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At rally against Iran deal, Tea Party finds itself trumped by Trump
Source: The Guardian
At rally against Iran deal, Tea Party finds itself trumped by Trump
Republican frontrunner Donald Trump eclipsed Ted Cruz, once the populist
movement’s poster boy, despite his tenuous ideological ties with the group
Ben Jacobs in Washington
Wednesday 9 September 2015 23.52 BST
Revolutions devour their own, and the political revolution once promised by the Tea Party is no different.
The rally in opposition of the Iran nuclear agreement in Washington on Wednesday represented the apotheosis of the populist conservative movement born in 2009. Nearly every movement celebrity over its half-decade history was in attendance on a sweltering late summer day. Conservative radio host Glenn Beck was behind the stage, pacing as he practiced his speech; former Alaska governor Sarah Palin was answering every question thrown at her by a small gaggle in the shade of a tree while Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson stood impassively nearby; and 2012 presidential candidate Michele Bachmann mingled with other VIPs.
Yet they were sideshows and historical relics compared to the political phenomenon that is Donald Trump.
The billionaire real estate mogul is not a natural ally of the Tea Party, a movement whose ideological roots began as a populist uprising to big government in both parties. Trump has long been open about making campaign donations for political advantage, touted tax hikes and even expressed his comfort in the past with a government-run healthcare system, all of which are anathema to a group inspired by opposition to government bailouts for distressed homeowners in 2009.
On Wednesday, Trump appeared surrounded by swarm of reporters wherever he went. One congressman, Tea Party icon David Brat, who won a historic upset over the then House majority leader Eric Cantor in 2014 primary election, had to wait for 10 minutes to approach Trump. Brat then posed for a picture with the GOP frontrunner and hinted at a potential endorsement. “I’m not picking a horse yet,” Brat told reporters as he draped himself around Trump, “but I think he has a lot of good ideas.”
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Republican frontrunner Donald Trump eclipsed Ted Cruz, once the populist
movement’s poster boy, despite his tenuous ideological ties with the group
Ben Jacobs in Washington
Wednesday 9 September 2015 23.52 BST
Revolutions devour their own, and the political revolution once promised by the Tea Party is no different.
The rally in opposition of the Iran nuclear agreement in Washington on Wednesday represented the apotheosis of the populist conservative movement born in 2009. Nearly every movement celebrity over its half-decade history was in attendance on a sweltering late summer day. Conservative radio host Glenn Beck was behind the stage, pacing as he practiced his speech; former Alaska governor Sarah Palin was answering every question thrown at her by a small gaggle in the shade of a tree while Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson stood impassively nearby; and 2012 presidential candidate Michele Bachmann mingled with other VIPs.
Yet they were sideshows and historical relics compared to the political phenomenon that is Donald Trump.
The billionaire real estate mogul is not a natural ally of the Tea Party, a movement whose ideological roots began as a populist uprising to big government in both parties. Trump has long been open about making campaign donations for political advantage, touted tax hikes and even expressed his comfort in the past with a government-run healthcare system, all of which are anathema to a group inspired by opposition to government bailouts for distressed homeowners in 2009.
On Wednesday, Trump appeared surrounded by swarm of reporters wherever he went. One congressman, Tea Party icon David Brat, who won a historic upset over the then House majority leader Eric Cantor in 2014 primary election, had to wait for 10 minutes to approach Trump. Brat then posed for a picture with the GOP frontrunner and hinted at a potential endorsement. “I’m not picking a horse yet,” Brat told reporters as he draped himself around Trump, “but I think he has a lot of good ideas.”
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/sep/09/rally-iran-deal-tea-party-trumped-by-trump
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
Trump didn’t dominate Wednesday’s event entirely. Palin gave remarks condemning the Iran deal, including the memorable utterance that “only in an Orwellian Obama world full of sprinkly fairy dust floating from atop a unicorn as he’s peeking through a pretty pink kaleidoscope would he ever see victory or safety for America or Israel in this treaty”.
I'm sure the Guardian staff were laughing even as they put this quote up there!
