Posted on 01/24/2010 9:26:48 AM PST by rabscuttle385
WASHINGTON — The remarkable Republican victory in Massachusetts demonstrated convincingly that the deep populist anger fueling the Tea Party movement has migrated from the political fringe to the mainstream, forcing both parties to confront how to channel a growing mood of public resentment to their own ends.
Scott Brown’s improbable win was a vivid example of how a candidate with traditional Republican backing — coupled with a strong appeal to activists in the trenches of a grass-roots rebellion — can win even in territory that had been considered out of reach.
As the Massachusetts results reverberated on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Republicans said they saw Mr. Brown’s triumph over the much better known Democrat, Attorney General Martha Coakley, as a model for their 2010 election strategy.
(snip)
The divide between the party establishment and grass-roots conservatives already cost Republicans a House seat in New York this year, complicated the battle for the party’s Senate nomination in Florida and is threatening to erupt in other races. Members of the Tea Party movement pride themselves on a willingness to take on Republicans who do not embrace what they consider proper conservative standards.
“If you are a Republican in a red state, don’t think this can’t happen to you,” warned Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, referring to Ms. Coakley’s humbling defeat and the delicate relationship between the political class and the expanding grass roots network.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
“If you are a republican in a red state, don’t think this can’t happen to you.” Lindseed Graham
Is he scared? A good opponent could retire Gramnesty.
The way forward is quite simply actually ... Subscribe the Constitutional principles and values exposed by the Tea Party people.
A sure fire winner for either party who chooses to do this.
Progressives need not apply.
Go TeaPartiers
I don’t like the word Populist. It’s a label open to interpretation.
I don’t like the word Populist. It’s a label open to interpretation
It has been co-opted by the media and some faux-con wonks... liberal or RINO....to label someone as a a “liberal”.....when in reality most Populists tend to be very conservative on most issues.
You're absolutely correct; most progressives, and particularly the media types, associate 'populist' with people like George Wallace or Lester Maddox, going back to 'The Kingfish', Huey P. Long in Louisiana.
Some of the older ones, or hollywierd, literary types, think of Andy Griffith in 'A Face in the Crowd'. Substantively, they think it to be a pejorative term.
Bing's (Encarta) dictionary says:
NOUN; plural - pop·u·lists
1. supporter of ordinary people: an advocate of the rights and interests of ordinary people, e.g. in politics or the arts.
ADJECTIVE:
1. of ordinary people: emphasizing or promoting ordinary people, their lives, or their interests
[ Late 19th century. < Latin populus "people" ]
THESAURUS
ADJECTIVE:
Synonyms: antielitist, majority, mainstream, democratic, general, accessible
Antonyms: elitist
Which is, indeed, true. It's a question of 'nuance'.
And we all know how deftly and well the left manipulates 'nuance' in political discourse.
Eeeuuuwww ... Ah jest read this over, an' mah gran'pappy 'ud whupped th' tar outta me fer soundin' so intellekshul...!
I have been looking all over for a fixed set of Tea Party core values or principles, but I can’t find them.
Has anyone written them down, and if so, can you steer me in the right direction?
We're all hoping it will happen to YOU, Gramnesty!
Beck, 9/12 project.
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