The Tea Party: Gutter Politics That Worked
August 2, 2011 by William K. Wolfrum
One thing that shouldn’t get lost in the minutiae of the Debt Ceiling “Crisis,” is that Dick Armey and the other conservative leaders that came up with the “Tea Party Grassroots Movement” truly pulled off a coup. Regardless of what happens in the future, the gamble has been a political success.
Think about it - it’s 2008 and the public has soured on Republicans to the point of disgust. George W. Bush finishes off his free-spending Presidency by opening the vaults to the bankers and slinking off to obscurity. The public is ready to go Democrat. Remember, if Hillary had won the nomination, she’d have demolished McCain, as well.
Unsurprisingly, the Dems demolished the Republicans at the polls. Huge advantages in all areas of government went to the left. The country was ready to stop flying rightward. The Obama Agenda was about to be unleashed, and he had a mandate. So, Conservatives decided to roll the dice - they unleashed the monkeys.
It was a low-risk plan. The GOP was already in the dumps. Why not give the far-right nutters a chance to shout what they were told and whatever else entered their minds? And the media fell in line and fell in love. It was saturation coverage the likes of which would make O.J. blush. If you are reading this and consider yourself a Tea Party member, I’ll bet money that you’ve been on TV before, or were interviewed by someone. Vietnam got less coverage. Political celebrities like Sarah Palin were quick to give tie themselves to the groups.
Thus, despite none of us ever knowing how many were even involved in the “grassroots movement,” this rag-tag groups of rag-tags has managed to shift the entire political conversation further right than Reagan.
No matter what happens in the future, the conservative leaders that put this all into action deserve applause. They played dirty. They had to prepared for a possible explosion, and still do need to be prepared. But at this point, what’s the worst that could happen? It’s not like the GOP could fall much lower than they were in 2008. And the ultimate Conservative Agenda has been advanced. The Tea Party gave true Right-Wing Nutjobs the chance to govern.
In the end, the creation of the Tea Party Movement was gutter politics. But it worked.
-WKW
Couldn’t agree more. It’s no secret (at least not to anyone who’s been paying a modicum of attention) that politics is a dirty endeavor, yet somehow the Dems continue to be taken by surprise that their colleagues across the proverbial aisle will do whatever it takes to advance their cause.
As someone whose name now escapes me noted on Twitter the other day, President Hillary would have surely had her flaws — but being surprised by the shameful tactics of the right would not have been one of those flaws.
But I’m sure that now that they got their way on the deficit “crisis,” they’ll settle right down & embrace an attitude of collegial collaboration for the good of the nation …