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Why the Tea Party Lives On
National Journal ^ | January 3, 2013 | Michael Hirsh

Posted on 01/03/2013 9:26:05 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet

Crazies. Cliff divers. Nihilists. Nutjobs. Those are just a few of the descriptions being applied to the 151 House Republicans who broke with Speaker John Boehner—they included his own supposed wing men, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Whip Kevin McCarthy—to vote against the fiscal cliff deal Tuesday night.

In truth, what the fine print of the bill demonstrates is that the Republicans who refused to vote for the fiscal compromise had every right to be disgusted by it—that is, if you expect legislators to hold true at all to the beliefs that inspired them to run for office in the first place. The last-minute deal exposed Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell as creatures of the old system, and it ripped the scab off whatever healing had occurred between the Republican traditionalists and the tea partiers since then. Make no mistake: The divide within the GOP will continue, demonstrating that the tea-party rebellion lives on in the new House.

Tuesday’s “no” votes represented a wide variety of views. But many GOP House members were appalled at the failure to cut spending or change traditional ways of doing business, especially what The Washington Post noted was “dozens of rider provisions that had nothing to do with the cliff” (including one that kicked over $12 billion over ten years to the renewable-energy industry; another that will benefit the owners of auto-racing tracks in the amount of $78 million; and a $1 million break for coal-mining operations on Indian lands). The House members opposed to this old way—as naïve as they often sound—make up the core of a legitimate resistance movement in American politics, one that is trying to stop the relentless tendency of U.S. government to grow ever larger and more complex...

(Excerpt) Read more at nationaljournal.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Editorial; Government
KEYWORDS: boehner; congress; teaparty; teapartyrebellion
Comments?
1 posted on 01/03/2013 9:26:15 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Cantor wants Boehner’s job.


2 posted on 01/03/2013 9:37:07 AM PST by SeaHawkFan
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

I’m just glad my congressman voted no.

When he ran in 2010, he refused to label himself a tea partier because he felt that it was up to the people to decide who is and isn’t true to tea party ideals. I was impressed. When pretenders were attaching themselves to the tea party, he refused to do so without the approval of the people.


3 posted on 01/03/2013 9:37:07 AM PST by cripplecreek (REMEMBER THE RIVER RAISIN!)
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To: cripplecreek
I’m just glad my congressman voted no.

The oldest trick in Congress, unless you personally know the person and can assure yourself that they are conservative, these kind of votes mean nothing.

I don't know if your Congressman is truly conservative but I guess we can hope.

4 posted on 01/03/2013 2:28:47 PM PST by itsahoot (Any enemy, that is allowed to have a King's X line, is undefeatable. (USS Taluga AO-62))
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