Tea Partiers and Their Republican Brothers

I said it at the beginning of the last election and I will say it again - the Tea Party is hurting the Republicans and they need to distance themselves as quickly as possible as they can from their conservative minded brothers.

There was plenty of anger with the Democrats during the 2010 congressional elections to easily push the Republicans into full control of both the House and Senate. But the Tea Partiers grabbed hold of that anger and ran away with control of key nominations for the Republicans. They like to pat themselves on the back and say that they were the driving force for Republican wins in the last election. While they did raise money and campaign for the Republican party, in the end the Republicans could have done better on their own. Had the Tea Party movement not occurred, the Republicans would have done just fine. Tea Party candidates ultimately ended up losing key races. Here are a few examples of how the Tea Party hurt the Republican Party:

Case 1: Sharon Angle. Harry Reid is the poster child for the "progressive movement" in the Senate. With the outrage that swept the country he was possibly the easiest candidate to topple. Unfortunately, Sharon Angle stepped in and ran a terrible campaign. She refused to talk to the media for months and had extreme views of Social Security, etc. At the end of the day, the race became a worse of two evils: either the evil politician or the radical Tea Party candidate. A moderate Republican would have easily walked away with the election. Instead, the seat goes to the Democrats.

Case 2: Ken Buck. See above but replace "Harry Reid" with "Michael Bennet". He was much less extreme, but at the end of the day: Hand the Colorado Senate seat back to the Democrats.

Case 3: Christine O'Donnell. I consider myself unelectable. There is the lack of experience, the wild, radical ideas, the lack of tact in most situations - but I also know enough not to try to run for office. Surprisingly, I actually agree with a lot of what she said. My social views (the ones she was most violently attacked for) are in many cases right in line with hers. The difference is that I know I'm not electable and leave that to the people who are instead of ruining it for any party. Christine O'Donnell will likely take her witchcraft to Fox "News" just like all the other failed crazies. Best of luck to her. Hand the Senate majority back to the Democrats.

Politics is about winning. The Republicans know that and they were poised to walk away with a lot more than they ended up taking away. They should be incensed with the Tea Party and treat them as the saboteurs that they are.

My final case is that of Sarah Pallin. I don't specifically blame her for ruining the 2008 election for the Republicans because, after all, John McCain chose her as a running mate. She did however, cost him the election. By the end of the 2008 election it was clear that the economy was the most important issue of the campaign. Had John McCain had the foresight to choose a candidate who had more experience in the private sector or a more successful track record of managing an economy (ala Mitt Romney), he likely would have managed to beat President Obama. He didn't and he, and the Republican base, have no one to blame but whomever decided Sarah Pallin was a good running mate.

We can blame much of the losses in 2010 on Mrs Pallin. She pushed her influence and money into campaigns that shouldn't have been fought. She has made a name for herself among every American and has become as hated a political figure as we have had in a long time. In the end she is also unelectable, but given her track record she and her supporters don't seem to understand what that means. Hopefully, she will save the Republican party the embarrassment and frustration of her running for President in 2012. The Republicans need to focus on finding a great middle-of-the-road candidate. Someone with real, solid experience who can tap into the growing frustration but also reach across political lines and court the independents in the middle. Without that appeal, Mr. Obama runs away with another election.

The Republicans still have time to distance themselves and take back control of their party. This must be a very public fight and struggle for control of their party. People need to see that they are conservative, but not radical. Only then will independents that they need be likely to vote for them again.