June 11, 2014

How the Democratic Party is leveraging Eric Cantor's loss: "This guy isn't extreme enough for the GOP... the Tea Party is now in charge."



That arrived in the email a couple hours ago, from the Democratic Party. At the linked website, the line is: "Tea Party Republicans have taken over the GOP — and they'll stop at nothing to win complete control of Congress. You don't want to imagine what a Congress run entirely by the Tea Party would look like."

71 comments:

El Camino Real said...

That red color scheme makes me very afraid.

Opinh Bombay said...

We don't have to imagine what a government run totally by the democrats looks like.

It spends another trillion and forces you to pay more for your health insurance.

...and gets ambassadors killed.

Determinatus said...

You mean a Congress that follows the law, spends within its means, enforces the border, pushes back against illegal usurpations of power by the Executive Branch, and will actually "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic..." Oh come on, let's give it a try!

Skeptical Voter said...

And gee just a week or two ago the Democrat Bullshit Brigade was saying that the Tea Party was dead.

Can they make up their mind? What does Debbie Ding Dong Wasserman Shultz have to say about this?

Has Harry Reid weighed in? How did the Koch Brothers miss out on the opportunity to finance Brat? Heck, Cantor's campaign spent more in steakhouses during the campaign than Brat raised in total campaign contributions. How did that happen?


Were Brat's campaign dollars magic seeds that were spawn of the devil? Brat is a Christian, so there might be some loaves and fishes in those campaign dollars.

Now seriously, does Brat wear a white dress er "hood" to work in Virginia? How much was his lumber bill last year for burning crosses?

So many questions--so few answers.
But as the Vegematic man at the state fair says, "But wait, there's more!" I'm certain that your friendly local Democrat demagogue will be along to answer these "burning" questions.

Jason said...

Dogs and cats, living together! Mass hysteria!

Insufficiently Sensitive said...

The only thing the Democratic Demonizers failed to add to their thriller-diller is the name of the Consigliere della Ti Parti, the despicable Emmanuel Goldstein.

mccullough said...

I wish Congress were as frugal and effective as Brat's campaign.

Heartless Aztec said...

I'm checking under the bed tonight. No Brat bogeymen for me mind you.

Anonymous said...

Since 2010 the Democrat spin machine (with no small amount of help by the GOP establishment) have done everything they can to make out the Tea Party to be a crazed rabble of retrograde hate monsters in the eyes of many voters. Whether or not this instance turns out to be anomalous or is the beginning of some sort of sea change, I fear the "Tea Party" name may be beyond salvaging thanks to this concerted effort. But "Tea Party" is just a label, it's the values and ideals behind it that are significant. And I think those values and ideals are becoming more attractive day by day as the fruits of this administration continue to ripen and rot. Whether your talking about the debacle that is Obamacare, Benghazi, the various bungled foreign policies, the VA scandal, immigration, our anemic economy with its pitiful GDP growth and the fact that there are fewer people in the labor force as percentage of the population than there has been in decades, or any number of other problems, it's becoming clearer day by day to the average voter that something needs to change.

MayBee said...

It bothers me Obama uses the word "extremist" to describe terrorists while his party uses "extremist" to describe political opposition.

I don't think it's a coincidence.

Guildofcannonballs said...

Holy cow Chris Mathews speaks for me.

CHRIS MATHEWS SPEAKS FOR ME!
"
I was over covering Eastern Europe when the wall came down. You know what people didn’t like? It wasn't the philosophy of communism they didn't like, it was the complete corruption of it, the failure of it to deliver to working people. And that's what this system's doing right now. We can't control the deficit, we can't control the debt, we can’t control the border; what good is government good at? And that's the question that's happened on every issue we've covered on our show."


http://newsbusters.org/blogs/laura-flint/2014/06/11/chris-matthews-defends-tea-party-theyre-american-any-liberal


Gahrie said...

You don't want to imagine what a Congress run entirely by the Tea Party would look like."

In Madison, that is probably entirely true.

Think Walker on steroids.

hombre said...

Question: Which of the big Tea Party PACs supported Brat? Answer: None. The guy had no money.

Democrats lie about everything. Cantor's loss wasn't about the Tea Party. It was about immigration and amnesty.

gk1 said...

I wish.

Michael K said...

That Tea Party wants to seize power so it can LEAVE YOU ALONE !

Horrors !

Patrick Henry was right! said...

Imagine there's no corruption, I wonder if you could,
Imaging there's no terrorists, no border crashing kids (abandoned by their parents)
Imagine all the people, living life in freedom and self reliance.....

Original Mike said...

"Democrats lie about everything."

Unconstrained by the truth is more polite.

rhhardin said...

They're assuming democrats aren't in the tea perty.

gspencer said...

"The Tea Party is Now in Charge"

From your lips to God's ears.

I only wish the TP were in charge.

Wince said...

The more I hear from Brat, the more I like him.

By demonizing and beating-up on Brat, the Democrats risk resurrecting the Tea Party at the grass roots across the working class.

Mr. D said...

Another day, another Emmanuel Goldstein.

Mark said...

Othering is literally the only thing Democrats have to run on this year.

It's going to be an ugly cycle.

Wince said...

Brat's web site appears to be inundated.

I can't even get on to make a donation.

Hagar said...

But President Obama has changed by executive orders and administrative regulations:
The immigration laws.
The "Affordable" Health Care Act.
The Clean Air and Water Acts.
The "Pigford" settlement.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The economic recovery acts.
Etc, etc.

Who cares about Congress? He don't need no steenkin' Congress!

Fritz said...

God forbid a Professor of economics and ethics grits into Congress. Who knows how much damage that could cause.

Tarrou said...

But the Tea Party is dead!

I blame white people, where is my money?

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

Okay, kids, which is it? Is the Tea Party stone-cold dead, as it has self-evidently been for years? Or is it currently in total, iron-fisted control of the GOP?

I mean, it's a pity it can't be both at once. But, you know, it really can't be.

Roadkill said...

No more free stuff?

David said...

"You don't want to imagine what a Congress run entirely by the Tea Party would look like."

Liars in all things. It's exactly what they want the base to imagine.

John henry said...

Some chicken,
Some neck

Winston Churchill

Seems apropos after all the ranting about the Tea Party being dead.

John Henry

John henry said...

I think the poster has it exactly backwards.

Cantor lost because he was not liberal enough. Liberal in its true or classical sense, anyway. Or libertarian enough for those still too squeamish to pick up the liberal label.

Paul, Cruz, Gomert, Lee and more. When will this liberal/libertarian takeover of govt end? These folks want to leave me alone and not take my stuff.

The horror! The horror!

John "Proud to be a liberal" Henry

Drago said...

That would be the Tea Party that gave not a single dollar in support of Brat.

That Tea Party.

LOL

John henry said...

Nonopod,

I agree, the Tea Party name may have outlived its usefulness.

How about everyone get together and start using the term and identifying as "liberal" in its true sense?

Think how heads would explode! It would probably even pick up votes from easily confused democrats.

I've been doing it for 25 years or more. It's easy. Come on in, the water is fine.

John Henry

The Godfather said...

The Democrats' ad is a fine example of the low level to which our political discourse has sunk. The Democrats don't find it necessary to say what's wrong with having a Brat in Congress (they could at least have had the wit to trade on his name). They don't even find it necessary to say what's wrong with the Tea Party. It's enough for them to point, aghast! at the movement they have been demonizing since the 2010 election.

Personally, I tend to see the proper role of the Tea Party as being to keep the Republican Establishment responsive to its constituents. It will probably be a long time before we have a Tea Party majority in Congress, but when/if that happens, the results are likely to be more positive than negative.

Barry Dauphin said...

Time for campaign-finance reform. Cantor didn't get to spend enough.

Curious George said...

Pretty sure it was the voters in the district that were in charge.

rcommal said...

Oh, please. He voted 95% down the line, and there was some history (but not a useful enough one for his district, which, let us always remember, is the most salient when it comes right down to primary voting, in particular). He was on the wrong side of at least his district's primary voters (to reiterate, the only people who matter in context) in terms of immigration, connection to the notion of establishment-guy and perceived care of his constituents.

I'm not saying there weren't other factors. I am saying that I believe that the three factors which I mentioned are at the core of what happened.

---

Who's in charge? I don't know who's in charge. I do know that I need more evidence before I would make any such sort of broad statement as to who's in charge, broadly, yes, but also narrowly.

rcommal said...

Classical Liberal. But how would that work?

rcommal said...

Sorry, I meant to ref JH's 9:50, but failed to do so when I posted my just previous comment.

: ( at myself.

rcommal said...

Blogger Drago said...

That would be the Tea Party that gave not a single dollar in support of Brat.

That Tea Party.

LOL

6/11/14, 9:50 PM


Wait. I thought that the argument, the stance, is that the modern-day tea party is not actually a political party. In that context, a dollar given or not is not the point (in fact, would that not actually be beside, if not aside from, the point?) Rather, the point is votes, yes?--motivated voters who turn out to vote based on that which they hold most dear: how they view the world and what's necessary to conserve the best of that.

---

Excuse me if I haven't chosen words properly. I know what I'm getting at, but not how to express it properly (and especially not in terms of or on behalf of anyone else).

rcommal said...

Blogger John said...

I think the poster has it exactly backwards.

Cantor lost because he was not liberal enough. Liberal in its true or classical sense, anyway. Or libertarian enough for those still too squeamish to pick up the liberal label.

Paul, Cruz, Gomert, Lee and more. When will this liberal/libertarian takeover of govt end? These folks want to leave me alone and not take my stuff.

The horror! The horror!

John "Proud to be a liberal" Henry

6/11/14, 9:47 PM


How does "populist" fit into the mix, though? Because, at least I think, notions of that need to be figured into not just the calculations, but also the descriptions. It's a rub and a challenge.

Annie said...

The philosophy of communism IS corrupt at it's core.

And it's interesting that Chris Matthews, the man who props his democrats up, with their fascistic policies every chance he gets, to talk up the fed-up American taxpayer, labeled 'tea party'.
What is he up to?

AlanKH said...

Anyone besides me see a bit of resemblance between Cantor and Stephen Colbert?

Brando said...

As the Tea Party isn't going to win in districts or states where the Democrats could win--it's not like a Ted Cruz will become Senator in Massachusetts or Vermont--then the Democrats seem to be saying that the country would be better off with more moderate Republicans. What exactly have the Democrats ever done to help moderate Republicans?

The last thing the Democrats want is for Republicans to be elected who could appeal to moderates and provide the margin of majority for the GOP. Their greatest fear is more Susan Collinses, not more Ted Cruzes.

Rusty said...

the Tea Party is now in charge.""


Yep. Suck it , bitches.

And what Michael K said.


Who are the dems going to run against him in November?

Henry said...

You don't want to imagine what a Congress run entirely by the Tea Party would look like.

Contra to what Dave wrote, that is a true statement. Democratic yea-sayers don't want to imagine anything other than what they're told to imagine. Imagination requires autonomy.

Curious George said...

I understand the tactics, it's all they have, and it works...because their base is so fucking stupid they believe this shit. I'm

But all that happened is that the voters in Virginia's 7th congressional district preferred a more conservative candidate...and did so by a large margin.

I'm just amazed that there is no mention of the Koch Brothers.

Scott M said...

I thought the Tea Party was dead...

Ignorance is Bliss said...

Oh My God!

They're gonna take over the government and leave us alone!

Matt Sablan said...

Remember in 2012 when Cantor was one of the scary extremists Romney might pick as his VP?

Michael The Magnificent said...

I understand the tactics, it's all they have, and it works...because their base is so fucking stupid they believe this shit.

Ann, you walked among the Tea Partiers at their rallies at the capitol. You know the left's slander of the Tea Partiers as a bunch of racist, hate-mongering, hood wearing, pro-slavery Ku Klux Klanners is about as far from the truth as a lie can get. Remember that when you reward their slander with your vote this fall.

LilyBart said...

You don't want to imagine what a Congress run entirely by the Tea Party would look like

So much better to have the American Socialist, er Democrat Party confiscating income and running every aspect of your life with the compassion and efficiency they demonstrate with VA healthcare.

LilyBart said...

That red color scheme makes me very afraid.

I don't know, I think there's something honest and forthright about that choice.

garage mahal said...

But all that happened is that the voters in Virginia's 7th congressional district preferred a more conservative candidate...and did so by a large margin.

But did they prefer a more conservative candidate? Brat ran a populist, big bank bashing campaign. Brat said some bankers should go to jail! Probably the last you hear of that though. The GOP can't have members going around talking like that.

traditionalguy said...

There is red blood in the water. I'd mix this message with the post about what could have eaten the Great White Shark.

Whatever it is it is BIG. It's the 2014 election.

damikesc said...

The same candidate no Tea Party group gave any money to is Tea Party?

Fernandinande said...

"Federal law requires us to use our best efforts to collect and report the name, mailing address, occupation, and employer of individuals whose contributions exceed $200 in an election cycle."

That's creepy.

Chuck said...

Well, don't we need a more radically conservative political party, to counter the ultra-left party of Pelosi/Waxman/Schumer/Sanders/Obama?

It all seems just about right to me.

dbp said...

"You don't want to imagine what a Congress run entirely by the Tea Party would look like.""

Yes. Yes, I would like to imagine a Congress run entirely by the Tea Party. I am smiling right now, just thinking about it.

Matt Sablan said...

"Brat said some bankers should go to jail! ... The GOP can't have members going around talking like that."

-- And Democrats can't let them go to jail, otherwise who would Obama use to fill positions in his administration?

garage mahal said...

-- And Democrats can't let them go to jail, otherwise who would Obama use to fill positions in his administration?

Welcome to the progressive world.

Gahrie said...

Brat said some bankers should go to jail! Probably the last you hear of that though. The GOP can't have members going around talking like that.

President Bush sent many Wall Street crooks to jail. The prosecution of bankers and money men stopped when Obama was elected.

Bilwick said...

As a libertarian (you know, one of those weirdoes who believe their lives and property belong to themselves, and not to "liberals"*), I can only say: I wish.

*and by "liberals" I mean of course "tax-happy, coercion-addicted, power-tripping State-fellators.")

Sigivald said...

Eric Cantor was "extreme" (implied by "not extreme enough")?

Hee.

Anonymous said...

"You don't want to imagine what a Congress run entirely by the Tea Party would look like."

Sure I do. I think it would look great.

Drago said...

garage: "Welcome to the progressive world."

The islamists and Putin are certainly pleased.

Very pleased.

Very Pleased indeed.

Drago said...

garage: "Brat said some bankers should go to jail! Probably the last you hear of that though."

Marc Rich and Jon Corzine were not interviewed for garages post.

Anonymous said...

"That Tea Party wants to seize power so it can LEAVE YOU ALONE !"

Dammit. Michael K. beat me to the punch.

RonF said...

Garage:

"The GOP can't have members going around talking like that."

President Obama has been in charge of the Department of Justice for 6 years now. What bankers or financial institution CEOs has he put in jail?

rcommal said...

Rare happenstance tends to occur on account of the valuing of especially special. Ever so, that has been.

rcommal said...

President Obama has been in charge of the Department of Justice for 6 years now. What bankers or financial institution CEOs has he put in jail?

Oh, for pete's sake. This is a shared thing. I despise this sort of accusation when put in partisan-tribal populist terms. Because it's dishonest and stupid, and I
wish people would stop doing it.