The Tea Party Train Wreck That Never Happened

Washington Examiner ^ | December 20, 2011 | Noemie Emery

[lbryce]

Three weeks ago, E.J. Dionne (or "Baghdad Bob," as James Taranto has called him) saw nothing but doom in the GOP's future, as "the Republican establishment ... is essentially powerless," having surrendered its soul to the evil Tea Party, which has driven the country to hell.

Events since have proved this judgment mistaken: The establishment lives, and is doing its duty; part of the Tea Party has been merging with it; and the "system" is working as planned.

What are the signs that the system is working? When the prospect of former House speaker Newt Gingrich as the presidential nominee of the Republican Party first appeared to be rising, first responders from all parts of the party rushed to their stations en masse.

Former House colleagues called him unstable. The National Review termed him "erratic." Ann Coulter called him all hat and no cattle. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., weighed in with a similar judgment.

Tea Party stars rushed to shore up Mitt Romney, the most probable Gingrich alternative. Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J., had already endorsed him. Gov. Nikki Haley, R-S.C., now endorsed him. Christine O'Donnell, who unseated Rep. Mike Castle in Delaware's GOP Senate primary, endorsed the ex-moderate.

This was bad news for Dionne and his friends, who have waiting been three years for a Tea Party blowup (which they ought to know now is not likely to happen), and for the suicide wing of the conservative movement, which blames all its woes on establishment cunning, and calls the Coulters and Coburns RINOs and worse.

For the rest of the world, it was an unrelieved blessing. In a matter of days the Newt boom subsided, and the former speaker fell gently to Earth.

[lbryce]

It is a testament to the profoundly patriotic conviction, sense of moral righteousness of those who perservered against all odds in making the Tea Party, the adoption of its principles, the success it has been, certainly will continue to be. There were untold number of reasons the Tea Party might have faded away. It succeeded as well as it has as a result of the truest form of patriotism, love of country by the intrepid citizenry who made in happen, as guided by the US Constitution as divinely inspired document having preserved this great nation of ours through centuries of turbulence, adversity, when having destroyed lesser nations in the process. God Bless The Tea Party! God Bless America!

[dirtboy]

What this shows is that once too many conservatives get the smell of power and influence in their nostrils, they want to keep it there. Hence the desire to line up for Romney.

[Timber Rattler]

The TEA Party will never succeed as long as its candidates keep on cozying up to the corrupt, decrepit GOP-E.

[Jukeman]

We have much work to do in winning the conservative battle to cleanse the GOP of “country club” mentality.

[driftless2]

The Newt boom hasn’t subsided. And I’m not backing Newt either. These pundits, like Emerie, who think Romney has been cleared and anointed by the Tea Party faithful are in for a rude shock. The plain truth is that while many Tea Partiers will vote for Romney if he is the nominee, few like him. In fact, many dislike him intensely. I’m not in the latter group, but Mitt is far down my list of prospective candidates. He’s only in front of Ron Paul who I will not vote for no matter what.

[sickoflibs]

The real test will be next years Novembers elections.

2008 was an automatic win for Democrats
2010 was an automatic win for Republicans

The real test will be 2012 as neither party has an automatic advantage (split government) and both are accusing the other of trying to destroy the economy.

Will the next congress have more or less Republicans?
Will the Republicans be more or less conservative?

[apillar]

The problem with the people that make up the “tea party” (which is just the current incarnation of the “Moral Majority” of the Reagan era). Is they tend to be like a huge, but lazy, bear. When they feel threatened or are riled up, nothing can stop them, they roll over everything in their path (see 1980, 1994, and 2010). However, as soon as they feel the threat has past, they are content to go back into hibernation. Unfortunately, because of the sheer magnitude of the muscle they flexed in 2010, many are content to declare victory and go back to sleep.

[skinkinthegrass]

The pitchfork & tar/feathers are ready. :-D

[hosepipe]

[ The TEA Party will never succeed as long as its candidates keep on cozying up to the corrupt, decrepit GOP-E. ]

Welcome to earth.. which planet are you from..

Nov. 2010 was a rehearsal.. Nov. 2012 is the main event..

[kevkrom]

I said this a long time ago, and it still continues to be true. The media writes about the TEA Party as if it were a traditional single monolithic organization.

It’s not, and never has been.

The TEA party is an overall mentality, focused on stopping the out-of-control spending (and associated taxation) by the government. It is strictly speaking an economic conservative phenomenon (with a heavy dash of economic libertarianism) without any real respect to social or foreign policy issues.

That’s why some self-identified TEA Party types are Paul supporters and others are going for Romney — on the whole, the entire GOP field is solid on economic issues (yes, some are better than others based on specific perspectives, but all are dramatically better than Obama); where they differ is on foreign policy and social issues, exactly those things that don;t actually define the TEA Party.

So it shouldn’t be unexpected that self-identified TEA Partiers and various splinter groups and/or their leaders are picking a wide array of candidates. Even dismissing the self-interest of accumulating political clout and power, the loose alliance of interests that make up the TEA Party will not always agree on many other non-economic issues.

[PieterCasparzen]

Many who were swept into office with a great deal of help from the Tea Party have sold out to the establishment in the interest of furthering their political career.

Conservatives need do “repeat” in 2012, clean house, and bring in new blood.

[melsec]

Seems to me that a) there was not enough cohesion amonst the group to support just one candidate b) they gave a way their support too easily and too early before squeezing the candidates for more of what they wanted.

So, sadly, the staus quo seems to have remained for the most part.

Mel

[NeilGus]

I generally agree.

I would vote for Romney but don’t really want to. But most of all I want O gone.

He is ahead of Newt and Paul to me.

[Georgia Girl 2]

You are right. The Newt boom has not subsided. Millions of republicans have not suddenly fallen in love with Mitt or Ron Paul. The Iowa Caucus is a screwy primary every year. In addition Mitt and Paul have been running non stop negative ads agains’t Newt and he has not been countering them. That will make anybody’s numbers go down. I think Newt has finally woken up and realized you cannot totally run a positive campaign. You have to strike back sometimes. Look for Newt to come in in the top 3 in Iowa and NH and take SC, FL and most of the competetive states.

[Diogenesis]

The Tea Party has no interest in Romney.

YOU ARE THERE

The reason RINOs, MSM and Democrats LOVE Mitt Romney

The ineligible tyrant carpetbagger Mitt Romney:
"I bet you $10,000 that the 'death panels' and havoc we enforce now
will not even concern you, as you rot behind bars,
and I pretend that I only 'worked in the private sector'."

Emergency room visits grow in Mass. "

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Democratic Governor Deval Patrick landed a neutron bomb, proposing hard
price controls across almost all Massachusetts health care."

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"We're going to have to, if you're very old, we're not going to give you all that
technology and all those drugs for the last couple of years of your life to keep you
maybe going for another couple of months. It's too expensive...so we're going to let
you die." Robert Reich for Barack Obama"

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"PriceWaterhouseCoopers concluded that the cost of health insurance for the average
family will rise by $4,000 by 2019"

---

"DEATH PANELS OPEN FOR BUSINESS IN MASSACHUSETTS
You can't reap these savings without limiting patients' choices in some way,"

---

"President Obama's newly confirmed regulatory czar defended the
possibility of removing organs from terminally ill patients without their permission."

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"You can't reap these savings without limiting patients' choices in some way," said Paul Levy, CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess."

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"State plan may place limits on patients' hospital options( Mass. RomneyCare )"

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"Romney Visits Nebraska, Talks Health Care [where he defends Romneycare]"

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"Paying the Health Tax in Massachusetts [Romneycare]
How did we become outlaws? "

---

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"One of the traditional methods of imposing statism
or socialism on people has been by way of medicine..."
President Ronald Reagan

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"National Health Preview - The Massachusetts debacle, coming soon to your neighborhood."
As costs continue to rise, the inevitable results are coverage restrictions and waiting periods. It was only a matter of time.
"

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A Very Sick Health Plan; Bay State's 'Grand Experiment' Fails [RomneyCare]

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"Hospital patients 'left in agony" "We saw patients drinking out of..."

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Health care in Massachusetts: a warning for America [Romney brings Mass. to its knees]"

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"'Severe' doc shortage seen hiking wait time"

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"Health costs to rise again.( RomneyCare )"

[Logical me]

I am becoming very suspicious of Christie, Nikki Haley, and Christine O’Donnell. To endorse a moderate conservative with baggage much bigger than Newt gives me the uneasy feeling about these three. Are they hiding something or are they just that dumb.

[LZ_Bayonet]

"Many who were swept into office with a great deal of help from the Tea Party have sold out to the establishment in the interest of furthering their political career."

I'm not sure that's true, ex. the current "Payroll Tax" bill in the House. Many would have preferred more from them, but I realize conservatives don't own the WH or Senate and so they are doing their best under tough circumstanes. If we want them to do more we have to change control of the Senate and/or WH.

[Forward the Light Brigade]

The Tea Party aint done! When The GOP forces Mittens down our throat you will see a Jihad against the Lounge Lizard RINOs You will see by March or April—a new Rise in the Tea Party—now as a real party of change and reform. Ignore us at your peril! The torch of freedom will never be extinguished nor fall to perversity! A new America must replace what corruption has forged in Washington DC. There will be a new wind rise up—a new order! and a new hope. God Bless America.

[ez]

Are they hiding something or are they just that dumb.

Or were they promised something? Like money from American Crossroads for their next election? That you, Karl Rove?

[Timber Rattler]

Well, I wish I was as optimistic as you, but all I’m seeing right now is TEA Party “leaders” and elected office holders getting coopted by the GOP-3. O’Donnell, Haley, and half the House freshmen who got elected in 2010, for example.