Does Romney’s candidacy mean tea party power has fizzled?
WASHINGTON — It dominated the country’s politics just two years ago, a grassroots rebellion that rolled through the Republican Party, helped seize power in Washington and threatened to upend the established order for years to come.
Now, the tea party is not what it was. As the Republicans wrap up their quest for a 2012 presidential nominee, their choice of Mitt Romney over Rick Santorum signals a shift back to a more traditional approach.
Romney’s victory, sealed with Santorum’s decision Tuesday to suspend his challenge, was a triumph of political pragmatism over ideology, a cool calculation by primary voters and the party establishment that the most important thing was picking someone who could win, not necessarily someone who should win.
In so doing, they set aside some of the passions that roiled the party just two years ago. Fed by a backlash against President Barack Obama and the Democratic Congress, those passions helped seize the House of Representatives. But they also led the party to purge moderates in states such as Colorado, Delaware and Nevada who could have won Democratic seats in the Senate.
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Does Romney’s candidacy mean tea party power has fizzled?
A *grass roots rebellion* that was a great idea in its inception, but one that *withered on the vine*, so to speak. I guess it’s OK to say that, since the media insists on using the *grass* metaphor over and over and over in ad infinitum et ad nauseum.
The TEA Party has been about as powerful as a fart in a Wyoming wind storm.
In the 2008 Presidential cycle all we heard was ‘We MUST support the TEA Party and McCain/Palin’.
I had the audacity to ask WHY? I wanted to know WHY we were supporting the strangest ticket the GOP could have come up with. I asked WHY were we supporting a RINO of the 1st Order (McCain) and a fluff piece like Sarah Palin, a person that QUIT, and I don’t give a DAMN about all the weak-assed reasoning she gave, she QUIT half way through her Alaska Governorship because she couldn’t take the heat.
I wanted to know WHY we were supporting that ticket and I stated, in no uncertain terms, that if McCain/Palin was the best the GOP could do, this nation was SCREWED as far as so-called Conservative politics was concerned.
“Oh, but Fred, Palin is a GUN person, she kills moose..”
Big flippin’ deal, is there a huge call for MOOSE BURGERS that I am just not aware of?
We, American Conservatives, had McCain/Palin foisted off on us by the GOP and Palin was touted as being ‘the darling of the TEA Party’. I heard that line so many times I was nearly SICK!
“Oh, but Fred, McCain is a war hero, he was a POW…”
McCain was shot down on a mission over North Vietnam, he was a POW, just like all other POWs. That makes him a WAR HERO in many minds but war hero or not, John McCain was a RINO, he stood with the Democrats as often as he stood with Republicans, he was, at best, a wild card, and the TEA Party told us that this was a good thing.
What else has the TEA Party and it’s *darling* done? lets see;
1. Joe Miller in Alaska, got his head handed to him by Lisa Murkowski, in a *write-in campaign* for crying out loud.
2. Scott Brown, touted by Palin as the right one to replace Ted Kennedy, someone that would offer balance to the John Kerry way of doing business. Scott Brown is the strongest ally Kerry could have. Scott Brown is a RINO.
3. And then there was Christine O’Donnell. Need I say more?
The TEA Party was a great idea, one that needed to be, but the TEA Party self destructed, and that *grass roots* stuff was one of the biggest reasons why. The TEA Party had NO leadership, and without leadership, all you have is unorganized rabble, well, unless you’re an Occupy troll, and Occupy, even with leadership, was STILL just rabble, nasty, smelly rabble.
The TEA Party was simply a cleaner, more polite rabble, one that made VERY certain that you knew, “We will NOT have leaders, we are ALL free thinkers and we are ALL leaders.” THAT was the problem, too many Chiefs and not enough Indians, and everyone running in different directions.
Now, here we are in 2012 and the GOP had their, by God THEIR candidate picked at least as far back as October of 2011.
I posted this on Oct. 6th, and I intend to keep posting it as often as the opportunity presents itself: Romney to be GOP nominee – Elections no longer required.
The TEA Party is about as USELESS as it gets. Many TEA Party groups were co-opted by the GOP, so much for bipartisanship. Many TEA Party groups were taken over by Ron Paultards. So much for sanity. And now the GOP has their *chosen one*, it’s a done deal, and you know what’s really ticking me off? We haven’t had a primary election here in Texas. I guess Texas, and the other states that haven’t held a primary yet just don’t matter to the GOP.
If it weren’t for our own primary elections this year, Texas could just opt out and save a ton of money.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I say this in ALL honesty, the TEA Party was the biggest waste of time we Conservatives ever spent and as of the last couple of presidential elections, the GOP/RNC, Reince Priebus, Georgette Mosbacher et al are an even BIGGER waste of time and money. They do NOT care what Americans want, they only care about what THEY want, and by God, that’s the way it’s going to be.
If anyone from the GOP ever makes a statement about *nanny state* again, they are a fool and a hypocrite. The GOP/RNC fully embrace and represent the *nanny state* way of doing business.
It looks like we’re stuck with Romney this time around, and once again we will vote for the lesser of the evils.
Personally, I am getting VERY tired of voting for the lesser of ANYTHING. I am getting very tired of having others force their will off on the American people.
When do we, the American Conservative say ENOUGH?
I can’t help but feel the real reason most conservative politicians become RINO’s is they don’t want to take a big chance on losing all that they worked so hard to get. They like having political power, they like all the benefits and perks of being in public office, they like the lifetime premium health care, the retirement planse, etc. They do not want to lose all this just because they showed the world they are true conservatives. After all, it could mean losing their jobs. And we all know that a politician has little other skill sets other than being a politician.
It’s kinda like when you ask a politician to answer a question that will commit him to an answer. They never answer it. They will tell you they’re looking at the problem, they’re listening to the people, they’re reviewing the studies…blah blah blah, and they will come up to a conclusion when it’s time to vote on the matter. They want to be able to change their mind at the last minute to coincide with the way the political winds blow. They want an out if it looks like something is not popular with the voters.
They are all NON-COMMITTAL. There are very few Chris Christie’s out there that stay on point and piss off people liberals most of the time. Those in power don’t want to go on record for something they may get called out on later that may make them look too conservative. Being conservative all all matters all the time to them looks like political career suicide. So, we have a middle of the road, one flavor for all, GOP candidate.
Now, I have to ask myself, why do this? Why not stand up for what they believe in. Well, a politician’s career thrives on being able to say “yes” to everyone. Since conservatives are one half of this country and the other half is liberal, they need to be able to appeal to both sides. Very few conservatives feel comfortable enough in their jobs to remain conservative on every issue. Politics is about compromise, so they compromise everything, even their conservative values, if they think it will get them and keep them in power. So, they make choices that they think will please everyone. But like the old saying goes, “If you try to please everyone all of the time, you end up pleasing no one”. But this is okay for a politician, because everyone is equally “not pleased”, which in their minds is better than just under half of the voters being really pleased. They know that less than half the vote means they are out of a job.
They just do not feel confident enough that conservative voters are the majority vote for them. To a politician, the only thing that matters is votes. So they go middle of the road and play it safe. When they face public opinion, the media, polls, etc., they have wiggle room. When they face their liberal masters who are currently in charge, they have wiggle room. Wiggle room to look like they won’t rock the boat or piss off too many of either party so they can keep their cushy job.
However, if we can show that being a strong conservative is a good thing, then maybe these guys will poke their heads up and start acting like we want them to. Maybe if they had a conservative president and a conservative house and senate, they would start acting more conservative. Maybe if they had a majority conservative media, they would act apropriately. But for now, they don’t. Also, for both republican or democrat, niether party stays in power very long. So, those politicians that look at the long game, know that even if there is a conservative feeling in the air today, and they feel comfortable enough to flex their conservative muscle, know that they will become marked men when the winds change direction. There will one day be those in power above them that will remember who the real republican problems were, and get rid of them. Maybe that is one reason that there should not be career politicians. Get in, do your service to the best of your ability, stay true to your core beliefs, and then leave to join the rest of us to participate in the gov’t that you helped create. However, to the average politician, one of the worst things that could happen to them would be for them to live under the rules they help create. To have to worry about health care and retirement like the rest of us. They think it is better to stay a politician for as long as possible and the way to do that for them, is to not make waves and play the game. hence, we constangly get stuck with wishy washy middle of the road politicians. They may get into politics for the right reasons, but in the end, realize that its a great gig, so they go along to get along. Better to be all things to everyone and have a lifetime sweet career as opposed to getting voted out when being too conservative is viewed as not a good thing.
How do we solve this? How do we get conservative politicians to act like conservatives ALL THE TIME? Maybe if there was a strong conservative media that would praise them for their conservative actions instead of condemning them. Maybe if it looked like the STRONG majority of conservative voters showed them their support by giving generous donations. Maybe if voters rewarded conservative candidates with something better than just slightly over 50% of the votes. If conservative politicians felt safe in their jobs when acting in a true conservative manner. Then, true conservative politicians will re-appear. But for now, that just does not happen.
Politicians would rather play it safe and have a long cozy gov’t career with all of its benefits and perks as opposed to a conservative flash in the pan 2 year or 4 year stint. I can almost bet that the first minute a politician wins an election, he or she immediately starts thinking what they need to do to win the next election. Very few want to be one hit wonders so the speak. For them, it is way better to have a long mediocre career than it is to have a successful single term.
It took a lot of time, money and effort for these guys to get what political office they acquired and they don’t want to blow it by standing out as a problem conservative. Better to put on the RINO suit and maintain power. Politicians like Chris Christie are the exception, not the norm. Christie didn’t seem to care if he won the election or not. But for most other politicians, winning election and re-election is all they have. They have to play it safe. They feel that being a RINO is the best way to keep their jobs. This is probably why so many of them drink and resort to destructive lifestyles. They probably can’t sleep at night knowing they traded their beliefs for a cushy lifestyle.
Today’s republicans do not have the character or the charisma to act like Chris Christie or Allen West. They act just conservative enough to put the (R) in front of their names and pander slightly to the conservative voter. But in the end, being a RINO is the path to along political career. They so despartely need to be all things to everyone. Today, there is little reward for the politician who stands out for what they truly believe. The voters that put them in office will very easily turn on them by next election. It’s tough being a conservative politician and so many of them do not have what it takes. Being a RINO is so much easier.
So, until we conservatives make it safe once again for a politician to act conservative all the time, take back the media and show these politicians that the liberal media is not the majority view, show them that they will have strong 60% voting wins by acting truly conservative, and that the true majority view in this country (and more importantly, the voters) is CONSERVATIVE, these “middle of the aisle” politicians will continue to be RINO’s and try to be all things to everyone. When being a true conservative is rewarded consistently by the media, by the donors, and most importantly, by the voters, conservative values will re-appear.
Then again, maybe I’m just ranting. Maybe I’m wrong.
My 2 cents:
The only vote that counts for me is the one where Barack Obama is one choice and a Republican is the other.
In which case the lesser of the two is Barack Obama, and I won’t vote for the lesser choice.
A third party candidate, no matter who it is, renders Barack Obama the winner, unless something really crazy happens. That is totally unacceptable.
And nowhere do I tout a 3rd party candidate… My statements have been that no matter what, we MUST support Romney, Obama has got to go…
A 3rd party is a possibility, but NOT at this time… But what is really needed is NOT a 3rd party, what is NEEDED is for the GOP to have it’s ass kicked so hard they have NO idea what hit em as we turn the GOP into a REAL Conservative party, or to ashes… One or the other…
I didn’t intend to suggest that you were supporting or would support a third party, Fred. Apologies if that’s the way it came across.
The GOP definitely needs to man-up, and it likely will take a 2 x 4 to do it. After we beat Obama in November.
I’m not very confident that the GOP can be fixed anymore. However, I strongly agree that now ain’t the time to be trying to put together a third party. That will be later, after we get rid of obama and other assorted commies in power right now. Afterwards, when the realization that the GOP has become dem lite and forever lost their conservative ways, it may be time to do away with the lot of them entirely. If those in the GOP wish to remain in the political world, then we make them change the (R) in front of their name to a (T) (tea party) and allow them to “interview” all over again for the position. We need a party to realize that they are there for us…not the other way around. If they don’t meet our expectations, then away they go.
Kinda like when making the decision to remodel a home versus building a new one. There comes a point when the option to remodeling becomes too expensive, too much work, and the results will not meet the desired final outcome. This is when it will make perfect sense to start fresh.
I can’t help but feel that this may be the answer at some point in the future. I say we give the GOP one more chance to get it right. If we the voters get them back in the whitehouse, along with gaining/maintaining the house and/or senate, and they decide to benefit themselves and their cronies instead of the people that put them back in power, well, we all know what we need to do.