Rand Paul and Civil Rights: The End of the Tea Party?

[madmusic]

Source: TheAtlantic.com

May 20 2010, 5:17 PM ET

Here's one thing that can, plainly, be said about the controversy over Rand Paul and the Civil Rights Act: this is exactly what Democrats hoped would happen.

The Democratic campaign and message apparatus has been banking, for months, on the rightward tilt of the Tea Party to damage the Republican Party in November's midterm elections. They put out a strategy memo to this effect in January.

The idea is, basically: Tea Partiers are crazy, right-wing extremists. If the Republican Party elects them to run in November, the Republican Party will lose. Democrats have been saying this for months.

Read more: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/05/rand-paul-and-civil-rights-the-end-of-the-tea-party-movement/57053/

[Beetwasher]

1. Can't Say We Didn't Warn Them

I don't know why we warned them, but we did.

Actually, warning them was probably the best thing we could have done. By warning them they were FORCED to NOT listen to us, because they assume we would be giving them bad advice and telling them to do the oppossite of what they really should do. Hee hee.

[lisa58]

3. I'm hee hee'ing as well....

[lisa58]

2. I know they believe what they say...

...but the majority is not with them

[MARSHALOTIS]

4. Shhhhhhhhhh

Let them stay divided against each other until the election is over. Shhhhhhhhhh.

[msongs]

5. will the dems party INC actually draw the connections in a PR campaign or let it slide nmm nt

[David Zephyr]

6. That was a "moment" for sure.

Rachel Maddow flushed the racism right out of him. On national television.

It will live on forever.

[Turbineguy]

7. I've been telling republicans this for a decade now.

Soon I'll be able to say "I lived in a formerly republican neighborhood."

[Hoyt]

8. Most Republicans I know will privately support what Paul said (and believes).

This will not end the Tea Party. Maybe drive it underground, but they'll still worship their new idol.

People like Paul are elected/reelected in the south because of their racist beliefs.

[Kablooie]

9. Not the end but the new beginning. I'll bet there will be lots of support for redoing Civil Rights

by Tea Partiers of course.

Now that it's out in the open it may be an issue for them again.