While the current headlines focus on insurgent Tea Party candidates defeating Republican establishment picks in the recent primaries, the real story remains the collapse of the Democrat coalition and the impending Democrat loss of control in Congress.
Much has been written about American voters reacting negatively to the Obama-Reid-Pelosi lurch to the left with the bailouts, the stimulus, the financial "reform" and, most of all, the crazy idea that government can borrow and spend our way to prosperity.
But there is another cause of the Democrats reversal of fortune that is rarely explored by pundits left or right. It is the Obama jihad against Arizona for daring to take action to enforce America's border with Mexico.
Arizona's law, SB 1070, empowered state law enforcement officers in any arrest, traffic stop, or other contact within the scope of their duties to require identification and in the absence of identification to call in federal immigration officials to determine immigration status.
Before this law could even come into affect or be enforced, Atty. Gen. Eric Holder and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano denounced the law as "racist" and then had to admit they had never read it.
President Obama likewise denounced the Arizona law and invited Mexican President Calderon to address a joint session of the American Congress and stood by approvingly while the Mexican President chastised Arizona for passing this law.
Even after public opinion polls showed strong majority support for Arizona's stance on border control and even after horror stories of Mexican drug cartel incursions into Arizona, the President ordered the Justice Department to sue Arizona to invalidate SB 1070.
The latest Rasmussen poll still finds American voters favoring passage of an Arizona style law in their own state by a margin of 59%-41%. And 56% oppose the Obama Administration's decision to oppose the law in court.
The very idea of an American President suing a state for trying to enforce a federal law that the President refuses to enforce infuriated a significant majority of American voters already frustrated and angry about other actions taken by the Obama Administration.
For example, in Kentucky voters were asked "How angry are you at the current policies of the federal government?" 74% of the respondents were angry (47% very angry) with only 7% being not angry at all.
It isn't just the debt, the crazy spending, persistent recession and high unemployment; American voters are frustrated by President Obama's apology tours, bowing to foreign leaders, and now suing a state within his own country for trying to enforce a federal law where widespread public support demands a controlled border.
Showing posts with label tea party. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tea party. Show all posts
Friday, September 17, 2010
Noonan: Tea Party thrives because it promotes decentralization while the GOP, like the Democrats, brings more government
This fact marks our political age: The pendulum is swinging faster and in shorter arcs than it ever has in our lifetimes. Few foresaw the earthquake of 2008 in 2006. No board-certified political professional predicted, on Election Day 2008, what happened in 2009-10 (New Jersey, Virginia and Massachusetts) and has been happening, and will happen, since then. It all moves so quickly now, it all turns on a dime.
But at this moment we are witnessing a shift that will likely have some enduring political impact. Another way of saying that: The past few years, a lot of people in politics have wondered about the possibility of a third party. Would it be possible to organize one? While they were wondering, a virtual third party was being born. And nobody organized it.
Here is Jonathan Rauch in National Journal on the tea party's innovative, broad-based network: "In the expansive dominion of the Tea Party Patriots, which extends to thousands of local groups and literally countless activists," there is no chain of command, no hierarchy. Individuals "move the movement." Popular issues gain traction and are emphasized, unpopular ones die. "In American politics, radical decentralization has never been tried on such a large scale." Here are pollsters Scott Rasmussen and Doug Schoen in the Washington Examiner: "The Tea Party has become one of the most powerful and extraordinary movements in American political history." "It is as popular as both the Democratic and Republican parties." "Over half of the electorate now say they favor the Tea Party movement, around 35 percent say they support the movement, 20 to 25 percent self-identify as members of the movement."
So far, the tea party is not a wing of the GOP but a critique of it. This was demonstrated in spectacular fashion when GOP operatives dismissed tea party-backed Christine O'Donnell in Delaware. The Republican establishment is "the reason we even have the Tea Party movement," shot back columnist and tea party enthusiast Andrea Tantaros in the New York Daily News. It was the Bush administration that "ran up deficits" and gave us "open borders" and "Medicare Part D and busted budgets."
Everyone has an explanation for the tea party that is actually not an explanation but a description. They're "angry." They're "antiestablishment," "populist," "anti-elite." All to varying degrees true. But as a network television executive said this week, "They should be fed up. Our institutions have failed."
I see two central reasons for the tea party's rise. The first is the yardstick, and the second is the clock. First, the yardstick. Imagine that over at the 36-inch end you've got pure liberal thinking—more and larger government programs, a bigger government that costs more in the many ways that cost can be calculated. Over at the other end you've got conservative thinking—a government that is growing smaller and less demanding and is less expensive. You assume that when the two major parties are negotiating bills in Washington, they sort of lay down the yardstick and begin negotiations at the 18-inch line. Each party pulls in the direction it wants, and the dominant party moves the government a few inches in their direction.
But if you look at the past half century or so you have to think: How come even when Republicans are in charge, even when they're dominant, government has always gotten larger and more expensive? It's always grown! It's as if something inexorable in our political reality—with those who think in liberal terms dominating the establishment, the media, the academy—has always tilted the starting point in negotiations away from 18 inches, and always toward liberalism, toward the 36-inch point.
But at this moment we are witnessing a shift that will likely have some enduring political impact. Another way of saying that: The past few years, a lot of people in politics have wondered about the possibility of a third party. Would it be possible to organize one? While they were wondering, a virtual third party was being born. And nobody organized it.
Here is Jonathan Rauch in National Journal on the tea party's innovative, broad-based network: "In the expansive dominion of the Tea Party Patriots, which extends to thousands of local groups and literally countless activists," there is no chain of command, no hierarchy. Individuals "move the movement." Popular issues gain traction and are emphasized, unpopular ones die. "In American politics, radical decentralization has never been tried on such a large scale." Here are pollsters Scott Rasmussen and Doug Schoen in the Washington Examiner: "The Tea Party has become one of the most powerful and extraordinary movements in American political history." "It is as popular as both the Democratic and Republican parties." "Over half of the electorate now say they favor the Tea Party movement, around 35 percent say they support the movement, 20 to 25 percent self-identify as members of the movement."
So far, the tea party is not a wing of the GOP but a critique of it. This was demonstrated in spectacular fashion when GOP operatives dismissed tea party-backed Christine O'Donnell in Delaware. The Republican establishment is "the reason we even have the Tea Party movement," shot back columnist and tea party enthusiast Andrea Tantaros in the New York Daily News. It was the Bush administration that "ran up deficits" and gave us "open borders" and "Medicare Part D and busted budgets."
Everyone has an explanation for the tea party that is actually not an explanation but a description. They're "angry." They're "antiestablishment," "populist," "anti-elite." All to varying degrees true. But as a network television executive said this week, "They should be fed up. Our institutions have failed."
I see two central reasons for the tea party's rise. The first is the yardstick, and the second is the clock. First, the yardstick. Imagine that over at the 36-inch end you've got pure liberal thinking—more and larger government programs, a bigger government that costs more in the many ways that cost can be calculated. Over at the other end you've got conservative thinking—a government that is growing smaller and less demanding and is less expensive. You assume that when the two major parties are negotiating bills in Washington, they sort of lay down the yardstick and begin negotiations at the 18-inch line. Each party pulls in the direction it wants, and the dominant party moves the government a few inches in their direction.
But if you look at the past half century or so you have to think: How come even when Republicans are in charge, even when they're dominant, government has always gotten larger and more expensive? It's always grown! It's as if something inexorable in our political reality—with those who think in liberal terms dominating the establishment, the media, the academy—has always tilted the starting point in negotiations away from 18 inches, and always toward liberalism, toward the 36-inch point.
"Republicans do best when they go the most conservative"
So the inside-the-Beltway political pros are all in a tizzy that their omnipotence is being questioned by the great unwashed in the Tea Party movement.
In reaction to the Christine O'Donnell win and the part that Sarah Palin and Jim DeMint played in it, veteran consultant Mark Murphy snarked that he too was a conservative -- but that he "could do the math." The point from Murphy was that conservatives like Palin and DeMint are not smart enough to do the math that a Mike Castle win in Delaware is really what conservatives needed.
Tea party-type conservatives, according to Murphy, are not smart enough to figure out the professional math. The Murphys' polls and focus groups and formulaic opinions about the "undecideds" say so.
History says otherwise.
There have been three great elections for Republicans in modern history -- '80, '84 and '94 -- and all three were the result of a wave of conservatism. There have been five awful elections - '92, '96, '98, '06 and '08 -- and all the result of purposeful moderation.
The rest have fallen somewhere in between, with Republican success mainly the result of the Democrats doing us a favor by swerving way left. The three-decade trend is clear.
Republicans do best when they go the most conservative. They can succeed somewhat if the Democrats let their liberalism show in the campaign. But when the waters are muddied, it is always a disaster for Republicans.
In reaction to the Christine O'Donnell win and the part that Sarah Palin and Jim DeMint played in it, veteran consultant Mark Murphy snarked that he too was a conservative -- but that he "could do the math." The point from Murphy was that conservatives like Palin and DeMint are not smart enough to do the math that a Mike Castle win in Delaware is really what conservatives needed.
Tea party-type conservatives, according to Murphy, are not smart enough to figure out the professional math. The Murphys' polls and focus groups and formulaic opinions about the "undecideds" say so.
History says otherwise.
There have been three great elections for Republicans in modern history -- '80, '84 and '94 -- and all three were the result of a wave of conservatism. There have been five awful elections - '92, '96, '98, '06 and '08 -- and all the result of purposeful moderation.
The rest have fallen somewhere in between, with Republican success mainly the result of the Democrats doing us a favor by swerving way left. The three-decade trend is clear.
Republicans do best when they go the most conservative. They can succeed somewhat if the Democrats let their liberalism show in the campaign. But when the waters are muddied, it is always a disaster for Republicans.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Sharon Angle takes slim lead over Harry Reid in Nevada
The Tea Party tsunami that just rolled through Delaware is reflected in a new CNN-TIME-Opinion Research poll of likely Nevada voters showing Republican and Tea Party favorite Sharon Angle running slightly ahead of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
THE CNN-TIME-ORC survey of likely voters in Ohio reveals much broader advantages for Republicans in both the Senate and governor races, while Democratic Sen. Patty Murray is faring better in Washington, where she has a nine-point edge over Republican Dino Rossi.
Most striking is how closely fought the Nevada Senate race remains. The poll in that race, which pits the most powerful Democrat in the Senate against former state assembly member Angle — shows that Angle is capturing 42% of likely voters polled to Reid's 41%, a statistical dead heat. Angle's standing against Reid comes despite the fact that there's an official Tea Party candidate on the ballot who might be expected to siphon away votes from her. But Scott Ashjian is backed by only 5% of those polled.
There is a striking gender difference among those polled in Nevada. Women go for Reid by a 51-33 margin, while men back Angle, 49-32. With both parties' bases mobilized and overwhelmingly backing their nominee, the critical ground will be fought over independent swing voters. Angle wins here, collecting 40% compared to Reid's 33%. Among self-described moderates, Reid holds sway, 57-23, while Angle has a big margin among conservatives, 72-13. Reid wins among those who attended college (44-40) as well as those making less than $50,000 a year (45-31). But Angle prevails among those with no college experience (44-37). They're evenly divided among voters making more than $50,000.
The Democrats face what appears to be deepening trouble on two fronts in Ohio. Republican Rob Portman, a former congressman from Cincinnati and a trade and budget official in George W. Bush's Administration, leads Democratic Lieut. Gov. Lee Fisher 52-41, among likely voters for Republican George Voinovich's Senate seat. There is, as in Nevada, a big gender gap among men polled — they favor Portman, 61-35. Women favor Fisher, 47-44. Portman wins among rural, suburban, college-educated, not-college-educated — the only educational/income group he loses to Fisher is among those making less than $50,000 a year, 49-46. Portman also does well among independents, who favor him 59-30, and Tea Party supporters, who give him a 91-6 edge.
Incumbent Democratic governor Ted Strickland lags GOP challenger and former congressman John Kasich 51-44. As in the Senate race, men favor the Republican, 57-39, while women tilt Democratic, 49-46.
Murray is the lone bright spot among Democrats in the poll, carrying a 53-44 lead over Republican challenger Rossi among likely voters. Men barely favor the Republican, 50-48, but women overwhelmingly support Murray, 58-37. They split the independent vote, with Murray holding a 47-46 edge over Rossi, a former state senator and twice unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate. Unfortunately for Murray's party, the recent conventional wisdom in political circles doesn't pay attention to her state. Since 2004, the oft-heard refrain is "As goes Ohio, so goes the nation." In the race to become Nevada's next governor, Reid's son, Rory, fares worse than his father: he is 27 points behind Republican Brian Sandoval. The senior Reid wins backing from 8% of self-identified Tea Party supporters; his son gets 9%.
All three polls were conducted via telephone by Opinion Research Corp. Sept. 10-14. In Nevada, 789 likely voters were queried; in Ohio, 820 likely voters; and in Washington, 906 likely voters. They share a margin of error of 3.5%.
THE CNN-TIME-ORC survey of likely voters in Ohio reveals much broader advantages for Republicans in both the Senate and governor races, while Democratic Sen. Patty Murray is faring better in Washington, where she has a nine-point edge over Republican Dino Rossi.
Most striking is how closely fought the Nevada Senate race remains. The poll in that race, which pits the most powerful Democrat in the Senate against former state assembly member Angle — shows that Angle is capturing 42% of likely voters polled to Reid's 41%, a statistical dead heat. Angle's standing against Reid comes despite the fact that there's an official Tea Party candidate on the ballot who might be expected to siphon away votes from her. But Scott Ashjian is backed by only 5% of those polled.
There is a striking gender difference among those polled in Nevada. Women go for Reid by a 51-33 margin, while men back Angle, 49-32. With both parties' bases mobilized and overwhelmingly backing their nominee, the critical ground will be fought over independent swing voters. Angle wins here, collecting 40% compared to Reid's 33%. Among self-described moderates, Reid holds sway, 57-23, while Angle has a big margin among conservatives, 72-13. Reid wins among those who attended college (44-40) as well as those making less than $50,000 a year (45-31). But Angle prevails among those with no college experience (44-37). They're evenly divided among voters making more than $50,000.
The Democrats face what appears to be deepening trouble on two fronts in Ohio. Republican Rob Portman, a former congressman from Cincinnati and a trade and budget official in George W. Bush's Administration, leads Democratic Lieut. Gov. Lee Fisher 52-41, among likely voters for Republican George Voinovich's Senate seat. There is, as in Nevada, a big gender gap among men polled — they favor Portman, 61-35. Women favor Fisher, 47-44. Portman wins among rural, suburban, college-educated, not-college-educated — the only educational/income group he loses to Fisher is among those making less than $50,000 a year, 49-46. Portman also does well among independents, who favor him 59-30, and Tea Party supporters, who give him a 91-6 edge.
Incumbent Democratic governor Ted Strickland lags GOP challenger and former congressman John Kasich 51-44. As in the Senate race, men favor the Republican, 57-39, while women tilt Democratic, 49-46.
Murray is the lone bright spot among Democrats in the poll, carrying a 53-44 lead over Republican challenger Rossi among likely voters. Men barely favor the Republican, 50-48, but women overwhelmingly support Murray, 58-37. They split the independent vote, with Murray holding a 47-46 edge over Rossi, a former state senator and twice unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate. Unfortunately for Murray's party, the recent conventional wisdom in political circles doesn't pay attention to her state. Since 2004, the oft-heard refrain is "As goes Ohio, so goes the nation." In the race to become Nevada's next governor, Reid's son, Rory, fares worse than his father: he is 27 points behind Republican Brian Sandoval. The senior Reid wins backing from 8% of self-identified Tea Party supporters; his son gets 9%.
All three polls were conducted via telephone by Opinion Research Corp. Sept. 10-14. In Nevada, 789 likely voters were queried; in Ohio, 820 likely voters; and in Washington, 906 likely voters. They share a margin of error of 3.5%.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
George Soros, NAACP and other leftists taking on Tea Party
(George) Soros and the foundation left have launched a website designed to go after the growing Tea Party movement. Teapartytracker.org will post video interviews and blog entries gathered by folks on the false left who never grow weary of demonstrating their outrage over the very idea of a grassroots political effort overthrowing establishment Democrats and Republicans in the district of corporate criminals.
Teapartytracker.org will be sponsored by the NAACP, Think Progress, New Left Media and Media Matters for America. Think Progress is a George Soros operation connected to John Podesta’s Center for American Progress. Podesta is Clinton’s former chief of staff. Media Matters for America is the brainchild of a MoveOn consultant and Podesta’s Center for American Progress. Soros is a major supporter of MoveOn.
On July 13, the NAACP unanimously passed a resolution repudiating the Tea Party for alleged racism. The resolution followed accusations that the Tea Party had accosted members the Congressional Black Caucus as they traipsed the district of criminals mall on their way to vote for Obamacare, a grand larceny scam cooked up by large corporations. “Civil rights icon John Lewis was spit on, while Congressman Emanuel Cleaver was called the ‘N’ word and openly gay Congressman Barney Frank was called an ugly anti-gay slur,” a press released issued by the NAACP claims.
On April 1, Infowars.com provided evidence that protesters in fact did not spit on Missouri Democrat Emanuel Cleaver or did they hurl racial epithets at members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Cleaver later said a Tea Party protester did not spit on him intentionally. “All I’m saying is we all have to defuse it, and I think it is not in my best interest or in the best interest of this nation to stoke it,” he said on March 30 during a Fox News interview.
The NAACP and the Soros-funded anti-Tea Party operation, however, do not share Cleaver’s desire to defuse the situation. Instead, they plan to extract as much political mileage from the fictitious incident as possible.
In July, Soros’ Think Progress stitched together a video purporting to show that the Tea Party is chock full of racists.
Recall “Crash the Tea Party,” an effort exposed earlier this year, designed to portray the Tea Party as racists and reactionary throwbacks. Tea Party hating liberals “couldn’t sell the transparently nonsensical idea that Tea Partiers are just a bunch of racists, homophobes and morons, so the Crash the Party agents on the Left are infiltrating the Tea Party in order to pose as a bunch of racists, homophobes and morons,” Mark Tapscott wrote for the Washington Examiner on April 11, 2010.
In addition to so-called liberals attempting to discredit the Tea Party movement, a gaggle of anarchists also announced an effort to disrupt rallies in April.
According to Infoshop News, an anarchist website and forum, the Tea Party movement is “a coalition of conservatives, anti-Semites, fascists, libertarians, racists, constitutionalists, militia men, gun freaks, homophobes, Ron Paul supporters, Alex Jones conspiracy types and American flag wavers,” and because of this mischaracterization they should have their right to protest against the government disrupted.
Teapartytracker.org will be sponsored by the NAACP, Think Progress, New Left Media and Media Matters for America. Think Progress is a George Soros operation connected to John Podesta’s Center for American Progress. Podesta is Clinton’s former chief of staff. Media Matters for America is the brainchild of a MoveOn consultant and Podesta’s Center for American Progress. Soros is a major supporter of MoveOn.
On July 13, the NAACP unanimously passed a resolution repudiating the Tea Party for alleged racism. The resolution followed accusations that the Tea Party had accosted members the Congressional Black Caucus as they traipsed the district of criminals mall on their way to vote for Obamacare, a grand larceny scam cooked up by large corporations. “Civil rights icon John Lewis was spit on, while Congressman Emanuel Cleaver was called the ‘N’ word and openly gay Congressman Barney Frank was called an ugly anti-gay slur,” a press released issued by the NAACP claims.
On April 1, Infowars.com provided evidence that protesters in fact did not spit on Missouri Democrat Emanuel Cleaver or did they hurl racial epithets at members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
Cleaver later said a Tea Party protester did not spit on him intentionally. “All I’m saying is we all have to defuse it, and I think it is not in my best interest or in the best interest of this nation to stoke it,” he said on March 30 during a Fox News interview.
The NAACP and the Soros-funded anti-Tea Party operation, however, do not share Cleaver’s desire to defuse the situation. Instead, they plan to extract as much political mileage from the fictitious incident as possible.
In July, Soros’ Think Progress stitched together a video purporting to show that the Tea Party is chock full of racists.
Recall “Crash the Tea Party,” an effort exposed earlier this year, designed to portray the Tea Party as racists and reactionary throwbacks. Tea Party hating liberals “couldn’t sell the transparently nonsensical idea that Tea Partiers are just a bunch of racists, homophobes and morons, so the Crash the Party agents on the Left are infiltrating the Tea Party in order to pose as a bunch of racists, homophobes and morons,” Mark Tapscott wrote for the Washington Examiner on April 11, 2010.
In addition to so-called liberals attempting to discredit the Tea Party movement, a gaggle of anarchists also announced an effort to disrupt rallies in April.
According to Infoshop News, an anarchist website and forum, the Tea Party movement is “a coalition of conservatives, anti-Semites, fascists, libertarians, racists, constitutionalists, militia men, gun freaks, homophobes, Ron Paul supporters, Alex Jones conspiracy types and American flag wavers,” and because of this mischaracterization they should have their right to protest against the government disrupted.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Lobby that got $14.6 million from MI taxpayers stages Sandbox Party convention to lobby for more government spending
(Genuine) Tea Party supporters are already fuming about the dirty trick of a (fake) "The Tea Party" political party created with the assistance of Democratic Party operatives; another abuse of democracy this week may add to their ire: A government entity that received $14.6 million of taxpayer money in the current state budget organized a publicity stunt to lobby for more government spending, called the "First Ever Sandbox Party Convention" in East Lansing.
The culprit is the "Early Child Investment Corporation" (ECIC), a government entity created in 2005 explicitly to expand the size, scope, reach, budgets and spending of government welfare, preschool, social work and related programs. This was accomplished through the device of an "interlocal agreement" between the Department of Human Services (the state welfare department) and Intermediate School Districts, which are among the recipients of any additional taxpayer loot the entity extracts. ECIC is essentially an adjunct of the DHS and appears on its organization chart.
The "interlocal agreement" gimmick may sound familiar to those who have followed the Mackinac Center's home child care worker "stealth unionization" lawsuit, which was perpetrated by another such contract between DHS and Mott Community College.
Here's how the press release prepared by a Lansing PR firm hired by ECIC described this week's event:
Thirty-five hundred people from across Michigan — parents, grandparents, children, policy makers, elected officials and others — hooted, hollered and made their voices heard at … the first-ever Sandbox Party Convention today.
The candidates for Michigan governor — Republican Rick Snyder and Democrat Virg Bernero — each got a rousing reception from the crowd, which included scores of families, some from as far away as Delta County in the Upper Peninsula. Four busloads of kids and families came from Lenawee County."
It's likely that taxpayers picked up the tab for those buses as well.
The event was promoted solely for political action — ECIC officials even boasted about timing it during the week before the two major state political party conventions.
The culprit is the "Early Child Investment Corporation" (ECIC), a government entity created in 2005 explicitly to expand the size, scope, reach, budgets and spending of government welfare, preschool, social work and related programs. This was accomplished through the device of an "interlocal agreement" between the Department of Human Services (the state welfare department) and Intermediate School Districts, which are among the recipients of any additional taxpayer loot the entity extracts. ECIC is essentially an adjunct of the DHS and appears on its organization chart.
The "interlocal agreement" gimmick may sound familiar to those who have followed the Mackinac Center's home child care worker "stealth unionization" lawsuit, which was perpetrated by another such contract between DHS and Mott Community College.
Here's how the press release prepared by a Lansing PR firm hired by ECIC described this week's event:
Thirty-five hundred people from across Michigan — parents, grandparents, children, policy makers, elected officials and others — hooted, hollered and made their voices heard at … the first-ever Sandbox Party Convention today.
The candidates for Michigan governor — Republican Rick Snyder and Democrat Virg Bernero — each got a rousing reception from the crowd, which included scores of families, some from as far away as Delta County in the Upper Peninsula. Four busloads of kids and families came from Lenawee County."
It's likely that taxpayers picked up the tab for those buses as well.
The event was promoted solely for political action — ECIC officials even boasted about timing it during the week before the two major state political party conventions.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Michigan fields two Tea Parties, one of them apparently a sleeper designed to protect endangered Democrat candidates
The mysterious Tea Party seeking a place on Michigan’s November general election ballot has submitted the names of 23 candidates for offices ranging from Secretary of State to Oakland County Commission.
According to a filing sent to the state Bureau of Elections late Monday, the group nominated the candidates at a convention held in Saginaw on Saturday. It was signed by Mark Steffek, a retired autoworker and UAW steward who is the not-very-public face of the Tea Party political party.
Steffek, who has made himself available to the media only briefly since the organizing effort got underway three months ago, could not be reached this morning. He has been accused by Michigan’s tea party activists of hijacking the movement’s name in an effort to siphon votes away from conservative Republicans.
It appears that none of the Tea Party candidates is well known. But some of the nominations are in districts, like the 1st and 7th congressional, where seats held by Democrats are imperiled by the tea party insurgency.
The party chose not to nominate candidates at the top of its ticket, for governor and lieutenant governor.
According to a filing sent to the state Bureau of Elections late Monday, the group nominated the candidates at a convention held in Saginaw on Saturday. It was signed by Mark Steffek, a retired autoworker and UAW steward who is the not-very-public face of the Tea Party political party.
Steffek, who has made himself available to the media only briefly since the organizing effort got underway three months ago, could not be reached this morning. He has been accused by Michigan’s tea party activists of hijacking the movement’s name in an effort to siphon votes away from conservative Republicans.
It appears that none of the Tea Party candidates is well known. But some of the nominations are in districts, like the 1st and 7th congressional, where seats held by Democrats are imperiled by the tea party insurgency.
The party chose not to nominate candidates at the top of its ticket, for governor and lieutenant governor.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
K Street Republicans wary of conservative Tea Partyers
A 35-year veteran of Congress, former Senate majority leader, and now partner at K Street's most storied lobbying firm, Trent Lott knows the system. And the system has rewarded him richly -- as when Patton Boggs recently wrote a multimillion-dollar check to buy his firm, the Breaux-Lott Leadership Group.
So the last thing Lott needs is a bunch of unwashed, Tea-Partying right-wingers coming to Washington on a wave of anti-establishment, free-market populism, and messing up the good thing he has going.
"We don't need a lot of Jim DeMint disciples," Lott told the Washington Post, referring to the conservative South Carolina senator who has been a gadfly for party leadership and a champion for upstart conservative candidates. "As soon as they get here, we need to co-opt them."
But Lott is no longer in the Republican leadership -- he resigned from the Senate in December 2007, mid-term, just before a law kicked in that would have required him to wait two years before lobbying the Senate. So who is he talking about when he says "we need to co-opt them"?
"We" means the K Street wing of the Republican Party.
So the last thing Lott needs is a bunch of unwashed, Tea-Partying right-wingers coming to Washington on a wave of anti-establishment, free-market populism, and messing up the good thing he has going.
"We don't need a lot of Jim DeMint disciples," Lott told the Washington Post, referring to the conservative South Carolina senator who has been a gadfly for party leadership and a champion for upstart conservative candidates. "As soon as they get here, we need to co-opt them."
But Lott is no longer in the Republican leadership -- he resigned from the Senate in December 2007, mid-term, just before a law kicked in that would have required him to wait two years before lobbying the Senate. So who is he talking about when he says "we need to co-opt them"?
"We" means the K Street wing of the Republican Party.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Tea Party excels at choosing conservative winners
Leading this American renewal is the increasingly brilliant Tea Party movement, which is rapidly disproving all the fears regarding its emergence of a year ago. Rather than dividing the conservative, free market vote, or chasing the Republican Party off an extremist cliff, in race after race it has demonstrated an uncanny ability to coalesce around the most conservative candidate that can win. In this, it has served as a Club for Growth on steroids, knocking the RINOs where they belong, all the way to the Democrat party. What I love most about the Tea Party is the way it has remained a thoroughly decentralized movement without the emergence of an identifiable national leadership, yet in a classic free market way that very decentralization has operated all the more effectively.
Here are some of the genuine, grassroots leaders that the American people aided by the Tea Party movement have now called forth in the new emerging leadership of the GOP.
Sharron Angle
Sharron Angle took on the political establishment in Nevada and won. I am not talking about her recent, stirring, come from behind primary victory over 10 other candidates to win the GOP nomination to oppose Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Here are some of the genuine, grassroots leaders that the American people aided by the Tea Party movement have now called forth in the new emerging leadership of the GOP.
Sharron Angle
Sharron Angle took on the political establishment in Nevada and won. I am not talking about her recent, stirring, come from behind primary victory over 10 other candidates to win the GOP nomination to oppose Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
The U.S. Constitution is hot, which Obama is not
Demand for copies of the U.S. Constitution is skyrocketing.
The increased interest comes amid the rise of the Tea Party movement and as both parties cite the Constitution to advance their agendas.
The pocket edition of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence ranked 10th on the Government Printing Office’s (GPO) best-seller list in March.
Since September 2009, the GPO has sold more than 8,700 copies of the pocket Constitution to the public, according to GPO spokesman Gary Somerset. That is a higher sell rate than in recent years.
Those sales are in addition to the thousands of copies given to members of Congress each year. Congress authorized a resolution in 2009 to print 441,000 copies for the use of the House (1,000 for each member) and 100,000 copies for the Senate (1,000 for each senator).
The Heritage Foundation and the Cato Institute, which keep statistics on the Constitution, also say that requests for the historical document are on the rise.
GPO sells copies for $2.75, but constituents can request a free one from their lawmaker.
Congressional offices are burning through theirs stacks of pocket Constitutions.
The increased interest comes amid the rise of the Tea Party movement and as both parties cite the Constitution to advance their agendas.
The pocket edition of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence ranked 10th on the Government Printing Office’s (GPO) best-seller list in March.
Since September 2009, the GPO has sold more than 8,700 copies of the pocket Constitution to the public, according to GPO spokesman Gary Somerset. That is a higher sell rate than in recent years.
Those sales are in addition to the thousands of copies given to members of Congress each year. Congress authorized a resolution in 2009 to print 441,000 copies for the use of the House (1,000 for each member) and 100,000 copies for the Senate (1,000 for each senator).
The Heritage Foundation and the Cato Institute, which keep statistics on the Constitution, also say that requests for the historical document are on the rise.
GPO sells copies for $2.75, but constituents can request a free one from their lawmaker.
Congressional offices are burning through theirs stacks of pocket Constitutions.
Friday, April 23, 2010
In Florida the Tea Party gets the arrows, but it's a reform agenda that drives Rubio's success
Marco Rubio appeared on a Sunday talk show this month to say something remarkable. The Republican running for Florida's Senate seat suggested we reform Social Security by raising the retirement age for younger workers. Florida is home to 2.4 million senior citizens who like to vote. The blogs declared Mr. Rubio politically suicidal.
The response from Mr. Rubio's primary competitor, Gov. Charlie Crist, was not remarkable. His campaign slammed Mr. Rubio's idea as "cruel, unusual and unfair to seniors living on a fixed income." Mr. Crist's plan for $17.5 trillion in unfunded Social Security liabilities? Easy! He'll root out "fraud" and "waste."
Let's talk Republican "civil war." Not the one the media is hawking, that pits supposed tea party fanatics like Mr. Rubio against supposed "moderates" like Mr. Crist. The Republican Party is split. But the real divide is between reformers like Mr. Rubio and Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, who are running on principles and tough issues, and a GOP old guard that still finds it politically expedient to duck or demagogue issues. As Republicans look for a way out of the wilderness, this is the rift that matters.
And it's the divide playing out in Florida, even if that's not the press's preferred narrative. In conventional-wisdom world, Mr. Rubio is the darling of an angry grass roots, surging at the expense of the postpartisan Mr. Crist.
The response from Mr. Rubio's primary competitor, Gov. Charlie Crist, was not remarkable. His campaign slammed Mr. Rubio's idea as "cruel, unusual and unfair to seniors living on a fixed income." Mr. Crist's plan for $17.5 trillion in unfunded Social Security liabilities? Easy! He'll root out "fraud" and "waste."
Let's talk Republican "civil war." Not the one the media is hawking, that pits supposed tea party fanatics like Mr. Rubio against supposed "moderates" like Mr. Crist. The Republican Party is split. But the real divide is between reformers like Mr. Rubio and Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, who are running on principles and tough issues, and a GOP old guard that still finds it politically expedient to duck or demagogue issues. As Republicans look for a way out of the wilderness, this is the rift that matters.
And it's the divide playing out in Florida, even if that's not the press's preferred narrative. In conventional-wisdom world, Mr. Rubio is the darling of an angry grass roots, surging at the expense of the postpartisan Mr. Crist.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Tea Party: 57% GOP, 28% Ind, 13% Dem
Four in 10 Tea Party members are either Democrats or Independents, according to a new national survey.
The findings provide one of the most detailed portraits to date of the grassroots movement that started last year.
The national breakdown of the Tea Party composition is 57 percent Republican, 28 percent Independent and 13 percent Democratic, according to three national polls by the Winston Group, a Republican-leaning firm that conducted the surveys on behalf of an education advocacy group. Two-thirds of the group call themselves conservative, 26 are moderate and 8 percent say they are liberal.
The Winston Group conducted three national telephone surveys of 1,000 registered voters between December and February. Of those polled, 17 percent – more than 500 people -- said they were “part of the Tea Party movement.”
The findings provide one of the most detailed portraits to date of the grassroots movement that started last year.
The national breakdown of the Tea Party composition is 57 percent Republican, 28 percent Independent and 13 percent Democratic, according to three national polls by the Winston Group, a Republican-leaning firm that conducted the surveys on behalf of an education advocacy group. Two-thirds of the group call themselves conservative, 26 are moderate and 8 percent say they are liberal.
The Winston Group conducted three national telephone surveys of 1,000 registered voters between December and February. Of those polled, 17 percent – more than 500 people -- said they were “part of the Tea Party movement.”
48% choose Tea Party over Obama on issues
On major issues, 48% of voters say that the average Tea Party member is closer to their views than President Barack Obama. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 44% hold the opposite view and believe the president’s views are closer to their own.
Not surprisingly, Republicans overwhelmingly feel closer to the Tea Party and most Democrats say that their views are more like Obama’s. Among voters not affiliated with either major political party, 50% say they’re closer to the Tea Party while 38% side with the President.
The partisan divide is similar to that found in the President’s Job Approval Ratings and on the Generic Congressional Ballot.
“Unaffiliated voters are continuing the pattern they established in 2006 and 2008 of opposing the party in power,” notes Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports. In his new book, Scott makes the case that “the American people don’t want to be governed from the left, the right, or the center. They want to govern themselves.”
Not surprisingly, Republicans overwhelmingly feel closer to the Tea Party and most Democrats say that their views are more like Obama’s. Among voters not affiliated with either major political party, 50% say they’re closer to the Tea Party while 38% side with the President.
The partisan divide is similar to that found in the President’s Job Approval Ratings and on the Generic Congressional Ballot.
“Unaffiliated voters are continuing the pattern they established in 2006 and 2008 of opposing the party in power,” notes Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports. In his new book, Scott makes the case that “the American people don’t want to be governed from the left, the right, or the center. They want to govern themselves.”
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Texas Tea Party's Debra Medina has fiery message and rising prospects in gubernatorial election
When Medina breezed into Lytle's community hall the locals found themselves confronted with a Texan version of Sarah Palin. She wore a sharp scarlet skirt suit, librarian-style glasses and a puffed-up hairdo. More than 60 Lytle residents had gathered to meet her, a hefty turnout on a weekday at 11am for a Republican primary election in the race to be Texas governor. Medina has become a political phenomenon in Texas. Emerging as a genuine star of the rightwing populist Tea Party movement, she delivers a fiery message of slashing taxes and the abolition of almost all forms of federal government, and issues dire warnings that President Obama is taking America down a slippery slope to Soviet-style communism.
It's working. Previously unheard of by the vast majority of Texans, Medina has set the race for governor on fire, upsetting the primary contest between the incumbent, Rick Perry, and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison.
Those gathered to see Medina in Lytle loved her. Young and old, men and women, Latino and white, listened with rapt attention as she outlined her agenda and asked them to back her in this week's first round of voting. If she can beat Hutchison into second place, she can secure a runoff against Perry. That would raise the possibility – distant but real – of a Tea Party activist capturing the government of the second biggest state in America. The Tea Party movement would have gone from being a bunch of ragtag protesters to heading one of the largest single economies in the world. "If we can change politics as usual in Texas, then we can change politics as usual across America. This is not just about Texas, but about changing the whole country," Medina told the Observer before addressing her supporters in Lytle.
Nevertheless, Medina will not be a factor in the gubernatorial election. Here is Rasmussen's latest report:
Texas GOP Primary: Perry 48%, Hutchison 27%, Medina 16%.
It's working. Previously unheard of by the vast majority of Texans, Medina has set the race for governor on fire, upsetting the primary contest between the incumbent, Rick Perry, and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison.
Those gathered to see Medina in Lytle loved her. Young and old, men and women, Latino and white, listened with rapt attention as she outlined her agenda and asked them to back her in this week's first round of voting. If she can beat Hutchison into second place, she can secure a runoff against Perry. That would raise the possibility – distant but real – of a Tea Party activist capturing the government of the second biggest state in America. The Tea Party movement would have gone from being a bunch of ragtag protesters to heading one of the largest single economies in the world. "If we can change politics as usual in Texas, then we can change politics as usual across America. This is not just about Texas, but about changing the whole country," Medina told the Observer before addressing her supporters in Lytle.
Nevertheless, Medina will not be a factor in the gubernatorial election. Here is Rasmussen's latest report:
Texas GOP Primary: Perry 48%, Hutchison 27%, Medina 16%.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
So, when will we see a Black Russian Party?
Furious at the tempest over the Tea Party -- the scattershot citizen uprising against big government and wild spending -- Annabel Park did what any American does when she feels her voice has been drowned out:
She squeezed her anger into a Facebook status update.
let's start a coffee party . . . smoothie party. red bull party. anything but tea. geez. ooh how about cappuccino party? that would really piss 'em off bec it sounds elitist . . . let's get together and drink cappuccino and have real political dialogue with substance and compassion.
Friends replied, and more friends replied. So last month, in her Silver Spring apartment, Park started a fan page called "Join the Coffee Party Movement." Within weeks, her inbox and page wall were swamped by thousands of comments from strangers in diverse locales, such as the oil fields of west Texas and the suburbs of Chicago.
She squeezed her anger into a Facebook status update.
let's start a coffee party . . . smoothie party. red bull party. anything but tea. geez. ooh how about cappuccino party? that would really piss 'em off bec it sounds elitist . . . let's get together and drink cappuccino and have real political dialogue with substance and compassion.
Friends replied, and more friends replied. So last month, in her Silver Spring apartment, Park started a fan page called "Join the Coffee Party Movement." Within weeks, her inbox and page wall were swamped by thousands of comments from strangers in diverse locales, such as the oil fields of west Texas and the suburbs of Chicago.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Buchanan: "...the state they are coming to detest is at war with the country that they still love"
What called the Tea Party into existence?
Some are angry over unchecked immigration and the failure to control our borders and send the illegals back. Some are angry over the loss of manufacturing jobs. Some are angry over winless wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Some are angry over ethnic preferences they see as favoring minorities over them.
What they agree upon, however, is that they have been treading water for a decade, working harder and harder with little or no improvement in their family standard of living. They see the government as taking more of their income in taxes, seeking more control over their institutions, creating entitlements for others not them, plunging the nation into unpayable debt, inviting inflation or a default that can wipe out what they have saved.
And there is nothing they can do about it, for they are politically powerless. By their gatherings, numbers, mockery of elites and militancy, however, they get a sense of the power that they do not have.
Their repeated reappearance on the national stage, in new incarnations, should be a fire bell in the night to the establishment of both parties. For it testifies to their belief and that of millions more that the state they are coming to detest is at war with the country that they still love.
Some are angry over unchecked immigration and the failure to control our borders and send the illegals back. Some are angry over the loss of manufacturing jobs. Some are angry over winless wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Some are angry over ethnic preferences they see as favoring minorities over them.
What they agree upon, however, is that they have been treading water for a decade, working harder and harder with little or no improvement in their family standard of living. They see the government as taking more of their income in taxes, seeking more control over their institutions, creating entitlements for others not them, plunging the nation into unpayable debt, inviting inflation or a default that can wipe out what they have saved.
And there is nothing they can do about it, for they are politically powerless. By their gatherings, numbers, mockery of elites and militancy, however, they get a sense of the power that they do not have.
Their repeated reappearance on the national stage, in new incarnations, should be a fire bell in the night to the establishment of both parties. For it testifies to their belief and that of millions more that the state they are coming to detest is at war with the country that they still love.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Tea Party candidate surges in Texas GOP primary
Tea Party candidate Debra Medina has surged and is now favored by 24 percent in the Texas Republican primary election for governor. If she continues to gain, she could force a runoff with Gov. Rick Perry, favored by 39 percent, and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who has 28 percent.
Public Policy Polling reports, "Medina is clearly riding the wave of discontent with the Republican establishment. Among primary voters who disapprove of the job the GOP in Congress is doing she actually leads with 37% to 32% for Perry and 22% for Hutchison. The problem for Medina is those folks only account for a third of the electorate and among the majority who are happy with the Republicans in Washington she's in a distant third at 17% to 48% for Perry and 27% for Hutchison. There may not end up being enough discontented Republican voters for her to move into the top two but she is nevertheless exceeding expectations.
"Hutchison's issues are twofold: voters trust Washington politicians even less than usual right now and she's simply not connecting with the conservative voters who dominate a GOP primary electorate. Asked whether they have more faith in Washington politicians or Austin politicians to solve Texas' problems 78% said the state level ones to just 3% picking the national level. And while Hutchison has a commanding 49-29 lead over Perry with moderate voters, she is in last place with conservatives. Perry leads the pack at 42% followed by Medina at 25% and Hutchison at 23%. 76% of likely primary voters are conservatives to only 20% who are moderates."
Monday, December 7, 2009
Rasmussen Reports: In generic ballot: Tea Party beats Republican,:but Democrat wins
Running under the Tea Party brand may be better in congressional races than being a Republican.
In a three-way Generic Ballot test, the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds Democrats attracting 36% of the vote. The Tea Party candidate picks up 23%, and Republicans finish third at 18%. Another 22% are undecided.
Among voters not affiliated with either major party, the Tea Party comes out on top. Thirty-three percent (33%) prefer the Tea Party candidate, and 30% are undecided. Twenty-five percent (25%) would vote for a Democrat, and just 12% prefer the GOP.
Among Republican voters, 39% say they’d vote for the GOP candidate, but 33% favor the Tea Party option.
In a three-way Generic Ballot test, the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds Democrats attracting 36% of the vote. The Tea Party candidate picks up 23%, and Republicans finish third at 18%. Another 22% are undecided.
Among voters not affiliated with either major party, the Tea Party comes out on top. Thirty-three percent (33%) prefer the Tea Party candidate, and 30% are undecided. Twenty-five percent (25%) would vote for a Democrat, and just 12% prefer the GOP.
Among Republican voters, 39% say they’d vote for the GOP candidate, but 33% favor the Tea Party option.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
3,000 rally in Orlando protest against Obamanomics
ORLANDO -- Thousands gathered at the amphitheater along Lake Eola for a Boston Tea Party-style protest against President Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan.
Police estimated about 3,000 people attended the rally against what some of them called "taxation without deliberation."
Protesters said they felt the multi-billion dollar stimulus package will not do enough to help stimulate the economy, and that the bill was rushed though before most lawmakers even had the chance to read it.
A media release announcing the event said the rally's aim was to show politicians that they were tired of bailouts and "wasteful Washington spending."
http://www.cfnews13.com/News/Local/2009/3/21/thousands_rally_against_stimulus_plan_at_orlando_tea_party.html
Police estimated about 3,000 people attended the rally against what some of them called "taxation without deliberation."
Protesters said they felt the multi-billion dollar stimulus package will not do enough to help stimulate the economy, and that the bill was rushed though before most lawmakers even had the chance to read it.
A media release announcing the event said the rally's aim was to show politicians that they were tired of bailouts and "wasteful Washington spending."
http://www.cfnews13.com/News/Local/2009/3/21/thousands_rally_against_stimulus_plan_at_orlando_tea_party.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
