Quoted Text

With participants from so many walks of life, and no rigid structure or leadership, it can be a challenge to define exactly what the Tea Party movement is. But I'll tell you one more thing that it is not: It is not going away.

that's a fact.......

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/02/16/steele-meet-tea-party-leaders/?test=latestnews


"The chairman believes it extremely important to listen to this significant grassroots movement and work to find common ground in order to elect officials that will protect these principles," RNC spokeswoman Katie Wright said.

But one Tea Party activist who traveled hundreds of miles to attend the meeting at RNC headquarters in Washington, D.C., said sparks could fly.

"Steele wants to try to co-opt us, but we're coming to tell him he doesn't get it. We want to return the Republican Party to its roots. We're expecting some fireworks," the activist said.

Tea Party supporters identify far more with the Republican platform than the Democratic Party's, but they have not been shy about voicing their discontent with elected Republicans and running against the party's favored candidates. They threw an upstate New York congressional race into disarray last fall when they backed a third-party candidate over Republican Dede Scozzafava, forcing her out of the race. Democrat Bill Owens won the special election.

Some Republican figures, including former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, view the movement as a major force in the upcoming elections that Republicans in some districts will have to court if they want to win.

Quoted Text

The Tea Party movement is not a nascent third party. Most tea partiers know that splitting the voters looking for less spending and lower taxes is a guarantee of more domination by Democrats with no interest in either.

Our election system makes it almost impossible for a third party senerio. but the tea party movement, mostly conservatives, are basically looking at the reps and scratching their heads. If the reps move more to the right, where they belong, the tea partiers, I believe will throw them their support. I don't think the reps have a choice anymore, but to follow the tea party/independent movement if they want to win another election.

The Tea Party folks are not just angry Reps......this has NOTHING to do with partisanship......and EVERYTHING to do with where BOTH major parties think the country wants to go and how tickled we
want our itching ears.......

somehow we got into this quicksand hole of lazy, give me, envy,get it for me, do it for me government.......WE HAVE TO GET OUT.....both parties led the flock here and the flock elected them---go figure.....

http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/02/cpacs_odd_ending.html

Is the GOP starting to shape up?


So I just have to ask: What Republican Party has Beck been watching the past year?


The following lines from his CPAC address -- which are the lines the media have been spreading as his theme -- are simply baffling:


I have not heard people in the Republican Party admit yet that they have a problem. I haven't seen the Come-to-Jesus moment from Republicans yet.


Huh? Is he serious?


Has he not heard about Marco Rubio? Rubio is now up 12 points on Charlie Crist among GOP voters. That sounds to me like a lot of Florida Republicans admit there's a problem.


What about Governor Chris Christie in New Jersey? The lesson he is teaching the New Jersey legislature this week about government spending could have come straight off of Beck's blackboard. Beck should be proud of this. Why is he ignoring it?


Has he not heard about J.D. Hayworth challenging John McCain in the Arizona primary? Say what you will about J.D., but the idea that a thirty-year incumbent is facing a serious primary challenge indicates that some Republicans are admitting that they have a problem.


Beck said in his speech that Rush Limbaugh is one of his heroes.  Rush is a Republican, by the way. He has been onto Republican problems longer than Beck has. Rush is a master of succinct brilliance -- his latest gem being "the era of McCain is over!"  


Ann Coulter is a Republican, and she has said several times lately that "while there are plenty of bad Republicans, there are no good Democrats." I think she gets it. Mark Levin is also a Republican, and for years he has used the term "Re-pube-icks" to describe the very Republicans Beck dislikes. Levin knows history pretty well too.


Then, of course, there is Sarah Palin. For months, including in her endorsement of Doug Hoffman, she has talked the need for the party to return to the principles of Beck's other hero, Ronald Reagan. Palin, you might remember, is a Republican.


And it seems to me that zero Republicans in the Senate and only one Republican in the House voted for Obamacare. That's hardly equally guilty in my opinion.


And let's not forget the tea parties. There's a lot of anger there at Republicans, but much of it is from Republicans who have had their "come-to-Jesus" moment, apparently.  


I could go on. This is bewildering.


It is not really clear what Beck is looking for in the way of evidence, but I submit that if he is waiting for the likes of Steve Schmidt and David Brooks to give public mea culpas, then he will wait a long time. Moreover, it is irrelevant.


A study of history shows that even under Reagan, there were hold-outs. They included his own vice president. And speaking of vice presidents who did not necessarily agree with their Presidents, Beck also said the following Saturday night:


Dick Cheney a couple days ago ... says it is going to be a good year for conservative ideas. ... It is going to be a very good year. But it is not enough just to not suck as much as the other side.


To me, this was a gratuitous shot at a man who never gave the impression he was behind Bush's spending policies. And Cheney is doing more than just "not sucking as much as the other side" when it comes to security. He and his daughter are absolutely skewering the Obama administration on Iraq and the War on Terror. He has kicked the Bush "new tone" to the curb. For someone who could easily retire, Cheney is doing a lot to further conservatism. He too is a Republican.


Meanwhile, Beck mentioned more about Woodrow Wilson than he did Barack Obama. He talked more about the depressions of the first forty years of the 20th century than he did our current situation. I am not sure he even mentioned the names Reid or Pelosi, and he was more concerned about Teddy than Franklin Roosevelt.


Whatever it is that is driving Beck to ignore a conservative ascendancy within the GOP that he himself has helped stoke, it is a dangerous and counterproductive sentiment. Not only is it intellectually dishonest and separated from reality, it is perilously close to being an all-out promotion of a third party movement.


All of this would ironically unleash only more unmitigated Marxism -- er, progressivism -- in our government than what exists today. That would be a sad and devastating irony indeed. We cannot stop this Marxist march without invoking the names of Reid and Pelosi. Slamming Woodrow and Teddy won't cut it.

Beck is a passionate and talented communicator, and he really explains "the idea of America" and how it coincides with modern Reagan conservatism very well. I just wish he could bring himself to admit that there are folks in the Republican Party who agree with that -- and there always have been.  


Moreover, we need that very party to stop the Obama-Reid-Pelosi leftist express regardless of how flawed they are.


One has to question what could possibly be motivating Beck to be so blind to this. It has to be willful. He is a student of history! Could there be something ulterior at work?


In his speech, Beck claimed Rush and Reagan as his heroes. As a point of fact, both have given the CPAC keynote address -- Reagan numerous times. A study of the two indicates that neither would approve of much of Beck's speech, ironically. Of course, neither would have pulled the straw for Ron Paul either.


So without a doubt, it was a very strange ending to what had been an incredible weekend at CPAC. And Mr. Beck: If I am wrong in my analysis -- call me!

Quoted from bumblethru

Our election system makes it almost impossible for a third party senerio. but the tea party movement, mostly conservatives, are basically looking at the reps and scratching their heads. If the reps move more to the right, where they belong, the tea partiers, I believe will throw them their support. I don't think the reps have a choice anymore, but to follow the tea party/independent movement if they want to win another election.

I think this country would benefit from a 3 party system..   right middle left of course.  They current system is set up for every politician to conform to a Dem vs Repub philosophy which is killing the fundamental principals of this country.  Your choice has been taken away.  Just decide what line you want to stand in and follow the guy in front of you.