RSS Feed MenuWay back on February 10th, Mary Rakovich pranced around grasping a protest sign in front of Harborside Event Center in downtown Fort Myers, Florida prior to a town hall meeting, few could have predicted that it would be the first in what would become a long and endless stream of so called “tea parties.” Think what you may about the way the tea partiers expressed their outrage, no one can deny that, at least at the outset, the movement emerged in a fairly organic fashion and the outrage, crazy as it may have seemed, appeared genuine. That was then. This is now.
If the lone lady with her sign represents the Tea Party’s origins, a caravan of cars featuring two forty-five foot RVs rolling across the country is the Tea Party movement today. This is the “Tea Party Express” and it is and always has been funded by the “Our Country Deserves Better” political action committee. Quite literally nothing about the “Tea Party Express” is organic, and the “protests” it stages along the way are nothing if not contrived.
The “Tea Party Express Tour” is essentially a series of campaign fundraisers dressed up to look like something else. This seems to be the direction that “Tea Parties” are going. The Tea Party is fast becoming the contrived political tool of political elites on the far right.
Consider the following example: Within the next month (I’m not giving the date because frankly, if you want to attend this idiotic thing, use Google) the “Will County Tea Party Alliance” is going to host what they are calling a “Stop Mark Kirk” rally at, get this, the Woodbine Country Club. The organizers explained that “This event is sponsored for all of you that are tired of being force-fed establishment RINO (Republican in Name Only) candidates. It’s time to make a difference.”
Here’s the real kicker though: the announcement notes that there will be a special appearance!: “It’s time to stand for Conservative principles. It’s time to name names and back true conservatives and impact the upcoming elections: Meet & greet with Senate Candidate Patrick Hughes.”
It goes without saying, but it is not a coincidence that Kirk’s main challenger for the GOP nomination is the featured guest at the “Stop Mark Kirk” Tea Party. Call it whatever you want, but the “Stop Mark Kirk” tea party is a Patrick Hughes campaign rally and fundraiser being held at the great hotbed of political activism that is the local country club.
The political elites on the far right (as well as those who aspire to join them) have hijacked the tea party movement and turned it into a political weapon to be used to promote their own candidates and causes. This is not a positive development for the party. Consider the case of Pat Hughes. Hughes is a real estate developer who has, by his own admission, zero political experience of any kind: “While I have never been formally involved in politics before, and this is my first time running for elected office, I am very committed to winning in 2010 and representing conservative values in Washington.” This sort of inexperience may fly in a state senate race, but it certainly won’t cut it in a national race.
Pushing someone with so little electoral experience seems particularly crazy given the alternative.
Congressman Mark Kirk is ideally positioned to win, and he has the makings of a political figure that could shine on the national stage. He has a bachelor’s degree from Cornell, a Law degree from Georgetown, and a master’s degree from the London School of Economics. Beyond having been elected to Congress, Kirk has worked in the upper levels of the State Department for not one but two presidents. Kirk has fought for his country in three different conflicts, and he is one of two congressmen that remains active in the reserves. Kirk may not toe the party line on energy or guns, but independent thought isn’t a bad thing and more importantly, he is solid on trade, defense, and taxation. Kirk has the background and political skill that Republicans desperately need at the national level. His charisma would make him a formidable political force and an appealing face for the party on the national stage.
Having just watched Democrats hammer through this parody of a healthcare bill, Republicans are acutely aware of the value of one Senate vote. Republicans should ignore the hype being created by the Tea party political machine and focus on winning back the Senate, one race at a time. This means nominating candidates that can win.
teabag // Dec 29, 2009 at 6:26 pm
The teabaggers are also being ripped off financially too. Poor fools and their money are soon parted.
The political action committee behind the Tea Party Express (TPE) — which already has been slammed as inauthentic and corporate-controlled by rival factions in the Tea Party movement — directed almost two thirds of its spending during a recent reporting period back to the Republican consulting firm that created the PAC in the first place.
Our Country Deserves Better (OCDB) spent around $1.33 million from July through November, according to FEC filings examined by TPMmuckraker. Of that sum, a total of $857,122 went to Sacramento-based GOP political consulting firm Russo, Marsh, and Associates, or people associated with it.
From July through November 2009, the firm received $832,403 from OCDB, according to the FEC records. An additional $8,500 went to Russo himself. And Wierzbicki took in $16,219.
jjv // Dec 29, 2009 at 8:23 pm
Why can’t Kirk “hijack” the tea parties? Isn’tthe only reason that he is not able to speak to their issues? Kirk is probably the best fit for Illinois but his kind of Republican is always short on grass roots. Further, his penchant for buying global warming baloney bespeaks a man who will get a lot wrong.
NH // Dec 29, 2009 at 9:38 pm
OH baloney! This is the kind of thinking that got us in the trouble we’re in today.
NO on ‘globaloney’ and NO on bailouts and spending.
YES to the Constitution and this means NO to RINOS.
And just because one group raised money to hire a stupid bus, does not mean the rest of the millions of us who are organized in the states have anything to do with them.
We don’t run on money but on information and we have no head. We have never given anyone money or answered to any DC or national group……
This must frustrate you liberals no end!
teabag // Dec 29, 2009 at 9:55 pm
OH baloney! This is the kind of thinking that got us in the trouble we’re in today.
NO on ‘globaloney’ and NO on bailouts and spending.
YES to the Constitution and this means NO to RINOS.
And just because one group raised money to hire a stupid bus, does not mean the rest of the millions of us who are organized in the states have anything to do with them.
We don’t run on money but on information and we have no head. We have never given anyone money or answered to any DC or national group……
This must frustrate you liberals no end!
You are just the tools of the corporatists. You just don’t understand. You have been “Had” by Dick Armey and Faux News. Sucker.
mr mxyzptlk // Dec 30, 2009 at 2:30 am
I’ve always found the Tea Party name offensive. The Boston Tea Party was about “taxation WITHOUT representation”. Not “taxation with representation we don’t care for.” I also find in a lot of the TV clips of Tea Party rallies and town meetings people who claim to know what the founding fathers would have wanted, but I doubt have read a history of that period or the Constitution itself. It’s fine if you disagree with policies or politics, but please don’t represent it to be anything more than your opinion.
stephena // Dec 30, 2009 at 10:23 am
A few good points have been made already here. I agree with mr mxyzptlk that the Tea Party movement misses a key point: we HAVE representation already, so the historical allusion to “no taxation without representation” is a false one.
Anger at the huge spending increase by the Democrats is understandable, but only up to a point. What did Republicans EXPECT the Dems to do, spend wisely? Cut spending? And we have a mechanism for opposing those programs and spending packages already. It’s called the Republican Party. Why re-invent the wheel? Well…
The Tea Parties don’t seem to exist to promote Republicans and Republican ideals. They exist to trash them, and ultimately, to promote a NEW party. Glenn Beck, who pretty much whipped this movement into existence this summer, has said as much, and frankly, it’s obvious that he’s using the movement and his “9/12 Project” to lay the groundwork for a presidential run. (He’s planning a “big announcement” according to his 9/12 Website’s news page. The photo of him looking out over the White House on that same page is a hint.)
bondwooley // Dec 30, 2009 at 11:19 am
Angry and paranoid people like the teabaggers are making the rest of us angry and paranoid:
http://bit.ly/5K4TIZ
(satire)
MI-GOPer // Dec 30, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Aside from all the far Left democrat activist trolls quoting from the DemocratUnderground bible like teabag… sigh, it’s so predictable a response in these threads anymore… it almost eclipses the other two standards: “It’s Bush’s fault”… “Look, over there, it’s Sarah Palin!!”. Almost.
I would have to say, Jeb, your piece nailed a more important point: “Republicans should ignore the hype being created by the Tea party political machine and focus on winning back the Senate, one race at a time. This means nominating candidates that can win.” And that’s the focus the GOP won’t be missing.
Seat by seat, step by step.
2010, 2012, 2014, 2016… the Democrats are helping out Republicans far more than any constructive, engaged public relations tricks by so-called Tea Partyers. Lincoln (AR), Bennett (CO), Boxer (CA), Dodd (CT), gReid (NV), Dorgan (ND), Specter (PA), BidenDeux (DE) are all vulnerable far more than they would like to be at this juncture. 2012 lines up an equally stunning set of loser democrats… it just keeps getting better and better.
sinz54 // Dec 30, 2009 at 3:03 pm
I checked Mark Kirk’s voting record.
On domestic issues, it’s surprisingly liberal:
* Pro-choice, with a 100% approval rating by NARAL. (That’s unusual for a Republican these days.)
* Voted for TARP.
* Favors gun control; got a “D” by NRA.
* Pro-immigration.
http://www.ontheissues.org/IL/Mark_Kirk.htm
Those positions are antithetical to the Tea Party positions. They haven’t been “hijacked” into opposing Mark Kirk. Rather, they are showing that they are not loyal Republicans, but movement conservatives.
This is Obama’s seat we’re talking about; the chance that a doctrinaire across-the-board conservative can win there is nil. But the Tea Partiers don’t care. Their leaders have said repeatedly that they would rather see the GOP lose elections, than win with candidates whose positions differ sharply from their own.
PracticalGirl // Dec 31, 2009 at 11:36 am
It would appear the the Tea Party is attempting to hijack the Republican party with their political inractibility and willingness to ignore local electoral preferences.
PracticalGirl // Dec 31, 2009 at 11:36 am
Uh, that’s intractibility.
Demosthenes // Jan 2, 2010 at 9:43 am
As a resident of Illinois, I can tell you that Mr. Kirk is pretty typical of the kinds of Republicans that win statewide office. Until recently, moderate Republicans generally win the governorships (Thompson, Edgar, and Ryan), and independent minded ones even go on to the Senate (Fitzgerald, for example). The problem, of course, is the shrinkage of the Republican Party in this state (due to the state party’s corruption and incompetence — see, e.g., former Gov. Ryan, who is currently a “guest” in a state prison) so that primary voters are really far right wingers. Thus, while Mr. Kirk is a bankable candidate statewide, the right wing extremists dominating the Republican Party nowadays are in full self-destruct mode. For example, it is they, not the Democrats, engaging in whispering campaign about Mr. Kirk’s sexual orientation. This kind of story doesn’t win votes for Mr. Kirk, but if he survives the primary, will ensure that right wingers stay at home in November.
joedee1969 // Jan 4, 2010 at 5:42 am
This movement will be hijacked like any party because of the baby boomers and their destruction:
http://americaspeaksink.com/2010/01/2010-more-baby-boomer-destruction/
Rockerbabe // Jan 4, 2010 at 12:38 pm
The problem I see with the tea partyers, is that they do outrageous things in the name of holding back progress. Such as toting guns to public events; “like, who are they going to shoot?” and not get into trouble. Screaming and shouting at anyone who has the audicity to disagree with them on anything; mostly aimed at their elected officials!
Spouting off racial slurs that are offensive to say the least. Comparing reform of a private system that harms its policyholders to Communism, Socialism or Maoism; as if the leaders in those political systems would have ever allowed such public displays of opposition! Compairing President Obama to Hitler is just stupid and grossly offensive. I guess, they, like so many repugs think if they say something long enough, it will become true or maybe someone else will belief such outrageous claims.
Limited government is their aim [that is my observations from listening to some of the more "sound" souls I have encountered]. But, no one, none of them is willing to give up or modify their benefits under social security, medicare, medicaide, SHIPS, VA, etc. So who do they think they are kidding?