Thank the Tea Party!

[JD Barleycorn]

I was watching the series on Netflix called "House of Cards" with Kevin Spacey. It is a political melodrama about a DEMOCRAT southern congressman who wants to get even with those that crossed him and advance himself in government (I won't say any more on that topic so as not to be a spoiler). They mention the Tea Party fairly often. Usually it is in terms of "we want to raise taxes but those damn Tea Party think promises are to be kept." or "we can't get those sanctimonious Tea Party people to go along with our spending program.".
So a TV show written by liberals, acted by liberals, and created by liberals recognizes that Tea Party keep their promises and don't want to raise taxes. That is what makes them "bad" to the liberal elite. Othewise, it is a good show with good acting and great writing.

[i'va biggen]

It is a TV show num nuts.

[JD Barleycorn]

Created, written, and acted in by people with a liberal sensitivity. Their feelings about the Tea Party are reflected in their work and their feelings seem to be that the Tea Party is getting in their way because they try to keep their promises and behave like good stewards.

If you haven't watched the show then maybe you should back away from commenting. I highly recommend you watch it. You can always get a 30 day trial (that means free) subscription from Netflix and you can watch them all.

Kind of like the West Wing. Liberal from top to bottom and they always looked at GOP characters with suspicion until something serious had to be done. Then their president sounded just like a conservative and the country needed the GOP Speaker of the House when the daughter was kidnapped. In most instances the GOP characters acted honorably including Alan Alda's presidential candidate in the last season. So as much as the democrats love to complain, the more reasonable recognize that many in the GOP are not of the same poor character as members of their own party.

[JCM800]

Still doesn't make it any less fictional JD.

[Old-T]

JD, there is no reason to believe thierpersonal views are reflected in the program. Remember Archie Bunker?

The fundamental issues about TPers is not that they keep their word, it is that they already "have" and want the gov't to stop helping anyone else from getting theirs too. It is the basic meaning of the word "conserve".

[CuteOldGuy]

Originally Posted by Old-T

JD, there is no reason to believe thierpersonal views are reflected in the program. Remember Archie Bunker?

The fundamental issues about TPers is not that they keep their word, it is that they already "have" and want the gov't to stop helping anyone else from getting theirs too. It is the basic meaning of the word "conserve".

Wow, OT. That is simply bullshit.

[JD Barleycorn]

I do think their views are mirrored in their shows. It is a necessity that their shows look realistic or the viewers will go away. So they put their views in the show the way they see liberals and conservatives. The only difference between us and them is that they see it as a negative character trait that a politician keeps a promise.

I mentioned the West Wing in the last season. There was one episide where Arnie Vinnick (Alan Alda) came into possession of the briefcase of his opponent played by Jimmy Smits. It was a hard fought battle for the White House and anything could turn the election. Alda opened the briefcase and found check stubs for a young woman back in Smits home district. It looks like Jimmy is keeping a mistress and this was the proof. Alda (the republican) called Smits directly and told him that he had the briefcase and he had looked inside. He said he didn't know what he check stubs meant but that it was not part of the campaign. He wanted to get the briefcase back to Smits and he would say nothing about what he found.

This is how at least one liberal writer thought a conservative republican would act if given the opportunity. Kind of flies in the face of the Ken Starr era when it was repeated that all the GOP cared about was sex doesn't it? Turned out that it was the girlfriend of Smits brother who had been killed as a hispanic gang banger. He had been supporting her and his nephew for years.

You can't write this without some grain of truth as the writer hopes the public sees it. About Archie Bunker. Norman Lear is a huge liberal and he was writing comedy not drama. He hit both sides when they took themselves too seriously. His failure came with the follow up "704 Hauser St.". Lear tried to write for a conservative black character ( the son) but he didn't know how to do it and the viewing audience saw that he could not capture the essence and just stopped watching the show very quickly. Lear had gone further down the rabbit hole of liberal thought and couldn't come back. He could not write truth anymore, he could only do a poor parody.

Back to the OP. The Tea Party has been blamed for many things that they are not involved in or things that the GOP cares about but the Tea Party has been a thorn in the side of the democratic party since they complain so much about it. They have reduced deficit spending against the wishes of Obama much the way that Gringrich slowed down Clinton. At least Clinton had the political savvy to take credit for what the House did unlike Barry who can't just get away from blaming someone else for everything.

[i'va biggen]

Then right wing views can be mirrored in shows like Glen Beck and Rush Limbaugh?

[JD Barleycorn]

Now you're comparing apples to kumquats.

Did you ever think you would see the word "kumquats" on a hooker board?

[i'va biggen]

No I am comparing right to left. Kumquat .

[stevepar]

not every one is saying thanks tea partiers....lots of t.p. candidates are going down the tubes if the rhinos have their way....

Three reasons why the GOP establishment is on the verge of victory tonight
The Republican establishment finds itself on the verge of victory this Super Tuesday in its three high-profile contests against the Tea Party -- in Kentucky’s and Georgia’s Senate primaries, as well as in Idaho’s congressional primary. But it didn’t always look this way. Six months ago, there was the real possibility that Tea Party challenger Matt Bevin could have threatened Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in Kentucky; that either conservative Reps. Paul Broun (R-GA) or Phil Gingrey (R-GA) could have topped the GOP field in Georgia instead of being stuck at the bottom; and that the Club for Growth and other conservative groups could have sunk Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID). Yet unless the truly unexpected happens on this Super Tuesday Primary Day, those aren’t going to be the outcomes tonight. So why is the GOP establishment on the verge of victory today -- and maybe in next month’s primaries, too? We can point to three reasons.

Disqualifying opponents, co-opting the issues, and playing in the primaries without any backlash
First, campaigns matter: The establishment candidates and their allies took the Tea Party challenges seriously and worked to disqualify their opponents. Example: The McConnell campaign seizing on Bevin showing up at a pro-cockfighting event. Second, the establishment essentially co-opted some of the Tea Party’s issues, so they couldn’t be accused of being squishy RINOs (see these ads by David Perdue and Jack Kingston in Georgia). And third, the Tea Party base just isn’t as fired up as it was a year ago. Remember when conservatives groups were outraged that Karl Rove’s American Crossroads said it would play in primaries to defeat far-right (and thus un-electable) candidates? Well, Crossroads and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are freely endorsing and playing in GOP primaries -- and they’re doing so without any backlash. One of our other working theories why the conservative base isn’t as fired up as it used to be: The deficit has been decreasing, taking power away from arguably the Tea Party’s biggest initial rallying cry. Yes, we know the DEBT is still growing. But the perception with the vast majority of the public is that annual spending is “under control”; between government shutdowns, debt-ceiling standoffs and sequestration, there is action the public sees as attempts to slow the growth of government.
Why today was always a potential hurdle for the GOP
Regarding that last point, it’s worth pointing out that today’s primaries in Georgia and Kentucky were always a potential hurdle for the GOP -- nominate the wrong candidate and possibly hand the Democrats a victory they shouldn’t have in November. (See Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock in 2012.) So if today’s primaries play out how we expect them to, Republicans will clear this hurdle. Still, as our NBC-Marist polls from last week showed, the GOP is going to have to fight to win in Georgia and Kentucky come November. The polls showed McConnell (at 46%) and Democrat Alison Grimes (at 45%) locked in a dead heat among registered voters. And they showed Democrat Michelle Nunn running competitive among all of her potential GOP opponents. While picking up a net of six seats in a playing field featuring at least 10 vulnerable Dem-held Senate seats seems reasonable, the GOP’s chances of Senate control go down if they suddenly have to win seven or eight of those 10 Dem seats. So losing either Georgia or Kentucky -- or both -- raises that magic number for the GOP.
On tonight’s Democratic gubernatorial primary in Pennsylvania
While we’ve focused so much on today’s Republican primaries, Democrats have their own competitive one in Pennsylvania, where the candidates are vying for the right to challenge vulnerable incumbent Gov. Tom Corbett in the fall. The person who’s jumped out -- surprisingly -- to be the front-runner in this contest is businessman Tom Wolf. It’s a reminder that candidate style is always important: Wolf has come across in his TV ads as non-ideological and results-oriented. “I’m Tom Wolf, and I’ll be a different kind of governor,” he says in one of his ads. Of course, thanks to Wolf’s deep pockets, he’s been able to run A LOT of these ads to introduce himself. By comparison, Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-PA) hasn’t run as good of a campaign. She went into this contest as the most recognizable name to D.C. types, but hasn’t been able to break through. Some folks may attempt to draw broader conclusions about her inability to catch fire, but it seems from the get-go, while she had some traction in DC, many Pennsylvania Dem types never totally bought into the idea she was electable statewide, and that slowed down her fundraising early.
On tonight’s GOP Senate primary in Oregon

Meanwhile, in Oregon, there’s a new damaging report on Monica Wehby, the front-runner in Oregon’s Senate GOP primary. “The ex-husband of Republican Senate candidate Monica Wehby accused her of ‘ongoing harassment’ as they were going through a divorce in December 2007 and also called the police on her in December 2009 over a dispute about seeing their children, documents obtained by The Oregonian show.” This comes AFTER Politico last week reported that that an ex-boyfriend had accused Wehby of stalking him and harassing him in 2013. But here’s one thing to consider about these back-to-back damaging articles on Wehby: Oregon votes by mail, so it’s possible that many of the ballots had been returned BEFORE these stories surfaced. If Wehby wins tonight, it’s possible that these stories could be fodder for Democrats come the fall. Then again, a candidate must walk a very fine line if the idea is to paint a female opponent as violent or unstable, especially regarding domestic disputes. It could backfire, big time.
Don’t forget about the House primaries
Also on this Super Tuesday, don’t forget the potentially interesting House primaries. You have two ex-members -- Republican Bob Barr in Georgia and Democrat Marjorie Margoiles (who is Chelsea Clinton’s mother-in-law) in Pennsylvania -- trying to make a return to Congress. And also in Pennsylvania, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Bill Shuster is getting a Tea Party challenge from Art Halvorson, though Shuster is expected to cruise to victory. (Does a big margin for Shuster open the door for a transportation bill to actually get through THIS Congress?) Final poll closing times in Georgia and Kentucky are at 7:00 pm ET; Pennsylvania’s polls close at 8:00 pm ET; Arkansas’ closes at 8:30 pm ET; and Idaho’s and Oregon’s close at 11:00 pm ET.
Looking ahead to June
The Mississippi primary is getting nasty, with both sides hurling accusations after an activist who backs Chris McDaniel was arrested for taking unauthorized photos of Thad Cochran’s bedridden wife. And on top of the who-knew-what-when game between the campaigns, there’s this too drama too between some of the outside groups playing in the race: The Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund – which is backing McDaniel, is re-upping an existing FEC complaint, saying that a pro-Cochran PAC violated rules by deliberately failing to disclose where a $250,000 loan came from. Meanwhile, McDaniel is touting a Citizens United Political Victory Fund poll conducted by polling company, inc./Woman Trend that shows him leading just inside the margin of error -- 43 percent to 39 percent among likely primary voters

[IIFFOFRDB]

Originally Posted by stevepar

not every one is saying thanks tea partiers....lots of t.p. candidates are going down the tubes if the rhinos have their way....

Three reasons why the GOP establishment is on the verge of victory tonight
The Republican establishment finds itself on the verge of victory this Super Tuesday in its three high-profile contests against the Tea Party -- in Kentucky’s and Georgia’s Senate primaries, as well as in Idaho’s congressional primary. But it didn’t always look this way. Six months ago, there was the real possibility that Tea Party challenger Matt Bevin could have threatened Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in Kentucky; that either conservative Reps. Paul Broun (R-GA) or Phil Gingrey (R-GA) could have topped the GOP field in Georgia instead of being stuck at the bottom; and that the Club for Growth and other conservative groups could have sunk Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID). Yet unless the truly unexpected happens on this Super Tuesday Primary Day, those aren’t going to be the outcomes tonight. So why is the GOP establishment on the verge of victory today -- and maybe in next month’s primaries, too? We can point to three reasons.

Disqualifying opponents, co-opting the issues, and playing in the primaries without any backlash
First, campaigns matter: The establishment candidates and their allies took the Tea Party challenges seriously and worked to disqualify their opponents. Example: The McConnell campaign seizing on Bevin showing up at a pro-cockfighting event. Second, the establishment essentially co-opted some of the Tea Party’s issues, so they couldn’t be accused of being squishy RINOs (see these ads by David Perdue and Jack Kingston in Georgia). And third, the Tea Party base just isn’t as fired up as it was a year ago. Remember when conservatives groups were outraged that Karl Rove’s American Crossroads said it would play in primaries to defeat far-right (and thus un-electable) candidates? Well, Crossroads and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are freely endorsing and playing in GOP primaries -- and they’re doing so without any backlash. One of our other working theories why the conservative base isn’t as fired up as it used to be: The deficit has been decreasing, taking power away from arguably the Tea Party’s biggest initial rallying cry. Yes, we know the DEBT is still growing. But the perception with the vast majority of the public is that annual spending is “under control”; between government shutdowns, debt-ceiling standoffs and sequestration, there is action the public sees as attempts to slow the growth of government.
Why today was always a potential hurdle for the GOP
Regarding that last point, it’s worth pointing out that today’s primaries in Georgia and Kentucky were always a potential hurdle for the GOP -- nominate the wrong candidate and possibly hand the Democrats a victory they shouldn’t have in November. (See Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock in 2012.) So if today’s primaries play out how we expect them to, Republicans will clear this hurdle. Still, as our NBC-Marist polls from last week showed, the GOP is going to have to fight to win in Georgia and Kentucky come November. The polls showed McConnell (at 46%) and Democrat Alison Grimes (at 45%) locked in a dead heat among registered voters. And they showed Democrat Michelle Nunn running competitive among all of her potential GOP opponents. While picking up a net of six seats in a playing field featuring at least 10 vulnerable Dem-held Senate seats seems reasonable, the GOP’s chances of Senate control go down if they suddenly have to win seven or eight of those 10 Dem seats. So losing either Georgia or Kentucky -- or both -- raises that magic number for the GOP.
On tonight’s Democratic gubernatorial primary in Pennsylvania
While we’ve focused so much on today’s Republican primaries, Democrats have their own competitive one in Pennsylvania, where the candidates are vying for the right to challenge vulnerable incumbent Gov. Tom Corbett in the fall. The person who’s jumped out -- surprisingly -- to be the front-runner in this contest is businessman Tom Wolf. It’s a reminder that candidate style is always important: Wolf has come across in his TV ads as non-ideological and results-oriented. “I’m Tom Wolf, and I’ll be a different kind of governor,” he says in one of his ads. Of course, thanks to Wolf’s deep pockets, he’s been able to run A LOT of these ads to introduce himself. By comparison, Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-PA) hasn’t run as good of a campaign. She went into this contest as the most recognizable name to D.C. types, but hasn’t been able to break through. Some folks may attempt to draw broader conclusions about her inability to catch fire, but it seems from the get-go, while she had some traction in DC, many Pennsylvania Dem types never totally bought into the idea she was electable statewide, and that slowed down her fundraising early.
On tonight’s GOP Senate primary in Oregon

Meanwhile, in Oregon, there’s a new damaging report on Monica Wehby, the front-runner in Oregon’s Senate GOP primary. “The ex-husband of Republican Senate candidate Monica Wehby accused her of ‘ongoing harassment’ as they were going through a divorce in December 2007 and also called the police on her in December 2009 over a dispute about seeing their children, documents obtained by The Oregonian show.” This comes AFTER Politico last week reported that that an ex-boyfriend had accused Wehby of stalking him and harassing him in 2013. But here’s one thing to consider about these back-to-back damaging articles on Wehby: Oregon votes by mail, so it’s possible that many of the ballots had been returned BEFORE these stories surfaced. If Wehby wins tonight, it’s possible that these stories could be fodder for Democrats come the fall. Then again, a candidate must walk a very fine line if the idea is to paint a female opponent as violent or unstable, especially regarding domestic disputes. It could backfire, big time.
Don’t forget about the House primaries
Also on this Super Tuesday, don’t forget the potentially interesting House primaries. You have two ex-members -- Republican Bob Barr in Georgia and Democrat Marjorie Margoiles (who is Chelsea Clinton’s mother-in-law) in Pennsylvania -- trying to make a return to Congress. And also in Pennsylvania, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Bill Shuster is getting a Tea Party challenge from Art Halvorson, though Shuster is expected to cruise to victory. (Does a big margin for Shuster open the door for a transportation bill to actually get through THIS Congress?) Final poll closing times in Georgia and Kentucky are at 7:00 pm ET; Pennsylvania’s polls close at 8:00 pm ET; Arkansas’ closes at 8:30 pm ET; and Idaho’s and Oregon’s close at 11:00 pm ET.
Looking ahead to June
The Mississippi primary is getting nasty, with both sides hurling accusations after an activist who backs Chris McDaniel was arrested for taking unauthorized photos of Thad Cochran’s bedridden wife. And on top of the who-knew-what-when game between the campaigns, there’s this too drama too between some of the outside groups playing in the race: The Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund – which is backing McDaniel, is re-upping an existing FEC complaint, saying that a pro-Cochran PAC violated rules by deliberately failing to disclose where a $250,000 loan came from. Meanwhile, McDaniel is touting a Citizens United Political Victory Fund poll conducted by polling company, inc./Woman Trend that shows him leading just inside the margin of error -- 43 percent to 39 percent among likely primary voters

Here is YOUR link... steve(chicken little)SUBpar http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/firs...onight-n109776

[Old-T]

Originally Posted by CuteOldGuy

Wow, OT. That is simply bullshit.

I don’t think it is BS from what I have seen. I work with a number of TPers, and there are some who live on my street and we talk politics often (though more civilly than is often the case here). They have dragged me to a few TP events. Based only on what I have observed personally:
--They tend to be middle age and older, mostly White, and generally middle class and up
--Most are hard working, good people. Not prone to threatening folks, etc.
--However, most indeed are “well off enough” in their own minds, by whatever definition they have of that. Thus my comment that—again, but their own definitions—they “have”. Of course they want more—almost everyone wants an extra 1,000 sq feet, wants to have a newer car, etc., but I wouldn’t say they tend to see themselves as poorly off. Most DO seem to think they can retire at a reasonable age and manage OK, though again almost everyone want 20% more in their savings.

--I would also say most feel they have earned whatever success they have, and that it was not given to them via birth, privileged opportunities, etc. I would disagree in a few cases from what I know of them, but I think they truly believe it of themselves.
--I here over and over essentially, “I had to make it without any help (again, I think many got more help from gov’t or others than they acknowledge, but THEY don’t see it) and I don’t want the government reaching in my pocket to help anyone else with my taxes.” They don’t actually say those words—and each one probably has one or two “acceptable” types of help—but it is pretty clear they feel that if THEY made it on their own, so should everyone else. When I point out that many DID get financial aid in college, but they are for cutting Pell grants for example, they get defensive about “getting the feds out of education”. I wonder where they think their financial aid probably came from. When I point out that some of them grew up in big cities with good mass transit, but they vote to cut public transit now that they have multiple cars and don’t ride the buses, again they come up with a rationalization that it is different. The retirees with no kids who went to public school but always campaign against school taxes are another (this is separate from how to spend the money, which I do see as a valid discussion topic).


No, I don’t think they are consciously greedy and protective, but I do see many/most of them speaking and voting against exactly the kinds of aid that got them where they are. Thus my comment.

That may not fit you experiences, but it is definitely what I see.

[Guest040616]

Originally Posted by IIFFOFRDB

Thank The Tea Party

Are you referring to this "Tea Party?"

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/0...908.html?hp=t1

http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/20/politi...html?hpt=hp_t1

Are they one and the same?

[IIFFOFRDB]

Originally Posted by bigtex

Are you referring to this "Tea Party?"

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/0...908.html?hp=t1

http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/20/politi...html?hpt=hp_t1

Are they one and the same?

What does that "Democratic Lite" politician have to do with the Tea-Party?...BJtex?