Tea Party ousts veteran Republican Bob Bennett in Utah

[babsbunny]

Fighting back tears, Bennett said afterwards: "The political atmosphere obviously has been toxic, and it's very clear that some of the votes that I have cast have added to the toxic environment."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/may/09/tea-party-ousts-republican-bennett-utah

Senator deemed conservative by national standards deselected for being too moderate after campaign by grassroots movement

Andrew Clark in New York

guardian.co.uk, Sunday 9 May 2010 15.54 BST

The conservative grassroots Tea Party movement claimed its first major scalp in the US political establishment yesterday as the veteran Republican senator Bob Bennett was deselected by delegates in his home state of Utah for being too moderate.

Bennett, 76, has been in office since 1992 and is an ally of the Republican senate leader, Mitch McConnell. His defeat at the hands of two political newcomers was partly due to anger over his support for the White House's $700bn bailout of the banking system at the height of the global financial crisis.

Tea Party activists argue for a smaller government with less economic intervention and for conservative positions on guns, abortion and immigration in order to "take back" America. Their rise in influence is causing consternation for mainstream Democrats and Republicans alike.

[Oceansaway]

1. i hope Chinless is next !...nt

[Ozymanithrax]

2. Considering the state, he will likely be repalced by a Teabagger...

This is nothing to crow about.

[Hawkeye-X]

3. Which the Republicans will assign to the least favorite committee assignments

to shut them up. The teabagger's room will be a janitor closet.

[beyurslf]

4. I find this somewhat frightening. One of those crazy nutbags is going to be US Senator.

Can you imagine what they might filibuster? It moves the whole debate even farther to the right if the Republicans have to race to the Tea Party to keep their seats in primaries. Bennett is a far right windbag and he was too moderate for them? Scary!

[DevonRex]

5. Yet some folks tell us that the teabaggers are insignificant

and not to pay any attention to them because they pose no threat at all. :shrug:

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

6. I find it ominous and frightening

I was just recently at the Holocaust museum and you can't help but be hit with the parallels to the rise of Nazism. They were also a bullying minority who were discounted as of small importance until it was too late.

The biggest question is whether the sane Republicans will stay with the party to vote in the insane ones. Do you think Bennet will vote for the Tea Partyer or secretly select the "D" when he votes in Utah?

The demonization of people who disagree with the far right as "radicals" "socialists" "communists" who are not "real Americans" who are "ruining" and taking over the country by the likes of Fox, Hannity, Limbaugh, Savage is about as close as you can come without an overt call for civil violence.

Prosperity breeds peace while economic hardship breeds hatred and a look for someone to blame and scapegoat. Things will get worse, not better in the near future.