By MARC McDONALD
Shell-shocked Republicans are continuing to do a post-mortem on why Mitt Romney's bid for the White House was a flop. But in trying to understand their defeat, they really need to point the finger of blame at a section of the GOP itself: the Tea Party.
Since it sprang into action a few years ago, the Tea Party has prided itself on "re-energizing" the GOP base and returning the party to its core principles. And indeed, the Tea Party did inspire a lot of Conservatives who had been dismayed by the likes of big-spending George W. Bush (even though the Tea Party only started making a big fuss when President Obama entered the White House).
The Tea Party made itself into a force to be reckoned within the GOP. It was a force that could no longer be ignored by party leaders. Which meant that the "moderate" Romney was obligated to pick a Tea Party favorite as his VP selection.
Paul Ryan may have delighted the Tea Partiers. But his hard-line extremism scared the hell out of the rest of us. Far from enhancing the Romney ticket, it's clear that Ryan was a liability from Day One.
Ryan's presence on the ticket demonstrates that the GOP still hasn't grasped one of the cardinal rules of U.S. politics. That is: you don't screw with Medicare. No matter how much lipstick the GOP tried to put on Ryan's "voucher" pig, most non-Fox News-watching voters saw it for what it was: the first step toward ending Medicare entirely.
Frankly, the Tea Party should take much of the blame for Romney's failed White House bid. Yes, the movement did inspire a segment of the GOP. But in doing so, it poisoned the overall GOP brand.
In keeping Tea Party figures like Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann out of the spotlight during the GOP convention, the GOP tried to downplay the extremist crazies in the party that scared middle-of-the-road voters. Oddly, though, the GOP didn't grasp that it'd be a problem if a Tea Party extremist was given the VP nod.
Tea Partiers have long claimed that they're working to "save" America and return the GOP to its roots. But really, all the movement has accomplished is to damage the Republican brand and to make average voters wary of an increasingly extreme GOP.
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4 comments:
The comment "ven though the Tea Party only started making a big fuss when President Obama entered the White House" is nonsensical, unqualified drivel.
The Tea Party was founded by Libertarian Constitutionalists such as Ron Paul- whose enormous following has been the key change in returning the GOP platform back to the GOP core values of minimal government, maximum personal freedom and "trade with all, treaty with none".
Such Jeffersonian ideals are hardly the realm of crackpots, racists nor insane fanatics.
Ron Paul stands for minimal Federal Government, sound money (an economy where inflation is not exaggerated by no Fiat currency-), personal freedoms as guaranteed by the US Constitution, eradication of ALL federal intrusions- SOPA, PIPA, NAFTA, PATRIOT and so many more, and greater sovereignty for the States.
The Tea Party platform would benefit ALL Americans- regardless of colour, class, creed or caste. The military-industrial complex, war racketeering, financial criminality would be minimized- through a non-entanglement foreign policy of friendly direct diplomacy- "trade with all, treaty with none" and the enforcement of Glaas-Stegall Act and Frank Dodds acts/bills.
Americans would be free to live their lives as they saw fit without any intrusion- which means gays could do whatever they wanted so long as they did not infringe on the rights of others.
Tea Party stands for Rights with its inherent Responsibiities.
One would expect any thinking voter to be 100% behind the Tea Party movement- as externally to the US- there is an enormous following and support of Ron Paul and his common-sense positivity and pacifism.
re:
>>The comment "ven though the Tea
<>fuss when President Obama
>>entered the White House" is
>>nonsensical, unqualified drivel.
You right-wingers don't seem to have a very good memory. Yes, Tea Party types may have been around before Obama. But we didn't start seeing these vast Fox News-sponsored public demonstrations until Obama became president. It was only when Obama entered the White House that we started seeing these big marches in Washington and elsewhere.
You can believe whatever you want, but you can't re-write history.
Actually, some of your other points, I do agree with. If I'm reading your comment correctly, you seem to support the likes of Dodd–Frank and Glass–Steagall. I totally agree with you there.
And you also seem to be in favor of reining in the vast Military Industrial Complex. I'm definitely in favor of that---but I certainly don't think that can be called a mainstream GOP stance. I know a lot of Republicans and all of them are in favor of expanding the Military Industrial Complex, not reducing it.
In fact, I would bet more Progressives are in favor of reducing the MIC than Republicans.
Great observations, Marc. I might add that, had it not been for 3010 gerrymandering, the House would have gone Democratic too. The Tea Party will soon destroy the GOP from within.
Hi Jack, thanks for your comment.
re:
>>The Tea Party will soon destroy
>>the GOP from within.
I hope you're right. You know, the ironic thing about the Tea Party is that if they'd played their cards right, they could have been effective and even done good for this nation.
After all, there IS obscenely wasteful spending in our government. "Military" spending, for example, as well as these crazy, unnecessary trillion-dollar wars. If the Tea Party had focused like a laser on this sort of obscene government waste and corruption, they could have gotten support, even from people like me. But the fact is, a lot of these people simply aren't the brightest bulbs on the Christmas tree. I bet you a lot of them believe that more tax dollars go to Solyndra than to the Pentagon.
In reality, Solyndra cost around $500 million. That's nickel-dime chump change, compared to the obscene waste and fraud that goes on daily in the Military Industrial Complex.
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