Last night's primary win by Tea Party favorite Christine O'Donnell in Delaware over favorite establishment GOPer Mike Castle shows the power of the tea party movement.
But ..... in the end does this advance its cause of less government, lower debt., and whatever else it stands for? Maybe not. Here's a take on how short term gains could mean long term losses.
The same goes for the political left. The harder left the Democratic Party became in 1980s and 90s, the more distant they became to the voting mainstream. They had to move center, a la Bill Clinton, and against are trying to tack center.
Beating more moderate Republicans in more moderate/liberal states like Delaware, New Hampshire, Nevada could be a Trojan Horse if those ideological pure candidates can't get mainstream support.
I wonder why in Kansas the tea party hasn't really caught on, at least in any tangible connection to candidates. Mike Pompeo was as establishment as any candidate in the GOP primary for 4th district. (Maybe Schodorf) Perhaps there was not really any establishment candidate for anti-Washington crowd to fight against.
Buy the same goes for Gov. race, Senate race and other congressional races. There was no really break through in tea party-connected candidates, as far as I can tell. Perhaps the Republican crop of candidates were already conservative enough to satisfy the movement. Brownback and Moran are both pretty hard right, although they're temperament and public comments are not firey or grandstanding as tea party voices often can be. (Think Tiahrt, but Tiahrt spent 16 years in D.C.)
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Kansas just has not shown the intensity that the rest of the country has. In the 4th district, Jim Anderson, who did much better than most tea party candidates across the country, was the candidate best suited to relate to the values, hopes, and dreams of the average person and a real alternative to the establishment candidates.
In the end, it came down to money and the desire of Republicans (and Independents) to fight back. He garnered 10-13,000 votes, which for an unknown, was quite good, and with only $45-50k to spend, he spent ~$4/vote, versus Hartman who spent ~$91/vote and Pompeo who spent ~$40/vote (not counting all of the out of state advertising which was huge).
Kansans are politically lazy. Look no further than the state house and senate. Just look at the Republicans with lousy Americans For Prosperity scores. Many, many in the 15%-30% conservative voting records.
To me, there would have been no difference in sending a Democrat to Washington in Delaware, than there would be to vote for a RINO who would vote with Obama and Pelosi. Castle has a terrible liberal record and an F rating with the NRA. So Deleware voted for the true conservative. Republicans need to realize that they are not safe from the wrath of the American people just because they are Republicans. Conservatism is what matters.
Can't stand it can ya?
I believe in what the TEA Party stands for, but that doesn't mean I am going to blindly support a candidate just because they tell me to.
The Kansas TEA Party and Sarah Palin supported Tiahrt, and that wasn't enough to get him elected. In my opinion it was because he was slinging too much mud.
The Deleware race is telling because the Republican and independent voters had a choice between a true conservative candidate in O'Donnell, and a Raging RINO (Republican In Name Only) who voted with Democrats most of the time in Castle. Castle has an F rating from the NRA, is Anti Pro-Life, and voted to pass Cap and Trade. He has already said that he would vote with Pelosi and Obama. The fact that The conservative beat the moderate in a left leaning state speaks volumes for the attitude of the country. I think O'Donnell has a good chance in November, as does any true conservative who will stand up to the radical agenda of this White House. I would rather take a chance with a true conservative than to give the seat to a RINO just to have a statistical majority. A majority that wouldn't matter if the RINO is voting with dems on every issue.
But don't forget, Republicans who take over the majority in November can be voted out just as easily if they go against the conservatives who vote them in.
And watching the liberals try to dig up dirt on O'Donnell is entertaining. Rachel Madcow tried to make a big deal out of a piece she did on Mtv IN 1996 about abstaining from sex and masturbation. All I could think while watching the clip was how Cute O'Donnell was in 1996. If that's the worst they can come up with, the majority is already ours.
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