# Tea Party vs. GOP thread 2014 **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 6, 2014, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-vs-gop-thread-2014/687836 "2014-05-06T20:45:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-vs-gop-thread-2014/687836/262 "2014-06-25T18:24:08Z")
Interesting analysis: [The Tea Party’s Hot Mess.](http://www.salon.com/2014/06/25/tea_partys_scary_new_rise_inside_the_movements_terrifying_revitalization/) ---
**Author:** ![TheSeaOtter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed655f/32.png) [@TheSeaOtter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheSeaOtter)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-vs-gop-thread-2014/687836/263 "2014-06-25T18:25:24Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Another reason to let the Ex-Im Bank die. Employees have been fired for accepting bribes: > > [http://online.wsj.com/articles/officials-at-ex-im-bank-face-investigations-1403563954](http://online.wsj.com/articles/officials-at-ex-im-bank-face-investigations-1403563954) It seems to me that it would be a far more compelling argument against the institution if it had _not_ fired employees caught taking bribes. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-vs-gop-thread-2014/687836/264 "2014-06-25T18:25:42Z")
And another: [Wingnuts and liberals’ bizarre role reversal: Why Export-Import Bank politics are so perverse.](http://www.salon.com/2014/06/25/wingnuts_and_liberals_bizarre_role_reversal_why_export_import_bank_politics_are_so_perverse/) > [@](#): > > A fascinating game of role reversal is playing out in Congress, where Democrats are teaming up with the Chamber of Commerce, and Republicans are using phrases like “stop corporate welfare.” Many of the same politicians lined up on the other side of the debate just a few years earlier. What has turned Washington into a wonky remake of Freaky Friday? The re-authorization of the Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank, a government-run enterprise which grants loans and insurance at below-market rates to facilitate large trade deals. > > Defenders of Ex-Im argue that the financing it offers, which they say would be difficult to obtain on the private market, helps open new markets to U.S. products and create jobs. That was the main point of White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest yesterday, who cited Ronald Reagan’s past support for the bank. “It helps us meet our export goals,” Earnest said, “at no cost to taxpayers.” Indeed, interest on the loans finances the bank’s activities, which made $1 billion while supporting around $37 billion in export sales last year. > > But pre-Internet liberals might want to get out their back issues of _The Nation_ and _Mother Jones_ at this point to jog their memory, for they will see article after article condemning the 80 year-old institution as a slush fund that allows the government to fund a series of nasty activities. Here’s one from 1981 (“The Ex-Im helps sell nuclear reactors to dictatorships like the Philippines”). Here’s another from 1992, about the Reagan Administration using Ex-Im to funnel loans to Saddam Hussein’s Iraq during their war with Iran. Even more recently, in 2011, _Mother Jones_ reported on how Ex-Im loan guarantees helped build one of the largest coal plants in the world, in South Africa. (Ex-Im subsequently announced they would stop facilitating coal plant production – but only in December of last year). ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-vs-gop-thread-2014/687836/265 "2014-06-25T20:57:21Z")
Simon Maloy: [The Tea Party lost in Mississippi, but that doesn’t mean it’s losing.](http://www.salon.com/2014/06/25/the_tea_party_lost_in_mississippi_but_that_doesnt_mean_its_losing/) ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2014, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-vs-gop-thread-2014/687836/266 "2014-06-25T21:55:28Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Another reason to let the Ex-Im Bank die. Employees have been fired for accepting bribes: > > [http://online.wsj.com/articles/officials-at-ex-im-bank-face-investigations-1403563954](http://online.wsj.com/articles/officials-at-ex-im-bank-face-investigations-1403563954) > [@BrainGlutton](#): > > And another: [Wingnuts and liberals’ bizarre role reversal: Why Export-Import Bank politics are so perverse.](http://www.salon.com/2014/06/25/wingnuts_and_liberals_bizarre_role_reversal_why_export_import_bank_politics_are_so_perverse/) If y’all want to talk about the Export-Import Bank, could you do us a favor and start a thread on that please? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-vs-gop-thread-2014/687836/267 "2014-06-26T04:03:48Z")
It’s a Tea Party vs. GOP issue that was directly impacted by Cantor’s loss. I agree we shouldn’t get into the weeds about the merits of the bank, but we should certainly discuss how Cantor’s loss has doomed it, and how that’s a clear Tea party victory. It’s not every day that conservatives get to repeal a New Deal program, ya know. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-vs-gop-thread-2014/687836/268 "2014-07-07T22:15:53Z")
[Here’s a brief AP article about some same-party races in California](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/same-party-november-battles-calif-lawmakers) (and elsewhere). Cali approved a new primary system back in 2010 that makes the top two vote getters the final contenders come the general election, and in at least 7 congressional districts, it’s 2 people from the same party going at it. Not all of the races are TP vs. GOP, but there are a couple that could be considered that. Mostly I thought it was interesting that even tho the primary elections are over, there are still some places that have TP vs. GOP races going on and that more places in the US than ever are trying this primary method. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2014, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-vs-gop-thread-2014/687836/269 "2014-07-07T22:18:53Z")
I like it. I hate a district where the primary election basically is the election. If the Democratic or Republican Parties are so dominant in a district or state, then let the top two from that party go at each other with the whole electorate. BTW, I do think this would tend to moderate Congress, which is a plus. True believers can foist a radical candidate on an electorate if they make up most of the primary electorate, but in these jungle primary systems, a moderate Democrat or Republican that would have been doomed in a normal primary can win a general election since presumably the minority party and independents would jump onto the bandwagon of the less radical candidate. ---
**Author:** ![CJJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecc23a/32.png) [@CJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-vs-gop-thread-2014/687836/270 "2014-07-09T16:33:17Z")
I’m generally in favor of the top-two primary system, but it has produced some funny consequences. The example most often cited from California is the 2012 primary for the 31st congressional district (San Bernadino). As a result of redistricting the 31st became fairly democratic (voted for Obama by 14 points in 2012), but because there were only two GOP candidates (one of these was the incumbent) in the primary vs. 4 dems, the two republicans wound up 1-2. Gary Miller–the incumbent–won that election, but is not seeking re-election this year. Personally I chalk that up to the Dem party’s unfamiliarity with the new system–they really should have scared off some of their candidate, who were looking to score a seat that looked fairly Democratic after redistricting. Basically if both parties can limit the number of candidates to 2, I don’t really see a problem with the top-two system. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-vs-gop-thread-2014/687836/271 "2014-07-09T16:45:36Z")
I think you can have more than that and be fine, but if there’s no clear frontrunner, yeah, you can end up with weird results. Sounds like neither party had a frontrunner in that race, otherwise the bulk of the GOP votes would have gone to one guy and a Democrat would still have finished 2nd. Although looking at the actual results, the GOP did win a majority of the votes in the primary, so the result might not be as weird as it seems. And Miller seems pretty moderate. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-vs-gop-thread-2014/687836/272 "2014-07-16T02:10:40Z")
Is Brownback a Teabugger? Because it looks a little [he has earned the enmity of the Rs](http://online.wsj.com/articles/some-in-kansas-gop-break-with-gov-brownback-endorse-democratic-opponent-1405441534) in Kansas. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-vs-gop-thread-2014/687836/273 "2014-07-16T03:20:02Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Is Brownback a Teabugger? Because it looks a little [he has earned the enmity of the Rs](http://online.wsj.com/articles/some-in-kansas-gop-break-with-gov-brownback-endorse-democratic-opponent-1405441534) in Kansas. Pay site. Whats the gist? Did he express sympathy for women? ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-vs-gop-thread-2014/687836/274 "2014-07-16T03:32:41Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Pay site. Whats the gist? Did he express sympathy for women? At least 100 prominent Kansas Rs are supporting the D because [Brownback has screwed up just about everything (NPR)](http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2014/05/18/312196633/how-a-conservative-darling-could-lose-his-conservative-state). ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-vs-gop-thread-2014/687836/275 "2014-07-16T10:33:50Z")
Brownback always struck me as a Santorum Republican. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-vs-gop-thread-2014/687836/276 "2014-07-16T11:26:50Z")
More like a Sanitarium Republican. So his tax cuts have been an utter disaster for the state which is now facing financial ruin. What is wrong with Kansans that they stick with Republicans no matter what? (Yes, I know there’s a book on that). They’ll probably re-elect the damned fool just because there’s an R after his name. If so, they deserve the inevitable disaster. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-vs-gop-thread-2014/687836/277 "2014-07-16T11:36:49Z")
Brownback is not a teabagger per se, but he is deep in the pockets of the Koch Bros and has pushed an agenda of cutting taxes and then slashing funding for education and services when revenues plummeted, which I guess has been popular with the Tea Party conservatives. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-vs-gop-thread-2014/687836/278 "2014-07-16T17:56:26Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > What is wrong with Kansans that they stick with Republicans no matter what? You mean like former HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tea-party-vs-gop-thread-2014/687836.md?page=13)