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- iHaveNet.com: Politics
by Jules Witcover
In the competition to bring voter intensity to the approaching midterm congressional elections, the
The voter phenomenon got a questionable push the other day from one of its leading lights, conservative Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota. She sought and won creation of a Tea Party Caucus in the House by petitioning the Democratic chairman of the
Bachmann described the caucus as "an informal group of members dedicated to promote Americans' call for fiscal responsibility, adherence to the Constitution and limited government." Americans, she said, have "had enough of the spending, bureaucracy and the government-knows-best mentality running rampant today throughout the halls of
The new caucus, like the Congressional Black Caucus and other voluntary groupings of House members, has no special privileges but facilitates solidarity in advancing its political goals. But because the tea party movement has become a controversial amalgam of anti-big government advocates, many establishment Republicans are exhibiting a certain resistance to getting too close to the new caucus.
The zealousness of some of its elements has already generated a war of sorts with the
An umbrella group, the
There is also establishment Republican concern over the fact that former Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska has moved aggressively to put herself in position as spokeswoman without portfolio of the tea party movement. Tea party fund-raisers are pouring money into congressional primary and general-election races on behalf of Republicans such as Sharron Angle in Nevada, vying to oust Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and Rand Paul, the
For all of Palin's appeal to conservatives around the country, her consistently low standing as a potential 2012 presidential candidate in public-opinion polls also causes considerable nervousness among older
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, pressed in a Sunday interview on
"Look," he said, "there are all kinds of things in America that make me uncomfortable, both on the right and on the left. I've got better things to do than to wade in to all of these disputes and discussions that are going out in the country. What we are trying to do is to make the president a born-again moderate." As a leader in a party that professes interest in broadening its base, however, McConnell passed up an easy opportunity to reject blatant racism.
House Minority Leader John Boehner likewise ducked on the question of joining the new Tea Party Caucus. A spokesman told Politico: "As a personal policy, Boehner is not a member of any caucus other than the
From all this, it's very clear that the tea party movement is seen by the Republican establishment leadership as very much a mixed blessing for the party right now. As with many other self-generated political groups not subject to party discipline, the trick is getting the movement's intensity and votes without the baggage that can come with it. And the tea party seems to pick up more and more of the latter as it goes on.
Available at Amazon.com:
The Disappearing Center: Engaged Citizens, Polarization, and American Democracy
The Virtues of Mendacity: On Lying in Politics
Bush on the Home Front: Domestic Policy Triumphs and Setbacks
The Political Fix: Changing the Game of American Democracy, from the Grassroots to the White House
AMERICAN POLITICS
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