Tea Party group says Palin should lead GOP

A Tea Party group wants Sarah Palin to lead the Republican National Committee. A leader of Tea Party Nation says the former GOP vice presidential nominee needs to take the place of embattled chairman Michael Steele or else the RNC will be led by "the establishment," which would then lead to the re-election of President Obama in 2012. "We need someone who will put conservatives in control of the party apparatus, not RINOs," writes Judson Phillips in a letter to Palin. The letter was first reported by the liberal website Talking Points Memo...more

Election of Fred Upton as Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Would be a Slap in the Face to Conservatives and Tea Partiers

Richard A. Viguerie, Chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, has expressed opposition to Fred Upton (R-MI) as a candidate for Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee (HECC).

“The election of Fred Upton to head this important committee would be a slap in the face to conservatives and Tea Partiers,” Viguerie said. “Following the 2010 elections, Republican members of Congress have been given a chance to re-establish the GOP as the party of limited government and fiscal responsibility. But the election of Upton would signal a return to the disastrous big government policies of George W. Bush, Dennis Hastert, Tom DeLay, and Bill Frist.”

The chairman of the HECC will be determined by a vote of all GOP house members.

Viguerie cited Upton’s lifetime rating of 72.42% from the American Conservative Union (ACU) as an indicator that he would lead the HECC in a moderate to liberal direction.

By contrast, all of the other contenders for chairman of the committee have much higher ACU lifetime ratings: John Shimkus (R-IL) 88.51%; Joe Barton (R-TX) 94.14%; and Cliff Stearns (R-FL) 94.53%.

“Not only are Shimkus, Barton, and Stearns better choices than Upton, almost any Republican in the House would be better. Upton has cast so many bad votes for wasteful spending and big government, it would be hard to do worse,” Viguerie said.

Viguerie cited multiple votes by Upton for increased federal spending in appropriation bills, the Cash for Clunkers Bill, the Wall Street bailout, and the automobile company bailout.

“The Republican Party is on probation with conservatives. This is their first test to see if they’ve learned anything from their previous over-indulgence in obese government,” Viguerie said.

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Bachmann Withdrawal Blow to Tea Party?

Some conservatives are concerned that the decision by Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) to withdraw from a key House leadership contest could be a sign of things to come for tea party supporters in their effort to shake up the Washington establishment. Last week, Bachmann embarked on a bid against Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) for the post of House Republican Conference Chair, the number four-ranking position in a new Republican majority. But Bachmann, who founded the Congressional Tea Party Caucus, stumbled in gaining traction for the slot and pulled out Wednesday night. At least a few conservative Republican House members wondered if this augured poorly for the tea party movement. And at least one Congressman blasted the new GOP leaders for trying to craft what was described as a "cabinet." "I think it's the leadership protecting its power base and trying to keep the tea party from getting in the door," said one conservative Congressman who declined to be identified. The lawmaker went on to even compare the maneuvering of leaders to the iron fist management style of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)...more


Read more: http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/11/11/bachmann-withdrawal-blow-tea-party#ixzz157YMZM5J

Tea party notches governor, 2 Senate wins

Voters embracing the tea party's conservative throw-the-bums-out anthem sent two of its leading conservative voices to Washington and another to the South Carolina governor's mansion. The victories for Rand Paul and Marco Rubio in the Senate and Nikki Haley as governor gave tea party activists three Cinderella stories for the 2010 campaign. All were long shots when they declared their candidacies but won over voters with their Washington-outsider, anti-tax campaigns. "There's a tea party tidal wave, and we're sending a message," said Paul, a first time candidate from Kentucky and son of libertarian hero and U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Lake Jackson. "We've come to take our government back." But the tea party movement, without any official platform or national organization, drew a committed following. About four in 10 voters considered themselves tea party supporters, according to preliminary exit poll results. However, it was also a polarizing force – about a quarter of voters said they considered their vote a message of support for the tea party, and nearly as many said their vote was meant to signal opposition to the movement...more

Tea Party to the Rescue

Two central facts give shape to the historic 2010 election. The first is not understood by Republicans, and the second not admitted by Democrats. The first: the tea party is not a "threat" to the Republican Party, the tea party saved the Republican Party. In a broad sense, the tea party rescued it from being the fat, unhappy, querulous creature it had become, a party that didn't remember anymore why it existed, or what its historical purpose was. The tea party, with its energy and earnestness, restored the GOP to itself. In a practical sense, the tea party saved the Republican Party in this cycle by not going third-party. It could have. The broadly based, locally autonomous movement seems to have made a rolling decision, group by group, to take part in Republican primaries and back Republican hopefuls. (According to the Center for the Study of the American Electorate, four million more Republicans voted in primaries this year than Democrats, the GOP's highest such turnout since 1970. I wonder who those people were?) Because of this, because they did not go third-party, Nov. 2 is not going to be a disaster for the Republicans, but a triumph. The tea party did something the Republican establishment was incapable of doing: It got the party out from under George W. Bush. The tea party rejected his administration's spending, overreach and immigration proposals, among other items, and has become only too willing to say so. In doing this, the tea party allowed the Republican establishment itself to get out from under Mr. Bush: "We had to, boss, it was a political necessity!" They released the GOP establishment from its shame cringe.

The Return Of Know-Nothingism

An authentic grass-fire political movement threatens Democrats on all fronts. So as November's reckoning approaches, what does their president do? Why, whip up fear of foreigners in a throwback to the 1850s. Having rammed costly and unpopular measures through Congress by questionable means, Democrats are in big trouble come November. As their president's popularity tanks, the vast national Tea Party movement is mobilizing the public to vote them out, and America's private sector is at long last standing up for free markets. For Democrats, it's like the sun — a reality they cannot stare in the face. So instead we see the recrudescence of one of the oldest and worst traditions in American politics: the demonization of foreigners. Not since the days of the nativist Know-Nothing movement in the 1840s and 1850s has it been so egregious...

Conservatives must remain vigilant in the weeks leading up to Election Day

Let's posit that conservatives have every reason for optimism in the coming elections. The Tea Parties are enthusiastic and powerful. Middle America is fed up with big government. The left is dispirited. The polls looks great. It therefore would take a real wet blanket to warn that the momentum could fizzle and the triumph be less than grand. Sorry, but this blanket is wet indeed. Before we go any farther, please understand: This is not a prediction; it's a warning. It isn't meant to kill optimism, but only to temper it. Vince Lombardi's Packers won not because they were confident of victory, but because they were prepared for anything their opponents might throw at them. Churchill offered "sunlit uplands" only after the blood, toil, tears and sweat. As the campaign season enters its home stretch, conservatives need steel to go with their energy, and need to recognize their vulnerabilities that must be shored up. The reality is that a lot can happen in the last 26 days of a campaign...more

Tea Party vs. War Party

“We’re all on the same page until the polls close Nov. 2,” Richard Viguerie, the longtime conservative strategist who has allied with the Tea Party, told The New York Times. After that, “a massive, almost historic battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party begins.” Indeed, such a battle seems unavoidable. Consider. The great issue uniting and motivating the Republican Party and Tea Party is the deficit-debt crisis, a national debt nearing 100 percent of gross domestic product and a deficit of 10 percent of GDP. As to the cause of the deficit that could precipitate a run on the dollar, double-digit inflation, even a default, the Tea Party and GOP also agree — federal spending that consumes 25 percent of GDP. Both are also on the same page in their opposition to closing the deficit with new or higher taxes. This means spending must be slashed. But to cut the budget to 20 percent of GDP, where it was before George W. Bush and Barack Obama, requires spending cuts of an astronomical $700 billion a year. Even then, the 2011 deficit would be $700 billion. Which leaves one place where a bipartisan majority may be found for major spending cuts: defense and the empire, the warfare state. The “agonizing reappraisal” of commitments abroad that John Foster Dulles predicted half a century ago may be at hand. And here is where the Tea Party and War Party split the blanket...more

Take Two for Tea Party Express and Murkowski

The Tea Party Express says it is going to target Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski - again. The national Sacramento-based organization announced Thursday that next week they'll unveil a new television and radio ad campaign against Murkowski, who is running in the general election as a write-in candidate. Last month, Murkowski conceded defeat in her bid for her party's nomination. The senator, who is part of a political dynasty in Alaska, was upset in the August 24 Republican Senate primary by attorney Joe Miller, a previous longshot who enjoyed strong support from Tea Party activists and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. The Tea Party Express had endorsed Miller and spent over $600,000 to help him defeat Murkowski. "Lisa, take a hint, the voters rejected you once before and now watching you defy their will is bound to alienate yourself from Alaska voters even more," says Amy Kremer, chairwoman of the Tea Party Express, in a news release...more

71% of Republicans Are Tea Party Supporters

The tea party has emerged as a potent force in American politics and a center of gravity within the Republican Party, with a large majority of Republicans showing an affinity for the movement that has repeatedly bucked the GOP leadership this year, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll has found. In the survey, 71% of Republicans described themselves as tea-party supporters, saying they had a favorable image of the movement or hoped tea- party candidates would do well in the Nov. 2 elections. Already, the tea-party movement has helped to oust a number of incumbents and candidates backed by party leaders in this year's GOP primaries amid complaints that they lacked commitment to small-government principles. The poll findings suggest that the rising influence of the movement, with its push to cut spending and oppose the Democratic agenda, will drive the GOP to become more conservative and less willing to seek common ground on policy...more

Election 2010: Alaska Senate

Republican Joe Miller attracts 42% of the vote in the first Rasmussen Reports poll of the Alaska Senate race since GOP Senator Lisa Murkowski announced her write-in campaign to try to keep her job. The telephone survey of Likely Voters in Alaska shows Murkowski picking up 27% of the vote and Democrat Scott McAdams earning 25%. One percent (1%) say they’d prefer some other candidate, and five percent (5%) are undecided. This race now moves from Leans GOP to Solid GOP in the Rasmussen Reports Election 2010 Senate Balance of Power rankings...more

Tea Party's Rise Gives Business Pause

Business leaders and lobbyists are increasingly worried that the election of tea party-backed Republican candidates to Congress might threaten their priorities next year, fearing that these candidates' anti-spending fervor and opposition to special tax breaks would jeopardize prized programs. Business leaders clearly prefer a Republican-controlled Congress to a Democratic one, judging from their statements, endorsements and campaign contributions. They cite low taxes, less regulation and certainty in the business environment as among their top priorities in Washington, and many see Republicans as more responsive on these topics. But amid that support, some executives and lobbyists say they are growing spooked by the populist rhetoric they are hearing from some tea-party Republicans. Some candidates have said they want to take aim at a $30 billion annual package of tax breaks for a range of businesses—among them Wall Street firms, the timber industry, fast-food restaurants and the owners of NASCAR racetracks. Also in the line of fire are programs that many businesses have backed or at least quietly accepted as crisis measures, including the stimulus bill, the Wall Street and auto-industry rescues, the now-expired "cash-for-clunkers" car trade-in initiative and the temporary homebuyer's tax credit...more

Both Parties Say Tea Party Hands Them November Wins

Republican Senators on Sunday predicted widespread victories for their party in November, but Democratic Party operatives said they could keep their hold on Congress thanks to the same group of voters earning GOP praise: the tea party movement. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) speculated that his party will do “very well” in November but said its members must come up with a “Contract With America” — a reference to the GOP document crafted during the 1994 elections — that details what they will do if they become the majority. Both McCain and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who appeared separately on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” praised the tea party movement and said its members bring energy to the GOP that could translate to wins in November. “Tea partiers are a great addition,” McCain said. Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine conceded that “the polls are challenging right now” for his party, but he said it stands to benefit from the GOP candidates who are “far out of the mainstream,” namely from the tea party movement. “We’re going to win some surprising races because of who the other guys put up,” Kaine said on “Fox News Sunday.”...more

McCain wants a "Contract With America" and Graham praises the Tea Party? Somebody please slap me awake.

Toxic Tea for the GOP?

For some strange reason, Michael Gerson, former speech writer for President George W. Bush, used his space as an editorial writer for the Washington Post to send a warning to "the GOP." I used the quotes there because he's clearly not talking about the grassroots conservatives that make up the base, heart, and soul of the party. Perhaps he is talking to the stuffy insiders that are more concerned about simply gaining and holding onto power rather than those who actually advance the Republican/conservative agenda. The premise of this op-ed is simple: "Tea Party populism is just as clearly incompatible with some conservative and Republican beliefs." This statement is completely and utterly false. His op-ed is built off of three ridiculous "questions" that he then matches to particular candidates in order to make his point. Starting with Social Security and Medicare, Gerson basically states that it's better to be a big government conservative than to stand up and demand that these programs be reformed or eliminated. Big government conservatism is what got us into this mess of Democrat control. When grassroots activists work hard to get Republicans in office and then they don't act like Republicans, then something has to give. The elections of 2006 and 2008 were the result. And Gerson thinks that's the way to go? More spending and more government?...more

Obama, Dems got 88 percent of contributions by TV network execs, writers, reporters

Senior executives, on-air personalities, producers, reporters, editors, writers and other self-identifying employees of ABC, CBS and NBC contributed more than $1 million to Democratic candidates and campaign committees in 2008, according to an analysis by The Examiner of data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics. The Democratic total of $1,020,816 was given by 1,160 employees of the three major broadcast television networks, with an average contribution of $880. By contrast, only 193 of the employees contributed to Republican candidates and campaign committees, for a total of $142,863. The average Republican contribution was $744...more

Tea Party raids McConnell's kitchen cabinet

Sen. Lisa Murkowski's apparent defeat in Alaska's Republican primary isn't just a defeat for the Republican establishment and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which -- in keeping with standard practice -- backed her renomination. The Alaska result is above all a blow to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. As with the primary defeat of Utah's Bob Bennett in the spring, challenger Joe Miller's likely win replaces a close McConnell confidant with an unaccommodating conservative. McConnell, since becoming minority leader in 2007, has built his own "kitchen Cabinet," consisting of two or three official "counsels" -- senators, handpicked by him, who attend GOP leadership meetings along with the elected party leadership. Both Bennett and Murkowski are in this inner circle. And both lost their primaries this year to conservatives running against Washington. Miller is not merely conservative, he's unyielding, supremely self-confident, and self-reliant. He will come to Washington seeing the whole town and its customs -- quite possibly including collegiality and tradition of the Senate -- as the enemy. Bennett's replacement -- former gubernatorial aide Mike Lee -- promises to be something beyond just a "balky Republican senator." Lee's stump speech sounds like a lecture on the Constitution, and how nearly everything Washington does is outside of its legitimate authority...more

Establishment Beware: Heads are Rolling

A definitive trend has emerged with Tuesday’s primary election results of Republican Party contests: 2010 is an anti-establishment year. Career politician Bill McCollum was defeated in the Florida gubernatorial contest by outsider Rick Scott, and incumbent Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski is losing to tea party-favorite Joe Miller, who was endorsed by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Couple that with incumbent Republican Senator John McCain spending $21 million to defeat former Representative J.D. Hayworth. Despite claims by U.S. News & World Report that the Arizona race sent a “mixed message,” in order to win, McCain had to run decidedly more conservative than in previous runs. He tested the political winds and got out in front of a tough challenge by running to the right, and did so convincingly to Arizona voters, winning over 60 percent of the vote. Then there’s the ascendency of another tea party candidate, Rand Paul, to the Republican nomination for Kentucky’s open Senate seat, and Marco Rubio taking the Republican nod for Senate in Florida. And the defeat of incumbent Republican Senator Bob Bennett in Utah to tea party-backed Mike Lee, plus conservatives Ken Buck and Pat Toomey in Colorado and Pennsylvania, respectively. Not to mention the victory of Sharron Angle as Republican Senate nominee in Nevada, yet another tea party favorite. See a pattern? In consequential contest after contest, heads are rolling, and the establishment is losing...more

Incumbents down, Tea Party up

The Tea Party has made itself known. This week’s Republican primaries in three states were one of the first practical applications of the movement’s growing power – three Tea Party-backed candidates appear to have snatched the Republican nomination from established candidates. But the Tea Party is still fostered under the Republican aegis, prompting some observers to ask, is the GOP about to devour itself? But that the Tea Party has increased in profile and perceived power is concerning to some: “The battle for the soul of the Republican party goes on,” the Financial Times, in one of its leading editorials, claimed. “So far, on the whole, moderation and intelligence are on the losing side.” The New York Times, in one of its leading editorials, complained, “Republican insurgents from the far right did well in Tuesday’s primaries. What their campaigns lack in logic, compassion and sensible policy seems to be counterbalanced by a fiercely committed voter base that is nowhere to be seen on the Democratic side.” And The Wall Street Journal saw the primary results as a wake-up call for the Republican Party: “GOP Members of Congress who think they can return to business as usual if they regain the majority should pay attention.” Others, however, see the wave of change coming this November as a positive sign, even if that wave is pushed along by the Tea Party. USA Today, in one of its leading editorials, noted, “We also hope that many of the anti-establishment candidates who are winning in Republican primaries this year are sincere about renouncing pork and controlling government spending.”...more

In Alaska primary, Tea Party eyes GOP lawyers warily

With the camps of two Republican primary candidates in Alaska scrambling to fly in operatives and consultants in the aftermath of a still contested vote held on Tuesday night, Tea Party leaders who backed lawyer Joe Miller are warily eying the GOP establishment legal and political teams who just arrived at Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s request. The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), which sent the GOP operatives to Alaska in the aftermath of the vote, is taking pains to show it is impartial to the two candidates. But several GOP sources told The Daily Caller they presumed the NRSC agents would be working to help Murkowski. “If the NRSC were to have an ulterior motive in these efforts I think that would be a mistake, as Republican leaders in Washington have to know by now that they need to earn the confidence and trust of tea party supporters,” said a top official of the Tea Party Express, Joe Wierzbicki...more

A Reason for Conservatives to Cheer

The main bright spot, for conservatives at least, has been the extraordinary rise of Rubio, a 39-year-old who briefly served as speaker of the Florida House of Representatives. After Gov. Crist announced his intention to run for the U.S. Senate, most observers believed he was a shoo-in. And then Rubio launched his quixotic bid, winning the tacit backing of revered former Gov. Jeb Bush and the enthusiastic support of South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, a Tea Party kingmaker second only to Sarah Palin. By forcing Crist to abandon the GOP, Rubio teed up what is likely to be the country’s most interesting and volatile Senate race...more