Tea Party Not Faring So Well in Congress OR Colorado

13 Comments

by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE: Commenting on Tea Party attacks on fellow Mesa Commissioner Craig Meis, former Lt. Governor and GOP County Commissioner Janet Rowland told The Grand Junction Sentinel this:

Rowland on Monday questioned GJResult’s credibility and representations of tea party ideologies, alleging the group consists of “three to five men sitting around a table smoking cigarettes, drinking coffee, deciding who they want to endorse.”

“I don’t put a lot of stock in allegations they make … they don’t hold up,” Rowland said.

There’s just no love to be had anywhere, is there?

—–

We wrote last week about Tea Party concerns that Republicans would abandon them now that the election is over. Those concerns seem to have been justified, as a couple of recent stories from our friends at the Washington Post’s “The Fix” indicates.

First, there was this story about Tea Party darling Rep. Michelle Bachman on Friday:

Republican establishment 1, tea party 0.

That’s the post-midterm score after tea party darling Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.) dropped her candidacy for a spot in the House Republican leadership roughly one week after announcing it…

…Bachmann’s quick exit from the leadership race signals that while the tea party may have seized control from the GOP establishment outside Washington, the powers that be still have, well, power in the halls of Congress.

And with Hensarling’s victory now assured, there won’t be a single challenge to any member of the Republican leadership team – a sign that tea party might not have changed things within the party as much as people thought they had. [Pols emphasis]

As counting continues in the Alaska Senate race, it appears that the Tea Party has a new enemy on the Republican side as well. Again, from “The Fix“:

Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski had some harsh criticism for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) during an interview Monday night with CBS’ Katie Couric…

…Murkowski, who pursued a write-in candidacy after losing the Aug. 24 primary, also took a shot at the tea party Monday night, telling Couric that the reason she lost her primary was because she does not “pass the purity test” that the movement has set out. She used bipartisan rhetoric in describing where she falls on the issues.

“I will tell you, I am not one of those who wants Obama to fail,” Murkowski said. “If he does well, that means the country’s doing well. We don’t have time as a nation to spend all of what we do blocking. We have got to figure out how we get to a point where we can be sitting around the table and talking about these difficult problems and advancing some solutions.” [Pols emphasis]

Murkowski appears to have the lead in the Alaska Senate race as write-in ballots continue to be counted. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell apparently told Murkowski that, if she wins, she will retain her seniority as the top Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. While Murkowski will likely continue to caucus with the Republicans, she’ll be no friend to the Tea Party movement.

13 thoughts on “Tea Party Not Faring So Well in Congress OR Colorado”

SSG_Dan says:

November 16, 2010 at 7:39 pm

Congratulations, suckas! You knocked off some tough Dems the GOP was worried about, and you got some people to the polls.

Now STFU and go to the back of the Congress. We’ll give you a few ceremonial positions on certain committees, but for the most part, just do as you’re told…

Log in to Reply
BlueCat says:

November 16, 2010 at 8:17 pm

full of stories of internecine strife among the GOP and polls showing that this was very much an anti, not a pro anything, election. Approval low for any party, D, R or T. Also full of continuing division among Dems who seem to have given up on even attempting to take back the narrative and are simply arguing about how to, as usual, react and defend.

Extreme volatility among an increasingly independent middle, instead of entrenched two party identification and loyalty, has become the new norm. It seems that, if Dems could remember what it’s like to have a backbone, they could turn things around pretty quickly. Increasingly it appears they just don’t have it in them from Obama on down. What could be an opportunity to fill the void for voters who really don’t much care for anything currently on offer and turn the tables on a (for now) resurgent GOP is going to be piddled away.

Looks like “civility” will continue to be confused with “servility” by Obama and the Dems. that’s a mistake Rs never make. Their policies may be awful but they have all the guts, confidence and swagger Dems can’t muster. What good, under the circumstances, will Tea Party failures or strife between the Ts and the entrenched Rs do us? I find myself rooting for Murkowski just because it would mean defeat for Palin team guy, Miller but it’s not as if Murkowsky isn’t just another hard rightie. Is this what we’ve come to? Rooting for the Murkowski wing of the GOP? Gee thanks, Dem pols.

Log in to Reply
1. Phoenix Rising says:
  
  November 16, 2010 at 8:22 pm
  
  And he might be a bit more independent now that the NRSC has spent so much time and money running against her.
  
  I don’t think civility is going to rule for the next two years in Congress; Republicans have shown little sign that they’re interested in compromise, unless it’s defined as “our way or the highway”, and with a good chunk of the Democratic Blue Dogs and New Dems swept out of office, the Democratic minority in the House is poised to be more Progressive than any Dem caucus in recent history.
  
  Log in to Reply
  1. BlueCat says:
    
    November 16, 2010 at 8:37 pm
    
    and so what if Murkowski is marginally (very) less bad than Miller?
    
    Log in to Reply
  2. Colorado Pols says:
    
    November 16, 2010 at 8:46 pm
    
    Repealing health care reform is #1. That’s not exactly a goal with compromise in mind.
    
    Log in to Reply
    1. ajb says:
      
      November 16, 2010 at 9:00 pm
      
      They’ll talk about it, but they’ll never actually send a bill to the Senate. If they did, it would actually be a gift to the Dems.
      
      Log in to Reply
      1. Colorado Pols says:
        
        November 16, 2010 at 9:45 pm
        
        It took 18 months of discussions to pass a limited health care bill with one Party controlling both chambers and the White House. There’s no way they’re going to be able to repeal something with control of only one chamber. Whether they should or should not try to repeal health care reform is a separate discussion — from a purely practical standpoint, we don’t see how they can.
        
        Log in to Reply
        
        Fidel's dirt nap says:
        
        November 16, 2010 at 10:15 pm
        
        they can’t repeal or replace health care.
        
        Boehner will not touch major defense or entitlement programs, but he wants to extend tax cuts for the wealthy and pare down the debt at the same time. Let’s set aside that it makes no logical sense, but whatever.
        
        What the fuck are they going to accomplish the next two years ?
        
        more window dressing about earmarks ?
        
        Log in to Reply
        
        ajb says:
        
        November 17, 2010 at 12:10 am
        
        Well, that and trying to blame their own cowardice on the President.
        
        Log in to Reply
        
        BlueCat says:
        
        November 17, 2010 at 12:22 am
        
        an interesting show with a full cast of wacky characters, if nothing else. And as far as accomplishments, it’s probably pretty safe to predict a lot of nothing else.
        
        Log in to Reply
        
        ajb says:
        
        November 17, 2010 at 12:18 am
        
        It’s more about whether the talk of repealing HCR is completely vacuous. The house could, for the sake of symbolism, pass a repeal measure. BUT, that will put Republicans squarely in favor of the old way, complete with rescission, denials for pre-existing conditions, and annual double-digit premium increases. Even the most ardent T-partier will have a come-to-Jesus moment long before that.
        
        No HCR measure will ever come to the floor for a vote in either chamber.
        
        Log in to Reply
        
        redstateblues says:
        
        November 17, 2010 at 12:46 am
        
        The Republicans will quickly shift the discussion away from HCR specifically, and more toward a broad stroke of subpoenas and altogether making Obama’s life miserable–just like they did with Clinton.
        
        Log in to Reply
sxp151 says:

November 17, 2010 at 12:53 am

He couldn’t have made it any clearer.

TEA PARTY REVOLUTION = STANDARD REPUBLICAN, everybody knew that. I know why some shills pretended otherwise, but I don’t know why anyone in the media pretended it for even a second.

Log in to Reply