The Tea Party is undermining its own influence

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/post/the-tea-party-is-undermining-its-own-influence/2011/03/29/gIQAHp2rrL_blog.html

Posted at 11:30 AM ET, 10/17/2011

By Jennifer Rubin

We are told some Tea Partyers are in the dumps. They face the very real prospect of Mitt Romney as the GOP nominee and the serial wipeout of a series of Tea Party-friendly candidates. Pundits speculate wildly that the 2012 will see the demise of the Tea Party.

Tea Partyers and their opponents overlook the degree to which the Tea Party has successfully shifted the GOP to the right on fiscal matters. Romney is a more conservative candidate because of the insurgent movement. The House is not simply controlled by Republicans; it is controlled by conservative Republicans. Naturally, perfection is always over the hill and dissatisfaction abounds when deals are finally struck. But the GOP is more united, more disciplined on fiscal matters, less tolerant of crony capitalism and more energized as a result of the Tea Party.

But if Tea Partyers want to win at the ballot box with a candidate who self-identifies as one of them then a re-evaluation of tactics is in order. In 2010 the Tea Party backed characters like Christine O’Donnell and Sharon Angle. The mainstream media ridiculed them. The Tea Party insisted this was all a smear. Both lost.

[Skittles]

1. teabaggers are history

they've been upstaged by people who KNOW WHERE THE BLAME LIES

[Scuba]

2. The Tea Party influence was as contrived as the Tea Party. All smoke and mirrors. n/t

[RagAss]

3. The teabag has been squeezed to the last drop.

[ixion]

4. There is nothing "conservative" about those people. The are extremist ideologues

Period.

[OHdem10]

5. In DC the Tea Party, are more popular than in the country. It is my

observation, the Tea Party keeps dropping in the polls.

What the Republicans seem to ignore, The Republicans and
Tea Party members on the Hill are much further to the right
than their constituents. Therefore they overreach on just
about everything. Members of Congress want to get rid of
Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Their constituents
do not.

[customerserviceguy]

6. I seem to remember

back about two and a half years ago, there was all kinds of joyful talk here about how the Repukes were politically dead, too. The new President had approval ratings in the stratosphere, and it seemed impossible for the GOP to come back.

Mitt Romney can't get above 25% Rethug support overall, and he only approaches 50% in a few targeted places, like NH, where he's spent a buttload of money for the last two elections. The anybody-but-Mitt vote is pretty strong in that party.

Yes, Angle and O'Donnell lost, but I think we were lucky in both cases. If Angle hadn't underestimated the Latino vote in NV, she might have saved her insults to that community for after the election. And O'Donnell was simply greatly outplayed by the brilliant Bill Mahre, who dug out tapes of all kinds of crazy shit she said, then had to either defend or explain.

The tea partiers got quite a few of their members in the House, and even a couple in the Senate. They may have learned something from their mistakes, and it's premature to believe they're finished. It would be folly to run a campaign based on that belief.

[kctim]

9. Good call

I live in a small town, surrounded by small towns. I know the local Tea Party cooridinator and asked him why so quiet lately? He said they were saving their resources for the election season and would probably start having their city park meetings again come March or April.

People need to remember that the Tea Party wasn't successful because of the few corporate backed huge rallies, it was successful because of the thousands of small rallies all over the country. Rallies that were not corporate backed.

I agree CSG, it would be premature to believe they are finished and foolish to count them out.

[Populist_Prole]

7. And yet the MSM just won't shut the hell up about them

Still speaking of them as though elected officials should ignore them at their own peril.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

8. I've seen CNN put on "representatives" from the Tea Party

as though they are some special group of people deserving of a place at the table.

[dembotoz]

10. gone???? not around here

they have gone mainstream republican

the local repubs are engergize and wanting to kick our but

so they nominate romney and he will come across as a moderate while they continue to paint obama as a socialist.

i wish they were gone

[WilliamPitt]

11. Rubin is a disastrous hack.

She had a post up this morning talking about the "anti-Semites" in the OWS movement, and how OWS has been endorsed by the American Nazi Party.

If she said water was wet, I'd get in the shower to make sure.

[LynneSin]

12. If O'Donnell runs for office again in Delaware, I'll send my time campaigning in PA

She's a guarentee big win for Delaware Democrats anytime her name is on the ballot. And with closed primaries in Delaware - good chance she'll show up again!