For the tea party in North Carolina. Thom Tillis, the establishment GOP candidate, walked away without needing a runoff. So, what do you think? Meaningless local result? Or a sign the tea party has run out of tea? I say it's definitely a positive sign for those who hope the GOP (er, the anti-Democrats) take the senate. Tillis almost surely has a better shot at beating Hagan than the libertarian or the preacher-man, whose names I've already forgotten. Can't be a positive sign for those of you who are interested in radicalizing the GOP, however. Or for Rand Paul and Mike Huckabee, who promoted the losing candidates. barfo
There seems to be some accord reached between establishment and tea party republicans for this cycle. Like to win all the senate seats they can.
Well, that does seem smarter than the accord they reached the last round, which was to lose all the senate seats they could... barfo
Hey barfo, http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/tea-party-gop-primary-win-nebraska-23697094 Tea Party Favorite Wins Nebraska's GOP Primary The tea party scored a win in Nebraska on Tuesday as university president Ben Sasse captured the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in a bitter race that highlighted fissures within the GOP. Two women set the stage for history-making in West Virginia. Sasse, who had the backing of outside conservative groups, Sarah Palin and Sen. Ted Cruz, grabbed 48 percent of the vote in a five-man primary. Sid Dinsdale, the president of Pinnacle Bank, surged to second, while former State Treasurer Shane Osborn finished third.
The Tea Party seemed to me to be a fringe element of the right. As a result, I hardly expect them to win many elections. Now, if they run as third party candidates in the general election, then it hands the election over to the left.
Ok. Some reactions. 1) It's Nebraska, what do you expect? 2) Sasse isn't the usual tea-party moron candidate. A bit creepy, yes, but not a moron. 3) He's replacing an (R) seat, so maybe it means the R party gets more right-wing, but that doesn't make it more effective. Also, if you are a tea-party type, you'll have to wonder whether he's really a tea-partier or just a slick salesman. Not sure myself, but we'll see how he votes once in office. barfo
Your premise in the OP is that establishment candidates are beating tea party ones, so tea party must be weaker. Not so weak if they win against establishment candidates, regardless of how "R" the state is.
Incorrect, completely incorrect. In the OP I noted one win by an establishment candidate and asked the board whether they thought it was a start of a trend or an isolated result. I didn't offer an opinion about the answer to that question. This is one win by a tea-party-backed candidate. Is this a start of a trend, or an isolated result? It's the same question still. barfo
So now we have two results and a 50% success rate. What I think is that whether you like her or not, a Sarah Palin endorsement likely means success. She was 33-20 in 2010, and had a 75% success rate in 2012.
