Tea party antics could end up burning Republicans

[onehandle]

Source: Washington Post

The tea party's volatile influence on this election year appears to be doing more harm than good for Republicans' chances in some of the closest races in the nation, in which little-known candidates who upset the establishment with primary wins are now stumbling in the campaign's final days. In Kentucky, a volunteer for tea-party-backed Senate candidate Rand Paul was videotaped stepping on the head of a liberal protester. In Delaware and Colorado, Senate hopefuls Christine O'Donnell and Ken Buck, respectively, are under fire for denying that the First Amendment's establishment clause dictates a separation of church and state. In Nevada, GOP Senate nominee Sharron Angle is drawing rebuke for running TV ads that portray Latino immigrants as criminals and gang members.

Perhaps the most dramatic tea party problems are in Alaska, where Republican Senate candidate Joe Miller is suffering another round of unfavorable headlines after it was revealed late Tuesday that he had admitted lying about his misconduct while working as a government lawyer in Fairbanks. Miller was conducting his own poll in 2008 in an effort to oust a state GOP chairman, and he used his colleagues' computers to vote in the survey, then erased their computers' caches to try to hide what he had done.

"I was beyond stupid," he wrote in a letter of apology included in documents ordered released by a judge Tuesday. He was suspended for three days without pay, according to the documents. Miller, who was considered a shoo-in just two months ago when he defeated Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the Republican primary, was already falling quickly in GOP and Democratic internal polls before Tuesday's revelations, strategists said. Last week, he was in the spotlight when a campaign-paid security guard handcuffed a reporter who tried to ask Miller a question.

Such moments are giving Democrats hope that the few undecided voters who remain may become turned off and move away from Republicans in the closer races nationwide, including those in Colorado, Nevada and Kentucky. "In state after state, Republicans nominated a less viable general-election candidate, and that's more on display than ever in these final days of the campaign," said Eric Schultz, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/27/AR2010102707428.html

[bemildred]

1. Time to start the butt covering, eh? nt

[kenfrequed]

8. It serves multiple functions

It is the republicans effort to manage the expectation game. Unless they steal a bunch of elections to garauntee control of both the Senate and House, people are going to deny that there is anything resembling a mandate and in two years backed by a president, Republicans are going to be reflushed.

They also have a vested interest in scapegoating the tea party people, at least immediately following the elections, while they try to build up a more loyal and standardized following. To them the religious right is a far more reliable and less demanding lot in terms of poll workers and foot soldiers. Tea party libertarians can get upset and take a walk.

[bemildred]

13. Well, 2012 is indeed going to be an interesting year.

I don't disagree with anything you say, but I was thinking more of the need to bring predictions more in line with the actual outcome, so as not to lose ones credibility as a predicter and/or news source.

[kenfrequed]

21. Yes.

That is also a very good point. Rasmussen in particular has a pattern of doing this year after year after year. Early polling creates the illusion of a big seismic political shift that they then try to use to justify swining the country and lending the idea of forward inertia to a campaign that should look less viable.

[louis-t]

16. They will pay heavily if they turn on the baggers.

Those people are sick. Repugs made their beds, and the tea-totalitarians will set them on fire.

[breadandwine]

38. They WON'T turn on the baggers. They will turn on the SCAPEGOAT - Obama.

The GOP is still set to take over the House and they don't care if they can't convict in the Senate, they will still impeach Obama in the House (i.e., indict, as they did to Clinton) and the next two years are going to be a zoo. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING is going to get done in the next two years. And then they will say in 2012, see? He's not getting anything done. Better vote for Palin and the GOP.

The next two years are going to be full of horrors. There will be more environmental disasters too, and this time there will be much less done because the GOP will have more power. There will be no multi-billion dollar fund set up by the next oil company that spills and screws up.

Congress will pass a resolution declaring that global warming is a myth, evolution is a theory and the world is flat.


We are entering the dark ages. But the world is going to hell in the meantime.

[unpossibles]

46. don't forget all of the rather scary "ballot or bullet" nonsense they are spewing

I'd like to think it's just hyperbole, but between that and the reports of the right trying to simultaneously scare people about fraud and also trying to deny minorities the right to vote, I have a feeling that things could get a bit unhinged if they don't win like they think they will. And frankly I am not convinced they will win as much as they think, so expect to hear lots of complaining about fraud. And hopefully nothing else.

[kenfrequed]

53. Err..

For this movement to have ascapegoat would be someone from their movement.

The GOP is by no means garaunteed to take over the House even if there is a slight trend that direction. Most of the races that they are considering shoe-ins are too close and, barring electronic election fraud, they will lose them.

The Gop will not take over the Senate and will actually lose the expectation game. They will have to explain this somehow and there were so many of the wild and crazy tea party candidates that are going down in flames, they will obviously point to them as part of the problem. The Tea Partty was a stop gap and a temporary way to steal the public spotlight while slowing down any progressive legislation. It will be business as usual after this election.

A fair number of the seats that they are taking were occupied by blue dogs who would not vote along party lines in any case. The remaining Dem's are less likely to 'get along' just for the sake of getting along, particularly after four years of the most obstructionist minority party in American history.

In summation. Spare the gloom and doom and get yer ass out there and vote.

[JerseygirlCT]

30. I think you've got it exactly right. nt

[stopbush]

22. And the narrative begins to turn...

[rocktivity]

2. Candidate for this year's "You Call This NEWS?" award

Not that I'm complaining...

:evilgrin:
rocktivity

[oswaldactedalone]

3. GOTFV, GOTFV, GOTFV......

What will you do to make this happen?

[Kurovski]

49. I converted a Repub neighbor to liberalism.

I shit you not.

But i can't get her to re-register (she had moved) to vote, going on a year now.

So it's all a failure.

I'm praying to Lord Jesus Christ. That will help, right?

[meowomon]

4. "Beyond stupid" = "unprincipled"

What a scumbag.

[caseymoz]

20. Interesting how he presents deceitfulness as a matter of "bad judgment."

"Hey, of course I'm sorry. I got caught."

[RaleighNCDUer]

28. Which, though similiar, is not quite the same as

"Hey, of course I'm sorry I got caught."

Which I think is closer to the truth.

[Bluenorthwest]

5. Are you saying that Nate and the numbers and polling

failed to predict the Rand Paul thugs and the Miller scandal? How could that be? Is politics more than statistics? Wow, who knew?

[pattmarty]

17. Neither Silver OR Cook claim to be "oracles". They take CURRENT.....

......stats and go by that. Nobody can predict beyond right now whether a candidate will flush him or herself down the shitter by either doing something stupid or something stupid coming out of their past. Silver & Cook are probably the two most accurate in elections. With these tea party candidates they are loose cannons and are in that respect somewhat unpredictable.

[DCKit]

6. Yay! Even the WaPo can no longer choose to ignore it.

File under "things you'll never see on Faux."

[DallasNE]

7. Keep In Mind That Joe Miller

Was working as then Gov. Sarah Palin's insider in the failed attempt to oust the Republican Party Chairman from office. That doesn't mean that Palin was fully aware of what Miller was doing but there is some rub-off on her in this because they were working together so closely.

[tclambert]

27. Palin "fully aware?" That's a LOL concept right there.

[elmerdem]

9. I've been canvasing in KY

& Rand has the core crazy vote, but in my canvasing an overwhelming number of independents & undecideds appear to be breaking for Conway. It is still an uphill climb, but canvasing has made me more hopeful.

[Ishoutandscream2]

12. God bless you, and thanks for the good fight

Your post gives me some hope. Rand Paul has looked like the most formidable Teabagger, and it would be great to see him go down.

[TygrBright]

42. Angle scares me more than Paul

Hard to believe there are that many stupid people in Nevada... but then I remember how many of them are in and around Las Vegas.

shudderingly,
Bright

[Ishoutandscream2]

43. Yes, noted

Frightening indeed.

[bigdaddycoles66]

41. Keep up the good work!

Remember also Rand Paul wants to repeal the civil rights act to give business owner the right to refuse service to anyone of minority status. It looks like that will include democrats also. I voted with an early ballot today. Please get out and vote. Do not think that your vote doesn't matter. It does. If you don't, your life and as well as America will change to right wing rule. The republicans are arresting, stomping and taking away our civil liberties right in front of our eyes. It is on video! There is no denying what is to come. If you vote for republicans you will reap what you sow.

[MississippiDemocratX]

10. Tea Party candidate backs Democrat Gene Taylor for Congress

The Tea Party news a'int all bad for us. ;)

BILOXI, MS (WLOX) - Democrat Gene Taylor picked up an unexpected endorsement Tuesday in his fight to win re-election as Mississippi's 4th District congressman. Joe Tegerdine, the Tea Party candidate who ran against Steven Palazzo in the Republican primary, threw his support behind Taylor.

In the statement to the media, Tegerdine said, "I did not make this decision because I agree with all of his positions on the issues. I made this decision based on his record of integrity and willingness to be forthright with the people in our district."

http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=13393343

[Qutzupalotl]

34. Hey, welcome to DU!

The Tegerdine endorsement is a strange one. Not sure if it helps or hurts.

[ljm2002]

40. That's amazing...

...thanks for sharing and welcome to DU!

It is one of the enduring fascinations of politics, the shifting sands as candidates and parties and voters group and regroup.

It sounds like this Tegerdine person is more old-school, where you could acknowledge some differences of opinion but still admit that the other person has integrity and good faith.

[AlinPA]

11. Not sure I buy that. They could end up with 8 or so teabaggers in the Senate:

Toomey, Angle, Buck, Rubio, Miller, Paul, Raese, DeMint (Incumbent) if we don't get out the vote. I don't see how they would be unhappy with that. Six years is a long time with that many maniacs in the Senate. They could screw up a lot of legislation by blocking everything and anything.

[Kurovski]

50. No Miller. that's fairly certain.

[groundloop]

14. Good news, I pray it will hold on election day. GOTV !!!!!

[xxqqqzme]

15. Article ignores how they

all runaway from the press to avoid answering to the point questions. That clip of witchy woman snapping her fingers and poking her make-up person, stylist or PR person to deal w/ an uncomfortable question, during a radio interview, is really priceless.

[skypilot]

18. This was in the COMMENTS section:

Valle, 23, said she was attempting to present Rand Paul with an 'employee of the month' award from Republicorp. The award was bogus, and there is no Republicorp. It was a setup.

Dumb shit.

[louis-t]

32. Humorless bastards, ain't they?

[99th_Monkey]

19. I LOVE it when reality trumps MSM's bogus hype n/t

[RaleighNCDUer]

29. Or, as it was put in another thread, reality bats last.

There's always the chance for it to change the game.

[YankeeLeft7x]

23. Are Americans Actually this Stupid/Ignorant ???

If the GOP wins this election, Americans should be seen as both Stupid and Ignorant......

Any country which encoruages the likes of these Tea Party jerks have to be viewed as dumb and ignorant.

Americans need to do a much better job of resisting the morons like Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck and demand that the media stop promoting these windbags who are dumb-asses.

[klook]

24. Teabaggers only say out loud what millions

of Republicans are thinking. Their thinking is mainstream within the Republican Party.

[creon]

25. Rhetoric

It is hard to get beyond the tub thumping to get a good reading on how people may, actually, vote.

I am not at all sure how real this tea party business actually is.

[Shining Jack]

26. K&R

[Iliyah]

31. With all

the secret donors' money, the economy, corporate media trashing the Pres. at every level, trashing Dems and especially Pelosi and Reid, the party of NO, the party of GREED, the money of ME and only ME, and of course the party of CRAZIES, and with all of this, the GOP TEA BATS may not win the House, Dems keep the Senate, and not loose as many Governor races as the polls predict.

Civil war within the GOP has been brewing, this may make it explode.

[peace frog]

33. Now THAT's something I can get all hopey-changey over

Open warfare between the 'baggers and the establishment GOPers. Make it so!

[GreenTea]

35. Well then, let's get everyone out to vote democratic - To "burn republicans" & Tea party antics!

[Quantess]

36. Here's another incident:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9408132

A 72 year old man was arrested for assaulting an anti-Dino Rossi protester in WA. This old creep picked on a 23 year old woman.

If that was a 23 year old guy, he would have gotten his ass beaten, and he knows it. COWARD!

[denpat1]

37. we can only hope

[Taverner]

39. Oh dog, please let this come to fruition! eom

[happygoluckytoyou]

44. i have donated my THANK YOU $10 to the Sarah Palin fund to fuck up the GOP ! !

[DonCoquixote]

45. Simple History

In Germany, the Brownshirts gave Hitler the muscle, but after the Nazis won, in came the Schutzstaffel (aka SS), the slick, amoral, professional group. The Tea baggers are the brown shirts, the Bushes are SS.

[ProudDad]

47. Self Delete (Wrong Thread) (n/t)

[bjobotts]

48. Millers "security" agency didn't even have a security license.Soldier didn't have permission to be t

there either. Nothing but lying and corruption around this creep. Alaska can do better than this idiot.

[ivar1]

51. AquaVelva man

Hopefully Paul turns off enough Kentuckians.

[burning rain]

52. In 1998, Republicans were likewise counting on big electoral gains.

But in the event, they suffered a reversal, as Democrats gained five seats in the House and broke even in the Senate. Be sure to vote November 2 and do what you can to hand the GOP another surprise.