Posted on 09/12/2010 11:10:30 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
North Carolina voters won't see "tea party" anywhere on their election ballots this November.
But the movement promises to be a wild card in fiercely competitive races this year, one that could tip the balance of power in Raleigh and Washington.
Across the country, the grassroots coalition that espouses tax cuts and smaller government is energizing voters. Its supporters in the Cape Fear region are meeting in churches, passing out copies of the U.S. Constitution and paying for billboards that say "Vote to Take Back America!"
Although many tea partyers are conservative, their growing numbers don't guarantee Republicans more votes. Still, several national polls suggest a tsunami against incumbents in this midterm election. Other surveys show some state lawmakers from Fayetteville - all Democrats - are facing their stiffest competition in years.
A Fayetteville rally last week, sponsored by the tea party-supporting Americans for Prosperity, drew about 350 people, organizers say. Nationwide, five candidates backed by the tea party have won races this year, including last month's ouster of an Alaska Republican U.S. senator. But most political observers say the GOP stands to benefit the most from tea party enthusiasm.
"The whole tea party movement is a reaction to basically Obama policies," said Carter Wrenn, a Republican strategist in Raleigh. "How is that going to help the Democrats?"
Suzanne Rucker, chairwoman of the Cumberland County Republican Party, said the tea partyers aren't happy with everything about the GOP. She is not worried, however, about the movement siphoning away votes from the base.
"Like in our own families, we have our differences of opinion, but by mid-October, we will unite," she said.
The backlash began in early 2009 after the passages of the mortgage bailout bill and the $787 billion stimulus package. Protesters with "taxpayer revolt" signs rallied in downtown Fayetteville. The cause took off nationwide with Tax Day rallies at post offices on April 15, 2009. The supporters, reminiscent of the Boston Tea Party, adopted the moniker: "Tax Enough Already."
Region supporters
They are people such as Dee Park, a 73-year-old retired college professor in Pinehurst. She worries about the national debt her children and grandchildren will inherit. She is chairwoman for Moore TEA Citizens, a registered nonprofit lobbying and advocacy group that claims a following of more than 1,500 people. It's an eclectic mix, she said.
"We have people from all persuasions, and the thing we have in common is sharing the concern of excessive spending," she said. "We think the federal government is out of control."
The group has sponsored three highway billboards, including one visible along Interstate 95. They hand out pocket-sized copies of the Constitution and march in parades.
"We'll go wherever people will ask us," said Park, who attended the Glenn Beck rally in Washington on Aug. 28.
In Fayetteville, Heather Harrison is president of We the People of the Sandhills, a tea party chapter with about 500 members. The 43-year-old is the mother of three children and a devoted Christian. Her husband is in the Army. She said she is a registered Republican but no longer identifies with the party.
Harrison said she got involved last year "because I was angry." She and her members are spreading their gospel of fiscal responsibility by mouth and on the Internet.
This year, her group endorsed Raeford businessman Tim D'Annunzio in the 8th Congressional District Republican primary. D'Annunzio became a lightning rod for controversy but gained loyal support across the district, which includes part of Cumberland County. On the stump, he advocated for the elimination of 15 federal agencies.
D'Annunzio lost in a June runoff to retired Charlotte sportscaster Harold Johnson, who was publicly backed by the state and national Republican Party. That turned off some tea party followers who distrust the establishment.
Harrison said she won't vote for Johnson.
"I refuse to hold my nose and vote the lesser of two evils," she said. "I voted for (John) McCain simply because of Sarah Palin."
Johnson spokesman Bryan Holladay said the tea party is just another group of voters, like Libertarians and moderate Democrats, who want change.
"Harold's big message is Washington is not working, and that message goes across the board for all of these groups," he said.
Ferrel Guillory, a political observer and a lecturer in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said the tea party coalition is limited in North Carolina.
"That is not to say there is an absence of (voter) discontent," he said.
Guillory said some Republican candidates have been careful to avoid being closely aligned with the tea party.
"I'm not saying the Republicans have to become raging moderates, but they have to kind of keep their distance from the tea party-types," he said.
Some Democratic candidates are calling tea party members "far right" and out of touch with mainstream America.
The Rev. Floyd Johnson Jr., leader of the Cumberland County Democratic Party, said the tea party is a "clan of the Republican Party," which wants President Obama to fail. He doesn't believe the tea party will influence the outcome of local races.
Becki Gray, vice president for outreach at the John Locke Foundation, said the tea party will affect the elections. She has spoken at many rallies across the state. The conservative-leaning foundation is a public policy research group in Raleigh
"It's a real groundswell of citizens who are concerned about things happening in our state," she said.
Tea party numbers are hard to track. The state recognizes only three party affiliations, and the tea party is not one of them. The movement has no national officers or formal organization. According to Americans for Prosperity, the North Carolina chapter has about 100,000 members, or double the amount since the tea party movement began.
Several Republican congressional candidates are sympathetic to the tea party members' ideals and welcome them into the fold. They include Republican challengers Ilario Pantano of Wilmington for the 7th Congressional District and Renee Ellmers of Dunn for the 2nd District. Both are running against long-sitting Democratic incumbents.
"Members of the tea party and concerned citizens across the 7th District are embracing Ilario's conservative message and his vision for the future of our district and our country," said Pantano campaign manager Andy Yates in an e-mail.
In August, Ellmers picked up the endorsement of Palin - one of the tea party's favorite voices.
The coalition claimed one early victory in North Carolina. Tea party-backed Bill Randall defeated three others in the Republican primary in the 13th Congressional District, which stretches from Raleigh to Greensboro. Randall will face a Democratic incumbent Nov. 2.
Jordan Shaw, spokesman for the state GOP, said tea partyers are seeking change and, for the most part, will benefit conservative candidates.
"We are excited about the tea party," he said.
The members are excited about next month, when they can begin casting their ballots after almost two years of frustration.
As did I...
I notice this article and one by the Washington Post on the forum right now show that news outlets are not using capital letters in the ‘tea party’ name. I haven’t noticed this before - wonder if Journolist v2.0 has decided this or?
ping
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