In the aftermath of the 2006 Midterms, the GOP was in trouble as the Democrats gained control of both houses. Back in control, the Democrats took it upon themselves to cut funding to the Bush wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Rather then practice what they threatened, they figured out another way of getting what they wanted. Getting the signature of George W. Bush on any bill they felt like passing.
As the deficit ballooned and the economy collapsed, the GOP became the useful stiff to take the fall in 2008. When TARP was voted upon, it passed the Senate floor 74 – 25, the sin was now firmly upon the heads of the Republicans. Later, President Obama used the bank bonuses paid by TARP recipients to stir up the public. A stunt that further established the collective myth that Obama inherited a ruined economy from Bush. Anything that remotely connected the dots of then Senators Obama, Biden or Clinton voting for TARP was strictly seen as ancient history.
In 2008, the GOP was a sinking ship. A party renown for fiscal responsibility was licking it’s wounds from the declining end of the Bush years. Republican supporters cringed as Candidate Obama punched holes through the irresponsibility of Washington, Wall Street and the Bush Doctrine. How did one support McCain and openly acknowledge their party was a lame duck? As much as Janeane Garofalo maintained the Tea Party protesters were against Obama (and therefore racists), Tea Party participants were more angry with their own party, and at the Democrats sudden shift to the hard left under Obama. Combine these elements together with the TARP Bill, the Stimulus Bill and Auto Bail Outs, they became the spark that sired their collective resentment. While the Bush years brought the Saul Alinsky antics of MoveOn.Org, Code Pink and numerous community activists alike, once Obama entered the White House, the grassroots resentment took a full 180 degree turn and sprouted the Tea Party movement. Therefore, why are we so surprised by the emergence of the Tea Party Movements? It either should be seen as the natural progression of Political Grassroots moments, or the expressed resentment from the left towards the right for adapting their tactic under their own political affiliation instead of forming stereotypical citizen militias.
Since April, the Tea Party meanders on without a drafted charter or definitive script. And it’s by this capacity, that TP havoc within the Republican Party can emerge. Take for instance the New York 23rd congressional district special election of 2009. When the GOP made the blunder of forgoing a primary, they irritated the Tea Party collective by appointing Candidate Scozzafava. While the Tea Party drummed for poster-boy Doug Hoffman, the vote was split turning a safe Republican seat blue for the first time since slavery. With it’s first throw of the dice, the Republican Party alienated the burgeoning Tea Party movement, which showed it can impact congressional elections. Despite GOP gains in the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial elections, the Democrats had the last laugh in getting one extra vote in Congress. As the exhilarating post-mortem finger pointing by party officials and pundits alike took place, it was clear no lessons had been learned. Nor had efforts been taken to avoid a ‘supersized’ repeat performance in 2010 or 2012. Rather then make concerted efforts to reform the Republican Party, the GOP left the gate open to a third party running under the TP platform an attractive option. In December 2009, respected Pollsters Rasmussen released a survey revealing running under a Tea Party banner faired better then running as a Republican would. Thirty-three percent (33%) prefer the Tea Party candidate, 30% were undecided, twenty-five percent (25%) would vote for a Democrat, and a pitiful 12% for the GOP. As the new kid on the block, the Tea Party political meandering makes it the perfect vehicle for manipulation. The Democrat-controlled trifecta of the White House, Senate, and Congress is severely on the ropes. The Republican Party appears on the verge of making sizable gains in 2010/2012 without resorting to a new ‘Deal with America’. The environment is perfect for a third party to induce vote splitting, something that will keep Obama in the White House, Harry Reid in control of the Senate and Comrade Pelosi holding the speaker’s gavel.
The reputation of the Tea Party movement being rent-a-crowd lackeys for Fox News, Glen Beck’s 9/12 movement and Sean Hannity’s marches on Washington is apparent. However, the rhetoric which Obama was criticized for displaying also exists within the TP movement. It’s members cannot keep repeating the mantra of needing ‘Lower Taxes and Smaller Government’ forever. Nor can it survive on the perception of being solely a ‘Protest Militia’ that hold the feet of the GOP to the fire. Even Palin tried to capture and insert herself into the zeitgeist of the Tea Party movements. Be it with ‘Death Panel’ comments on her Facebook page or deciding to release a ‘Kiss & Tell’ book about her experience on the campaign trail, she failed in her endeavors. If Palin was capable of any smarts, she might have released a book filled with profound Political/Social commentary. That might have propelled her onward or provided a needed filling in of the void in this movement.
Without a sufficient leader, without a manifesto, without direction, the Tea Party movement become as Lenin once called ‘Useful Idiots’. The Republican Party Pooh-Bahs now have few options available to them. They can take the contentious road of ‘We Know Better’ and field candidates they like, or endorse candidates that cater to the popular conservative mentality that can spout the magic terms like ‘Smaller Government, Lower Taxes’. As the 2010 midterms roll round, these two groups need to work together or stop butting heads. Failure to do so will deliver the result they intend to be working against, victory to the Democrats. Nothing alienates voters like infighting and nothing delvers votes for the opposing party better than infighting. During the period 1979 to 1997, the British Labour Party spent 18 years in the Political wilderness. As the left kept splitting the vote, the ruling Conservative Party were re-elected sometimes with only 41% of the vote. One rule that never changes is that vote spiting always keeps the ruling party you are challenging in power. The only way Obama will ever gain a second term will be by reducing the massive deficit, embarking on serious job creation and placing a high priority on improving the economy. Judging by Obama’s first year in the White House and preference for embarking on socialistic ‘Pet Projects’, the stakes are high. The 23rd congressional district was a small mistake, but giving Obama a second term due to Tea Party vote splitting is a legacy both the Tea Party and the Republican Party should want to avoid.
Craig Edwards
How are you, excellant blog.