Tea Party Continues Winning

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Jonathon Moseley:

Yes, you heard that right.  The tea party is (still) winning, even during and after this year’s 2014 Republican primary season.

The tea party is not a political party. It never has been. The tea party never set as its goal defeating every single incumbent Republican officeholder. The fact that the tea party has taken the scalps of about 50 House Democrats in the 2010 election and several giants in the Republican establishment during 2010 and 2012 is a bonus. That is far in excess of what the tea party movement ever expected to accomplish.

The tea party movement was born in the Spring of 2009, out of Rick Santelli’s famous rant on CNBC on February 18, 2009, calling on citizens to gather and throw tea into Lake Michigan near Chicago as a tea party protest. A few activists claim credit for hatching precursor efforts earlier than that, mainly supporters of Ron Paul.  But Rick Santelli’s nationwide television broadcast was the rocket’s blastoff.

The purpose of the tea party was to protest financial irresponsibility, excessive regulation strangling liberty and the economy, and business as usual in Washington (voting for bills no one has read, for example). The tea party was always about promoting issue positions for financial responsibility.  The tea party was not primarily about running candidates.

The tea party continues to dominate the Republican Party. Although there are many enemies of the commonsense goals of the tea party, they mostly have to scheme behind closed doors. The few exceptions get pounded with criticism.

Yet in 2014, many candidates favored by the Republican establishment have survived primary challenges. Is this the test for whether the tea party is successful or is fading?  No.

First, as Christine O’Donnell just tweeted, the winners of these primary candidates are (more or less) conservative Republicans. A notable exception is Dr. Monica Wehby in Oregon, who is pro-choice, and perhaps Mitch McConnell, who was never going to be unseated anyway.

This election cycle, establishment-backed candidates not only pretended to be tea-party friendly conservatives, but by and large actually are. The establishment did not try to ram through liberals like Olympia Snowe or Arlen Specter. For example, analysts are trying to portray conservative Rep. Jack Kingston (ACU life-time rating 95.6%, designated as an “ACU Conservative”) as “establishment” in the Georgia primary for U.S. Senate.

As a result, tea party conservatives were not motivated as strongly to oppose establishment candidates in 2014 as they were in 2010. The difference was not that great among the primary candidates.

Second, the tea party already knocked off some of the worst Republican incumbents in 2010 and 2012. That leads to the result that 2014’s incumbents did not draw as much fire from the tea party this time around.

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Think what the TEA party could have achieved on a level playing field where they could pour as much money into issue-oriented ads as Dem UNION orgs can.
It would have been a rout!
Clinton opposed a minimum wage hike, but who knows this fact?
An issue-oriented ad buy could help the nuts at OWS and their offspring realize that fact.

Today unionistas (paid for by unions but mostly street people) are holding signs at fast food outlets for a minimum wage hike.
The only people it would help are the union members whose base pay is pegged to the min. wage.
Actual entry level workers would be laid off in droves as machinery can easily (but not quite cheaply enough for now) be replacing them.

First, as Christine O’Donnell just tweeted, the winners of these primary candidates are (more or less) conservative Republicans. A notable exception is Dr. Monica Wehby in Oregon, who is pro-choice, and perhaps Mitch McConnell, who was never going to be unseated anyway.

I take issue that Jonathon Moseley paints most of the primary winners as “more or less” conservatives. Boehner after all won his Primary as did a few other of the GOP establishment. Still, the primaries are not yet over.

How can anyone talk against the TEA-PARTY,,
after all they are part of the family in this AMERICA,
they are your neignbors, and they can see first hand the problems of the people,
they can tell when an abuse is done first hand they live outside the CAPITOL CLOSE TO ANY CIVILIANS,
where one was murder by their Guards just for coming to close,
no the TEA-PARTY are from the people and for the people, WHAT THEY DO IS DONE BY THE PEOPLE
WHICH THEY ARE,
AND THE ESTABLISHMENT IS SO SCARE OF HAVING THE PEOPLE CHANGE THEIR WAY OF HAVING NOTHING TO DO MOST OF THE TIMES, AND ACCEPT TO BE PAID BY THE PEOPLE FOR PLAYING GAMES
ON THEIR LAPTOP, they are quick to demonize the people of the TEA-PARTY raising their family,
just like their neighbors do, but special they are because they are unafraid to be targetted by establishment having the power to destroy people and done it many time to AMERICANS WHILE THEY
SEND MONEY OVERSEA MISTAKENLY THEY KEEP CLAIMING TO BE,
how is it possible those outragely have answer the call from high above the ladder of power to tyranize the TEA-PARTY, is a criminal action from whoever demand it and who execute that demand,
the consequences of their actions went much further than they know, because they where hurting the
PATRIOTS OF THIS NATION, braves , but vulnerable because human, having a family to protect also,
and protect their name having been assaulted by the IRS, how dare you hurt the guardians of this AMERICA,