Christine O'Donnell shocked Republican and Democratic party establishments when she ousted candidate Mike Castle in Delaware’s Republican Senate primary Sept. 14.
Castle was a nine-term U.S. representative and former governor of the state, and his victory was considered a lock. He was the party choice.
O'Donnell’s win was completely unpredicted, a true upset, and was the latest in a series of primary upsets that have left the Republican establishment dazed and confused—and cautious.
O‘Donnell received no funding from the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) during her campaign. After her primary victory, the Wall Street Journal reported an NRSC official as saying the committee did not plan to contribute money to O’Donnell’s campaign. The NRSC reversed its decision a day later.
O'Donnell did receive funding from a group called the Tea Party Express. She has echoed the group’s populist theme that the government is out of touch with the people.
Seasoned Republican politicos are divided, with some seeing the “Tea Party” movement as a return to conservative values and a righting of the ship; others see it as a disruption to regaining congressional power in November via midterm election victories.
“I’m for the Republican, but I got to tell you, we were looking at eight to nine seats in the Senate. We are now looking at seven to eight in my opinion. This is not a race we’re going to be able to win,” former Bush adviser Karl Rove stated on Fox News.
Democrats see the success of tea party candidates as a threat to their progress, and are using the group to rally their party base. A petition on the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) website says that “Tea Partyers are the most extreme candidates the GOP has to offer.”
“We can’t afford to let these Tea Party extremists invade the Senate. Sign up now, and help the DSCC fight back!” the message concludes.
Continued on the next page...
Marginalized
There is no political party called the “Tea Party.” It is a loosely organized mass movement.
The more this movement is marginalized, the more powerful it becomes. Accusations of it being fringe and extreme only strengthen it. In the eyes of Tea Partiers, the accusations illustrate the disconnect: what was once the norm—principles of restricted government, free enterprise and markets, and self reliance versus entitlement—is now portrayed as radical and extreme.
For these conservatives, expansion of federal powers is a real threat to the Constitution and its form of government. They identify a progression by the federal government: the reduction of privacy and liberty under President Bush, the massive stimulus bill and other spending supported by both parties, and what they see as a government takeover of private industry and health care by the Obama administration and congressional Democrats.
Republicans will bear the brunt of Tea Party anger, as they have claimed to represent conservatives, but have abandoned a key tenet: smaller, limited government. Conservatives are sounding the warning bell with these Republican primary upsets, telling the party establishment that win or lose, if you want our vote, you'd better represent our values.
For Democrats, they will feel it in November, and may just lose majority power. Not necessarily because Republicans are the preference. Instead, Republicans are a mechanism used to stop expansion of governmental powers, and massive spending in a time of economical hardship.
Regardless of your sentiments, what is occurring now is one of the biggest political movements since the 1960s, and will change the country. The Tea Party is a manifestation of something much bigger—something underneath—and to its supporters it is not a political fight, but a battle to preserve the country, its traditions and principles, and its form of government.
Castle was a nine-term U.S. representative and former governor of the state, and his victory was considered a lock. He was the party choice.
O'Donnell’s win was completely unpredicted, a true upset, and was the latest in a series of primary upsets that have left the Republican establishment dazed and confused—and cautious.
O‘Donnell received no funding from the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) during her campaign. After her primary victory, the Wall Street Journal reported an NRSC official as saying the committee did not plan to contribute money to O’Donnell’s campaign. The NRSC reversed its decision a day later.
O'Donnell did receive funding from a group called the Tea Party Express. She has echoed the group’s populist theme that the government is out of touch with the people.
Seasoned Republican politicos are divided, with some seeing the “Tea Party” movement as a return to conservative values and a righting of the ship; others see it as a disruption to regaining congressional power in November via midterm election victories.
“I’m for the Republican, but I got to tell you, we were looking at eight to nine seats in the Senate. We are now looking at seven to eight in my opinion. This is not a race we’re going to be able to win,” former Bush adviser Karl Rove stated on Fox News.
Democrats see the success of tea party candidates as a threat to their progress, and are using the group to rally their party base. A petition on the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) website says that “Tea Partyers are the most extreme candidates the GOP has to offer.”
“We can’t afford to let these Tea Party extremists invade the Senate. Sign up now, and help the DSCC fight back!” the message concludes.
Continued on the next page...
Marginalized
There is no political party called the “Tea Party.” It is a loosely organized mass movement.
The more this movement is marginalized, the more powerful it becomes. Accusations of it being fringe and extreme only strengthen it. In the eyes of Tea Partiers, the accusations illustrate the disconnect: what was once the norm—principles of restricted government, free enterprise and markets, and self reliance versus entitlement—is now portrayed as radical and extreme.
For these conservatives, expansion of federal powers is a real threat to the Constitution and its form of government. They identify a progression by the federal government: the reduction of privacy and liberty under President Bush, the massive stimulus bill and other spending supported by both parties, and what they see as a government takeover of private industry and health care by the Obama administration and congressional Democrats.
Republicans will bear the brunt of Tea Party anger, as they have claimed to represent conservatives, but have abandoned a key tenet: smaller, limited government. Conservatives are sounding the warning bell with these Republican primary upsets, telling the party establishment that win or lose, if you want our vote, you'd better represent our values.
For Democrats, they will feel it in November, and may just lose majority power. Not necessarily because Republicans are the preference. Instead, Republicans are a mechanism used to stop expansion of governmental powers, and massive spending in a time of economical hardship.
Regardless of your sentiments, what is occurring now is one of the biggest political movements since the 1960s, and will change the country. The Tea Party is a manifestation of something much bigger—something underneath—and to its supporters it is not a political fight, but a battle to preserve the country, its traditions and principles, and its form of government.
