How to Win, and Not to Win, in 2014

CFP ^ | August 10, 2013 | Morry Markovitz

[iontheball]

Lately there’s been a growing chorus of calls for the Tea Party and the Republican Party to unite and find a way of compromising over their differences in order to achieve their common goal of defeating Democrats. This scares the heck out of me because many in the Tea Party may think it’s a good idea.

The Tea Party is NOT (yet?) formally a political party, but a group of people who share certain ideas about political philosophy. True, for various reasons they tend to support Republicans more often than Democrats, but the basis for their support of any candidate is the extent to which his INDIVIDUAL political ideas meld with THEIRS.

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TOPICS: Politics
KEYWORDS: randsconcerntrolls; rinos; teaparty

[iontheball]

Tea Party strategy

[TalBlack]

Lately there’s been a growing chorus of calls for the Tea Party and the Republican Party to unite and find a way of compromising over their differences in order to achieve their common goal of defeating Democrats.

By becoming Democrats? Most in the Tea Party see the stupidity in that.

[0.E.O]

The Republicans need to make hay in the 2014 elections because the 2016 Senate races are going to be a real bear. Republicans will be defending 24 seats to 10 for the Democrats. All the Democrats are in Blue States while 5 or 6 of the Republicans are in Blue States as well.

[nomad]

How many of us have been saying this for how long?

[Jacquerie]

As the first poster to have actually read the column, I make note of this:

Well, the Tea Party has to disabuse the RNC . . . by turning ON the Republican Party instead of turning to it.

I will probably donate to the campaign of Boehner's rat opponent next year.

[estrogen]

The Republicans need to make hay in the 2014 elections because the 2016 Senate races are going to be a real bear. Republicans will be defending 24 seats to 10 for the Democrats. All the Democrats are in Blue States while 5 or 6 of the Republicans are in Blue States as well.

Republicans are defending 15 seats while Dems are defending 20

[staytrue]

I read the column, but did you read the author’s biography ?

1964 graduate of Hope High School in Providence, RI

education in physics at MIT

recruited by Commodities Corp (CC) of Princeton, NJ

Ok so this guy grew up in Rhode Island, went to college in Massachusetts, worked in New Jersey.

And this guy wants to lecture the rest of us on how to take back the country. I mean the only more hopelessly liberal places he could have lived would be Maryland and the District of Columbia. (Actually, if you exclude the DC suburbs, Maryland is not that liberal.)

[0.E.O]

Republicans are defending 15 seats while Dems are defending 20

In 2014 yes. In 2016 it's 10 Democrats - Boxer, Bennett, Blumenthal, Mikulski, Reid, Schumer, Wyden, Leahy, and Murray - against 24 Republicans - Shelby, Murkowski, McCain, Boozman, Rubio, Isakson, Crapo, Kirk, Coats, Grassley, Moran, Paul, Vitter, Blunt, Ayotte, Burr, Hoeven, Portman, Coburn, Toomey, Thune, Lee, and Johnson. Of those Coburn has already announced his retirement, though being from Oklahoma a Republican will replace him, and Grassley might. Kirk, Portman, Toomey, Johnson, Ayotte, and Grassley are in Blue States. If the GOP has a good 2014 then they could control the Senate with 51 or 52 seats. They could very well give in back in 2016.