GOP worries about 'tea party' candidates' broad appeal

[Lasher]

Little-known candidates backed by the movement have shot into the national spotlight, but some Republicans are nervous about whether they will be able to beat their Democratic opponents in the fall.

The Republican Party is enjoying a burst of raw enthusiasm among rank-and-file conservatives that has shot some relatively little-known candidates straight into the national spotlight — stirring concern among party leaders about how well some of them will fare with the broader electorate in November.

In North Carolina, national party officials make no secret of their displeasure at the possibility of the GOP banner being carried by a "tea-party"-backed candidate with an apparent history of religious zealotry and drug use. In divorce records, the man's ex-wife said he planned to raise his stepfather from the dead in New Jersey.

In South Carolina, the tea party favorite for governor is trying to bat down accusations of infidelity.

In Nevada, a leading conservative contender is facing questions about her ties to the Church of Scientology.

And the newest hero of the tea party movement, Rand Paul, who won the GOP Senate primary in Kentucky, startled more-mainstream Republicans by questioning part of the historic 1964 Civil Rights Act that allowed the government to force lunch counters to desegregate.

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jun/04/nation/la-na-gop-tea-20100605

[rpannier]

1. Well... The Republicans said they were losing because they weren't conservative enough

Here's their chance to test their theory

[Lasher]

2. It's already been tested. Remember NY-23?

Thanks to the teabaggers, a Democrat won there for the first time since dirt was invented.

Here's hoping they Ross Perot themselves into oblivion.

[KharmaTrain]

3. Too Smart By Less Than Half...

The GOOP's poutrage campaign peaked too soon...last year when the teabaggers first came onto the scene. The corporate media was wowed into believing this was some "populist" movement without really looking under the hood. At first it was an astroturfed "movement" headed up by Dick Armey and Faux Noise...more for promotion and to try to shake some money out of "the base". With all the coverage, they thought they had a Tiger by the tail...Dreck's ratings were soaring and the word "teabagger" would send almost every Democratic Congresscritter running for cover. And what did all this poutrage get the "rank and file"? Defeating Health Insurance Reform? Nope. Opposing Bank reform? Nope. Forcing President Obama to show his birth certificate? Nope. And did America become a "socialist paradise"? Nope. Lots of noise, little to show for it.

Instead, the teabaggers was invaded by Paulbots and LaRouchies...people the GOOP's powers that be couldn't control. It was an uneasy "alliance" for a while but the press clippings got the best of 'em. The Freedomwerk's Frankenstein became harder and harder to control...to turn the outrage into cash for establishment GOOP candidates and votes as well. Instead it incited the "whose a "real" conservative" debate...a purity test that is tearing this inept and decrepid party apart.

Today the teabagging chickens could really come home to roost. Chickenlady Sue Lowden will lose to an even nuttier "conservative" and Oily Taterz could well be the GOOP candidate for California Secretary of State. Add to that the split in Kentucky over Paulbot Jr., Florida over Rubio and Arizona, it's not only weakened the party but opens the door for big Democratic gains (if the party plays its cards right).

The fun will be watching the shotgun marriages backfire as we get closer to election day. Will the RNC truly help support teabaggers? Will the baggers show up at the polls and vote for less than "stellar" rushpublicans (like Cpt. Kirk here in Illinois) and then the blame game and circular firing squads that are sure to follow when the GOOP doesn't meet its own astronomical expectations of retaking both houses this fall.

[Lasher]

5. Good summary.

Funny too, hee hee.

Don't forget the Arkansas primary runoff today. I predict Lincoln will get her ass handed to her but it will be a token victory for progressives. Booze Man is way ahead of both her and Halter, even in non-Rasmussen polls.

RCP is currently predicting we'll end up with 52 seats in the Senate.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2010/senate/2010_elections_senate_map_no_toss_ups.html

[KharmaTrain]

7. I Like Halter's Chances...

He's been worth the investment...and I hope he sends Blanche packing tonight. Remember, it wasn't long ago he was double digits behind Lincoln...let's see how the numbers begin to break after the primary dust settles.

I've never been a big fan of RCP...prefering Nate Silver and 531 instead...but to each their own. Predicting elections at this point is kinda like picking a World Series champion. You know who the contenders are at this point, but a lot can happen between now and November.

Cheers...

[Dawson Leery]

21. One would believe that the teaklan was for shotgun weddings.

Based upon their 'heritage' and all.

[elocs]

4. Teahadists are the RW equivalent of the very Liberal left of the Democratic Party.

If the Liberal left were to be all fired up and get candidates to support their points of view it might seem like a movement that would steamroll. But in reality it would be people who would already vote Democratic and in the end their extreme left views would lose the moderate middle, many of whom swing to one party or the other depending upon the issues.

The teahadists are extreme right wing and they already vote Republican. But their extreme views will ultimately alienate the moderate middle, and they will lose.

In the end either party may take elements from their extremes, but if they base themselves on the far right or the far left they will lose the middle.

[Mari333]

8. you are so on ignore.

[elocs]

11. You too. n/t

[elocs]

12. For those having trouble understanding what I wrote: it's where the extremes push the party.

I'm not making an equivalent between their behavior.

Push the party way to the right like Goldwater and you get a huge electoral loss. My first vote cast in a presidential election was for McGovern, same thing. If any want to see the Democratic Party get crushed in a presidential election, just nominate Kucinich.

Most Americans are in the middle and will not vote for either of the extremes. However much those on either end like to fantasize, that's reality.

[miscsoc]

18. Some truth to that, elections are won in the middle

However the centre can be shifted by creating a noisy organised extremist movement. So Goldwater lost, but he was able to spark a rightwards shift in politics that made another wingnut, Reagan, electable 16 years later.

[Lasher]

24. That is a very good point, one that was on my mind too.

We need to shift this country back toward the left, and fight rightwing fascist efforts to keep dragging us forever toward their extremist black hole.

[SpiralHawk]

6. Americans want Americans*, not RepubliBaggers

Faux flag waving hate is not what America is about. The RepubliBaggers will deservedly get voted back to the Homeland they crawled out of...

* America - "land of the free and home of the brave."
Homeland - "fortress of fear and feeble-minded fascism."

[TheCowsCameHome]

9. Well, they certainly bred and created them. Now they don't want them?

How ironic is that?

[Bitwit1234]

10. I think the media are the ones who really created the tea bags

the sanitized them and made them seem as heroes of the Constitution. Their real actions and beliefs were not really put forward. Now that most sane people are seeing for the first time they are a bunch of "idiots, racists, and to dumb to know what they want and are protecting corporate interest", they are moving away from them. But it is too late for the republicans, who thought they had a ready made PR program going.

If the MSM were really truthful and did the job they used to do, this would not be a problem right now. Look at Matthews giving them a "glorified" history on his show. He should be taken off the show. If he is going to tell a story he should get it straight.

[livetohike]

14. Exactly. Also giving them coverage when their rallies are

so small. Everyone loves a circus, I guess. :eyes:

[Arugula Latte]

13. Dr. Frankenstein, behold your monster!

[City Lights]

15. FWIW, they have ZERO appeal to this broad.

;-)

[Lasher]

16. What? Fear, hate, greed and racism don't appeal to you?

I'm with you, City.

:fistbump:

[political_Dem]

17. They created this Frankenstein's monster. Now they have to live with it.

I'm glad they are afraid. They realize they are losing control of their unruly masses in the same way Danton, Marat, Robespierre and the rest of the French Revolutionaries did during The Terror.

[yellowcanine]

19. "the man's ex-wife said he planned to raise his stepfather from the dead"

:rofl:

[Lasher]

23. Orly couldn't keep a lock on the freak show audience forever.

Heh heh.

[gratuitous]

20. But if their candidates have broad appeal, shouldn't that make the GOP happy?

Or are they talking about "broad appeal" in a rump party that now commands less than 30% of the electorate? Which means somewhere between 15-20% of all voters. Which doesn't win too many elections. Sucks to be Frankenstein when the monster comes shambling back home, doesn't it?

[Lasher]

26. Nothing will ever make today's GOP happy. Nothing whatever.

Their base thrives on fear and hate. If they get everything they want, they'll invent something else to poutrage about.

[Union Yes]

22. In D-N-D this is the equivalent of a mage losing control of his golem. knr nt

[Liberal_in_LA]

25. new poll out says tea baggers' approval down