Tea Party

[Sean]

So there are some recent so-called "Tea Party" developments that I think warrants it's own thread.

First, Ian mentioned in the healthcare thread:

Originally Posted by //\/\/

deck - i'm wondering if it's another case of the anti-obama mob being comparatively small, but very vocal, whilst the supportive majority are happy to let their politicians do their will...

A new poll exploring the idea of Tea Party candidates entering election races under a third party has shown sort of mixed results on that point:

"According to the poll, Americans say they'll vote for a Republican over a Democrat in the November elections by a 44 to 39 percent margin.

But the addition of a Tea Party candidate to the ballot changes the dynamic: The Republican candidate drops dramatically to 25 percent and the Democrat only slightly to 36 percent, while 15 percent would back the Tea Party candidate."

That being said, I'm very curious how willing Republicans will be to absorb Tea Party constituents in light of some recent developments, like the incidents over the weekend of extreme racial and anti-gay slurs being hurled by Tea Partiers at Democratic Congressmen headed to vote on healthcare reform, or today's news of a Democratic Congressman's brother's propane gas tank line being slashed just days after his address was posted online by Tea Party activists.

I assume they'll take the votes regardless of the fact that they'll be coming from bigots with murderous intent, but how long can the Republican party hope to remain relevant or even viable if these people become their most vocal members?

Ultimately, it's amazing to me that they have the support they do right now given the brazen nature of their machiavellian tactics in recent years. As a registered independent, I'm starting to feel ashamed of my fellow registered independents for apparently leaning in their favor these days. I can only hope that the recent Democratic victory on healthcare reform starts the pendulum swing back towards the center, especially where moderate Republicans are concerned.