concern for Angle is that she receive as much support as needed. It would be a shame if Angle loses by a small margin while the Tea Party squandered resources in Delaware.

This of course assumes that the Tea Party is actually interested in winning elections, not just removing incumbants from office. ;^)