The unsung Heroes of 2012
Reading an editorial in the Christian Science Monitor made me realize we Democrats haven't shown our gratitude to one group who was instrumental in our success at the polls on Tuesday, the Tea Party.
So I wan't to express my profound gratitude on behalf of Democrats everywhere to the Right Wing radicals who worked to build up the Tea Party's influence inside the Republican Party. We Democrats couldn't have been so successful in the recent election without the pivotal role you played in electing Democrats. Keep up the good work!
Why Democrats have the tea party to thank for their win
By Jeremy D. Mayer
The tea party didn’t let any national Republicans take popular, bipartisan steps.
The tea party, as a force in American politics, is largely finished now, barring another economic collapse. The millions of supporters of that movement are not going to vanish, though, nor will their very real issue of government spending.
In Missouri and Indiana, it was ill-tuned remarks about women, rape, and abortion that turned likely victories into painful defeats for Republicans. But the tea party, at its core, isn’t a social-issues movement. Its supporters of small government and radical spending cuts, though, include many figures who hold hard-right social views.
The Tea Party also was successful in stampeding most of the Republican candidates for President to the far right during the primaries including their eventual nominee Mitt Romney. During the debates Romney tried to squirm out from under all the extreme baggage, with limited success. Romney's previous embrace of extreme positions were already well known to many voters watching the debates, so when Mitt backed away from his previous positions he sounded insincere.
It wasn't just those two big high profile losses in Senate races that shows how the Tea Party damaged Republicans' chances in the congress.
Tea Party Holds Most Seats While Alienating Voters
By Roxana Tiron and James Rowley
The Tea Party movement suffered some losses to Democrats in U.S. Senate races in Indiana and Missouri, while a half-dozen freshman Republicans who rode the Tea Party wave in 2010 were defeated in the Nov. 6 election.
Defeated were freshman Representatives Joe Walsh and Allen West, members of the House caucus, and Roscoe Bartlett, a 10-term Maryland Republican. Another caucus member, Jeff Landry of Louisiana, is in a runoff with Republican Charles Boustany.
Freshman Republicans who were defeated include Chip Cravaack of Minnesota, Bobby Schilling and Walsh, both of Illinois, and Nan Hayworth of New York. Two others, Frank Guinta of New Hampshire and Ann Marie Buerkle of New York, lost to Democrats they had unseated two years ago.
The Tea party has stained the Republicans brand. I hope they can continue to do so for years to come.
Thank you again Tea Party
