Tea Party Victory Opens Rift Between Moderate and Conservative Republicans

[NeoConsSuck]

Source: NY Times

WASHINGTON — The few remaining Republican centrists in the Senate were eagerly awaiting the arrival of Michael N. Castle of Delaware, a longtime and reliable moderate voice who could provide some counterbalance to the wave of conservatives poised to enter Congress and the steadily rightward shift of party leaders.

But Mr. Castle was defeated in his party primary on Tuesday by Christine O’Donnell, a Tea Party insurgent. And while the conservative wing rejoiced, the surprise outcome raised serious questions about the future place in the party of lawmakers like Senators Olympia J. Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine and other Republicans in the Senate and House who are not lock-step conservatives.

Senator Jim DeMint, the South Carolina Republican who has seen his stature rise through his support of conservative candidates, made it clear in the aftermath of the Delaware upset that he would prefer losing a seat to Democrats than having Republican colleagues who stray from the conservative line and erode party unity and image by voting for policies supported by the Obama administration.

The ascendancy of the right is forcing even some of the most loyal Republicans, like Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, the No. 3 Senate Republican, to defend their conservative bona fides. And it seems to be dashing the hopes among moderates that the prospect of winning a majority in the House, and a pursuit of independent voters, would push Republican leaders to the middle.


Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/20/us/politics/20mods.html?_r=1&hpw

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I never cheered the Tea Party victories like some did. As I see it, both political parties will be moving more to the right.

[WillParkinson]

1. And I, for one, am just heartbroken...

:snicker:

And you may be right, the party may move farther to the right. That doesn't mean the more moderate will follow them.

[happygoluckytoyou]

11. IM SENDING $10 TO THE "PALIN F'UP THE GOP" FUND...THANK YOU SARAH

[SemperEadem]

2. moderates and independents will not follow them to the right

[Evasporque]

6. ding ding ding...

I know this guy who is deathly afraid the Tea Party conservatives will take over and form a fascist theocracy....people need to calm down and let the GOP self destruct by going to far right.

[AsahinaKimi]

3. oh please

may it get ever so ugly!!

[4dsc]

4. But right says tea party is moving the democrats to the right also?

Of course I had to disagree with this person.

[onlyadream]

5. On what bases would the author even suggest this?

Hopefully it'll have the moderate right re-evaluating their positions based on these fringe wackadoodles.

[NickB79]

13. I think the point is that mod. Republicans may defect to the Democratic side

Like Olympia Snowe, for example. This would in itself pull the Democrats to the right by adding more moderates to the mix to offset those further to the left.

[No Elephants]

7. I fear NeoConsSuck is correct. McCain, for one, ran so far to the right of himself that,

after the Republican primary, Colbert announed that dark horse candidate McCain had soundly defeated incumbent McCain.

And Democrats, bless their hearcs, have convinced themselves they can't possibly win an election if voters suspect there may be a difference between them and Republicans. This, despite poll after poll showing voters prefer Democrats over Republicans and liberal policies above everything else.

[NewJeffCT]

12. I agree

Democrats seem to be falling over themselves to prove how "tough" & conservative they are as well...

[Rozlee]

16. Colbert? Hell, yes! And how do you like that Bill Maher?

We have another thing going for us in this election cycle: the best comic relief I've seen since Bushisms. Teabonics rule: "Get a brain, Morans." "Learn Enleesh or get out." "Keep your government hands off my Social Security!" Bill Maher's clip of Christine O'Donnell admitting her "I dabbled in witchcraft" in giggly Valley Girl mode in "Politically Incorrect" is priceless. That she was trying to one-up his other guests by admitting that her boyfriend had a satanic altar with blood all over it cracked me up. Bill Maher was in his best form when he challenged her on TV by telling her that he was holding all his videos of her like a hostage crisis and would throw out a new body every week when she didn't show up. Yeah, teabaggers scare me at times, too. But, other times, their stupidity is absolutely cosmic hilarity.

[krkaufman]

17. Good luck trying to get any of that communicated in the media, though.

Part of the problem is that the media has, after decades of propaganda, bought into the "center-Right country" nonsense, evidence be damned.

[Swagman]

8. a rift is good!

:toast:

[Deep13]

9. More like conservative and reactionary Rs. nt

[COLGATE4]

10. Pass the popcorn!!!!! n/t

[daylan b]

14. Surely I cannot be the only one who sees history repeating itself...

Wasn't this sort of infighting exactly what the Republicans were giddy over the Democrats doing just a few years ago?

[still_one]

15. The country is moving not to the right, but to the "completely nuts"

When you have people like vitter ahead by 10 points, and the party that gave us the financial disaster we are going through ahead in the Congressional polls, you have to scratch you head and wonder what is happening

[yurbud]

18. the purge of moderate Republicans has been good for our democracy

at least when you vote for a Republican, you know what you're going to get, even if it's all bad.

In the past, a lot of the time the party label told you next to nothing.

It would be nice if Democrats did the same thing and returned to their progressive roots, and sent the DLCers out to form their own party with outcast ''moderate'' Republicans.

[saigon68]

19. Like Joe Liebermann or this guy