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Tucker Carlson: The Tea Party Has Destroyed The Republican Establishment
Mediaite ^ | November 16, 2011 | Colby Hall

Posted on 11/16/2011 11:04:53 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet

Sarah Palin offered some unsolicited advice last night to Mitt Romney, the red-headed stepchild of GOP presidential frontrunners, encouraging him to more openly embrace the fiscal and social conservative side of the Republican party, and to develop a more robust relationship with the Tea Party movement. This morning on Fox News’ America’s Newsroom, host Martha MacCallum asked Daily Caller founder Tucker Carlson and liberal “embed” Alan Colmes to discuss Romney’s strategy in engaging the powerful Tea Party contingent, which Carlson put in remarkably stark terms.

After openly questioning why Romney hasn’t made more of an effort in including an energized side of potential GOP voters sympathetic with the Tea Party movement, Carlson boldly stated what he felt to be an under-told story in the evolution of conservative politics, saying of the Tea Party:

Well I think the explanation is a little broader. Leaderless movements don’t endure because they can’t. This is basically a leaderless movement. But I think it’s had a huge effect, and its biggest effect that almost no one ever mentions is that the Tea Party destroyed the Republican establishment. All the people Republicans and conservatives have looked to for guidance have been basically discredited by the Tea Party, which has alllowed this current chaos to flower. That may be a good thing, it might be a bad thing. I don’t even know. But that is the legacy of the Tea Party. No more Washington establishment on the right.

One of the leitmotifs of the 2010 midterm election was what we called the GOP Civil War, and was perhaps best evidenced by the ongoing rhetorical battle between GOP operative Karl Rove and Tea Party Senatorial candidate Christine O’Donnell. Carlson makes the astute point that business as usual inside the D.C. beltway is a thing of the past, which is evidence of a Tea Party victory in the battle for the soul of the conservative movement.

Given that Carlson has a lengthy resume of defending the GOP and conservative movement, it’s not difficult to imagine that when he says that he isn’t sure if this is a “good thing or bad thing,” he really is shooting a cannonball across the bow of the USS Tea Party, especially when Tea Party endorsed candidates like Herman Cain (and Sharron Angle of last fall) brought embarrassment to some in the GOP ranks. Perhaps the Tea Party has won the GOP battle, but some might suggest that they will lose the eventual war against their Democratic foes.

Watch the clip below, courtesy of Fox News:

(VIDEO AT LINK)


TOPICS: Campaign News; Issues; Parties; State and Local
KEYWORDS: cain; palin; rinos; romney; sarahpalin; stenchofromney; teaparty; teapartyrebellion; tuckercarlson
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

he says that like it would be a bad thing...


41 posted on 11/16/2011 11:35:19 AM PST by bigbob
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Any Republican that does not embrace TEA Party ideals is not a Republican.


42 posted on 11/16/2011 11:36:21 AM PST by Jewbacca (The residents of Iroquois territory may not determine whether Jews may live in Jerusalem.)
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To: mewzilla
AWESOME piece. Thanks for posting it.

Money quote:

Important as they are, our political divisions are the iceberg's tip. When pollsters ask the American people whether they are likely to vote Republican or Democrat in the next presidential election, Republicans win growing pluralities. But whenever pollsters add the preferences "undecided," "none of the above," or "tea party," these win handily, the Democrats come in second, and the Republicans trail far behind. That is because while most of the voters who call themselves Democrats say that Democratic officials represent them well, only a fourth of the voters who identify themselves as Republicans tell pollsters that Republican officeholders represent them well. Hence officeholders, Democrats and Republicans, gladden the hearts of some one-third of the electorate -- most Democratic voters, plus a few Republicans. This means that Democratic politicians are the ruling class's prime legitimate representatives and that because Republican politicians are supported by only a fourth of their voters while the rest vote for them reluctantly, most are aspirants for a junior role in the ruling class. In short, the ruling class has a party, the Democrats. But some two-thirds of Americans -- a few Democratic voters, most Republican voters, and all independents -- lack a vehicle in electoral politics.

43 posted on 11/16/2011 11:38:34 AM PST by Hemingway's Ghost (Spirit of '75)
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To: dfwgator

“If the GOP doesn’t have Scott Walker’s back in Wisconsin, then I am done with them for good.”

####

That is an excellent benchmark.

More activity on the massive Green Graft would also work.

We shall see.


44 posted on 11/16/2011 11:40:06 AM PST by EyeGuy (2012: When the Levee Breaks)
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To: Hemingway's Ghost

You’re welcome :-)


45 posted on 11/16/2011 11:40:24 AM PST by mewzilla (Forget a third party. We need a second one.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

> The Tea Party Has Destroyed The Republican Establishment
And how is that a bad thing?


46 posted on 11/16/2011 11:41:08 AM PST by BuffaloJack (Defeat Obama. End Obama's War On Freedom.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Mr. Carlson, bow tie and all, I think destroying the Republican “Establishment” might just have been one of the main goals of the Tea Party Movement. But what the heck, I not a learned journalist!


47 posted on 11/16/2011 11:43:32 AM PST by ImpBill ("America, where are you now?" - Little "r" republican!)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Tucker Carlson: The Tea Party Has Destroyed The Republican Establishment

Best news I've read all day.

48 posted on 11/16/2011 11:46:03 AM PST by al_c (http://www.blowoutcongress.com)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

If only.


49 posted on 11/16/2011 11:50:22 AM PST by Maceman (Obama: As American as nasei goreng)
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To: G Larry

Tucker, go back school! The Tea Party is the original GOP, not this phony, scratch the libs backs if they scratch mine BS, who call themselves Republicans. Or maybe you could take a trip back in time to the Soviet Union to learn how socialism works.


50 posted on 11/16/2011 11:56:12 AM PST by GunPkrBkr (I'd rather be judged by twelve, than carried by six.)
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To: blasater1960

Well our biggest Tea Party supporter is Michele Bachmann who should be our number one candidate for President but FREEPERS are going for non tea party people like Newt and Perry. The second Tea Party supporter is Cain. The third is Santorum. So why are we NOT supporting the Tea Party candidates????? FREEPERS just talking tea party but does not support them. Unbelievable.


51 posted on 11/16/2011 11:57:02 AM PST by napscoordinator
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Think of the Tea Party as a skilful surgeon. The cancer destroying the body is cut away from the healthy tissue that the organism may live.

The Tea Party movement is the true GOP.


52 posted on 11/16/2011 12:00:47 PM PST by TFMcGuire (Liberalism Is Hatred)
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To: napscoordinator
Well our biggest Tea Party supporter is Michele Bachmann who should be our number one candidate for President but FREEPERS are going for non tea party people like Newt and Perry.

Totally agree. I was an early supporter of MB and dam near every thread about her turned into FReeper mayhem with a shocking amount of "She's a stocking horse for Romney"...She is a Romney lover..."She supports farm subsidies" (she doesnt)...all sorts of crap. Every thread.

The MSM managed to Bork her and then Perry got in and she instantly dropped to the bottom. So now what. We are stuck. We screwed ourselves again, with the help of the GOP machine.

53 posted on 11/16/2011 12:07:42 PM PST by blasater1960 (Deut 30, Psalm 111...the Torah and the Law, is attainable past, present and forever.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Tell it to Christine O’Donnell.


54 posted on 11/16/2011 12:19:19 PM PST by TBP (Obama lies, Granny dies.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Given that Democrats lost over 60 seats in the House and 7 in the Senate in 2010, I'd say that establishment Democrats took a hit, too.

-PJ

55 posted on 11/16/2011 12:19:32 PM PST by Political Junkie Too (If you can vote for President, then your children can run for President.)
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To: blasater1960

Same here. I was Bachmann ‘12 then Cain ‘12.


56 posted on 11/16/2011 12:24:35 PM PST by CainConservative
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

If the Republican establishment can’t defend itself successfully against a bunch of rank-and-file voters, that strikes me as a defect in the establishment, not the rank-and-file voters.


57 posted on 11/16/2011 12:30:25 PM PST by RichInOC (No! BAD Rich! (What'd I say?))
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Too good to be true.


58 posted on 11/16/2011 12:31:30 PM PST by SaxxonWoods (.....The days are long but the years are short.....)
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To: EyeGuy

I quit donating when the Natl GOP did nothing to keep Gregoire from stealing the WA governorship in 2000. We were a test ground for it. Maybe when the GOP starts acting like conservatives and quits joining “Gangs of 12” et al, and we have a speaker who doesn’t whimp out they may get their “mojo” back.


59 posted on 11/16/2011 12:33:21 PM PST by Citizen Soldier ("You care far too much what is written and said about you." Axelrod to Obama 2006)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
No more Washington establishment on the right.

Isn't this an oxymoron?

60 posted on 11/16/2011 12:41:10 PM PST by AndyJackson
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