Certainly it is a talking point of the Democrat, the Obama campaign, and the MSM that the TEA Party is “old news” and can be ignored. However, as Steve pointed out, that “conventional political wisdom” is dead wrong. Me? I think that they JUST want people to think that – frankly, I do believe that they are terrified that events are slipping away from them. Oh, they know full well that the TEA Party is around – and not just kicking but simply like most middle class / working class folk do in flyover country – see a job to be done, not waiting for someone else to do the job, and putting their work ethic in gear to get that job done.
Most of us just quietly go about the job now – the emotional events are done as those were just the intentions. Unlike Libs for whom “intentions” are the most important issue and raison d’etre, most Conservatives concentrate on the actual results. And 2010 saw those intentions turned into concrete results in a big way. Seeing Dick Lugar ousted by the TEA Party, a 35 year incumbent with tons of seniority, shows that there is steel in the TEA Party spine: Principle over Politics. The Triple threat of the TEA Party principles – free markets, fiscal frugality, Constitutional governance – overrode any thoughts of keeping pure political power.
“Extremist” comes to the conversation? Here in NH, as elections start heating up for the fall, when are Ray Buckley and fellow comrades Democrat Progressive / Socialist refuse to admit their Party has been dragged to the Extreme Left on their stances
Frankly what is happening can be escribed by this by Ramesh Ponnuru at The Corner:
In short: The tea party may be losing popularity, but its power inside the Republican party appears to be growing.
Indeed – the TEA Party and Libertarians are forcing the Republicans out of the moderate middle (that has given us $16 Trillion of debt, overbearing government, and intrusive nanny statism) but not to the Right – simple back to their roots and the Platform.
It’s amazing what folks can accomplish when they don’t worry about what other think about them and when they only care about the right results. Mitt ought to be listening:
“With the Republican presidential nomination going to the ideologically malleable Mitt Romney, supporters of limited government have recognized that their best hope for advancing the conservative agenda rests on the ability to elect as many principled conservatives to Congress as possible. That is, lawmakers who will be willing to fight for smaller government even if it means standing up to a president of their own party. The more victories the Tea Party racks up, the greater the chance that Romney will be forced to govern as a limited government conservative if elected, even if his natural inclination is to migrate to the left.”
