TEA Party 2012: Reality Bites

The TEA Party is a hodgepodge of conservative activists who support a range of ideologies from pro-life guerrilla warfare against Planned Parenthood to legalization of marijuana and everything in between. Their ranks waffle between purist libertarians and social conservatives. One of the many goals of the TEA Party was to "change" spending in Washington and make it leaner and more efficient, the latter description being a nice way of saying complete obliteration of all social services.

In 2010, they decided to vote with their feet and mobilized candidates all over the country to challenge mainstream party congressmen and congresswomen. Establishment Republican Senators like Bob Bennett (UT) and Lisa Murkowski (AK) were defeated in their respective primaries by TEA Party backed insurgent candidates (Murkowski won back her seat in a rousing write-in campaign). Veteran Democrat Representatives like Jim Oberstar (17 terms from Michigan) were defeated by unknown and inexperienced TEA Party backed candidates.

Then...their legislative champions failed.

In the ensuing debates in Congress over the debt, taxes, the War in Afghanistan, the War in Iraq, abortion and women's rights, the Congress did not improve. Intransigent lawmakers, taken hostage by their own selfishness slowed the pace of government to the speed only seen on a plate tectonic scale. Traditionally bipartisan issues were bathed in partisan rhetoric and riders, left to be killed on the Senate floor. Budgets to fund essential government services were loaded with non-germane amendments, which elicited veto threats from the President and an assurance of no-progress from a divided Senate. Speak of the House John Boehner was constantly forced to cow-tow to a far right extremist ideology before supporting or rejecting even the most basic bills.

Now that the 2012, elections are approaching, the TEA party is once again geared up for a fight. While many of their freshman allies in Congress are not up for a vote, they will invariably try to challenge Washington insiders and establishment candidates.

Here are some numbers for the TEA Party: 

Congressional Approval rating 10/04/2010: 20.5%
Congressional Approval rating 04/19/2012:  14%

It is my hope that the TEA Party will be forced to face reality in 2012. The reality is that their extremism will only hurt the party and alienate veteran lawmakers who have spent most of their political lives drafting keystone legislation that changes how America treats its environment, economy and citizens. This reality has already taken its toll, as many veteran lawmakers are deciding to leave Congress in 2012. Centrists like Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) look at the partisanship and the lack of progress as a reason to jump ship.

The worst side of the TEA Party and the extreme rightward shift of the Republican Party is demonization of political experience. Someone who understands the dynamics of Congress, like a Ted Kennedy or a Orrin Hatch, will become anomalies. They have been replaced with the inexperience dunce who can only make progress by screaming the loudest and complaining the most.