# The Tea Party movement's overall effect on the 2010 midterms
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tea-party-movements-overall-effect-on-the-2010-midterms/553916
**Category:** Politics & Elections
**Created:** [September 16, 2010, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tea-party-movements-overall-effect-on-the-2010-midterms/553916 "2010-09-16T00:50:01Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2010, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tea-party-movements-overall-effect-on-the-2010-midterms/553916/1 "2010-09-16T00:50:01Z")
Wikipedia summary of the Tea Party movement’s [Effects on 2010 mid-term election cycle:](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Party_movement#Effects_on_2010_mid-term_election_cycle)
> [@](#):
>
> Many politicians in the 2010 election cycle have benefited from support from the Tea Party movement including:
>
> ```
> * On January 19, 2010, support from the Tea Party Patriots in Boston helped elect Scott Brown the U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, in the special election held after Ted Kennedy's death.[66]
>
> * Dean Murray, a Long Island businessman, won a special election for a New York State Assembly seat. He is believed to be the first tea party activist to be elected into office.[67]
>
> * John Frullo won the nomination for the District 84 seat vacated by the retiring Carl Isett, also a Republican. Frullo defeated businessman Mark Griffin, a former Texas Tech University regent.[68]
>
> * On April 13, 2010, Charles Perry unseated 86-year-old incumbent and fellow Texas Republican Delwin Jones in District 83 and is unopposed in the November 2 general election.
>
> * On May 8, 2010, U.S. Senator Bob Bennett (R – Utah) lost his bid to be renominated by his party for another term in the Senate. His defeat is seen as a victory for the Tea Party Movement whose supporters were against Bennett’s return.[69][70][71]
>
> * Rand Paul from the conservative Tea Party movement, won the Super Tuesday GOP Senate primary in Kentucky. Paul is the son of Republican Congressman, Ron Paul, of Texas. Mr Paul comfortably beat Republican establishment favorite Trey Grayson with 60% of the vote. He was quoted saying, "The Tea Party Movement is about saving our country from a mountain of debt.”[72]
>
> * In the Republican primary in South Dakota for the At Large Congressional seat, Kristi Noem, a Tea Party approved candidate, defeated incumbent Secretary of State Chris Nelson and state representative Blake Curd.[73]
>
> * In the South Carolina First Congressional district Republican primary, Tim Scott, who was specifically endorsed by the Tea Party movement,[74] defeated two "establishment" Republicans with long family histories in the Republican politics, Paul Thurmond (the son of the former South Carolina U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond)[75] and Carroll Campbell, the son of former South Carolina governor Carroll A. Campbell, Jr.[76]
>
> * Nikki Haley, a 38-year-old Indian-American state representative, beat out three prominent Republican rivals in the South Carolina primary race for Governor capturing 49 percent of the vote. She defeated the second-place finisher, U.S. Representative Gresham Barrett, in a run-off election on June 22.[77]
>
> * In Maine, Paul LePage won the GOP primary for Governor.[78]
>
> * In California, Chuck DeVore, who lost the GOP senate primary to Carly Fiorina who had backing from Sarah Palin.[79]
>
> * At the state convention of the Republican Party of Texas on June 11–12, 2010, Texas tea party activists succeeded in electing insurgent candidate Steve Munisteri, founder of the Young Conservatives of Texas,[citation needed] to the chairmanship, defeating incumbent Chair Cathie Adams.[citation needed]
>
> * In Florida, two different groups sparred in federal court after one registered the name "Florida Tea Party" with the state Division of Elections. At a June 23, 2010 hearing in West Palm Beach, one "tea party" group asked the court to order the other to amend its filing and to use a different party name.[80]
>
> * In New Jersey, Anna C. Little defeated Republican "establishment" candidate Diane Gooch in the Republican congressional primary for the 6th Congressional District on June 8, 2010. Little will face Democratic Congressman Frank Pallone in November.[81]
>
> * Sharron Angle won the Nevada U.S. Senate GOP primary race and will face Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in November. Angle, who has been called an outsider even in the GOP, believes in small-government and lower taxes. She has said, "I am the tea party." Angle beat out the Republican favorite, Sue Lowden, the one-time front runner.[82]
>
> * In Alaska, attorney Joe Miller defeated current U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, in the GOP primary race on August 24, 2010. Murkowski had been appointed to the seat by her father, Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski who had held the Senate seat for 30 years prior to becoming governor.[83]
>
> * On September 14, 2010, Christine O'Donnell beat out veteran Delaware Republican Mike Castle in a bid for U.S. Senate. The results lead to cheers from Democrats that believe Tea Party-backed candidates are too extreme to win in the general elections. In this particular case, Republican strategist Karl Rove agreed with the Democrat's assessment, citing that O'Donnell has said some "nutty things" in the past.[84]
>
> ```
>
> In July 2010, Rep. Michele Bachmann, (R-MN), formed the House Tea Party Caucus. This congressional caucus, which Rep. Bachmann chairs will be devoted to the Tea Party’s stated principles of “fiscal responsibility, adherence to the Constitution, and limited government.”[85] As of August 2, 2010, the Tea Party Caucus consisted of 49 House members.[86]
Is this more impact than you expected? Less? What will be the net Tea Party Effect on E-Day? What does this bode for 2012? In the longer term? Deeper meanings?
---
### Author:  [@sleeping](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeping)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2010, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tea-party-movements-overall-effect-on-the-2010-midterms/553916/2 "2010-09-16T00:59:49Z")
There was a discussion with a reporter from the National Journal on NPR this morning about the Tea Party. He had some very interesting things to say about it, such as its principle of individualism being realized in a focus on decentralization and avoidance of leaders and spokespeople. He argued that the Tea Party could only wind up in one of two situations: a permanent position in the Washington establishment, with spokespeople and so forth; or, simply fading away in the next few years.
All very fascinating topics (and much comparison could be made to the SDS in this regard), except for a few key problems:
\*I do not think the Tea Party, overall, is a libertarian movement. It may have started out that way with Ron Paul in 2008, but that’s not what it is now, as a whole. It is really an intensification of most far-right Republican stances (on abortion, the government, spending, gay marriage, the war on terror, immigration, tort reform, etc.).
\*there has been considerable corporate funding of the movement, particularly the millions from the Koch brothers to Americans for Prosperity.
---
### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2010, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tea-party-movements-overall-effect-on-the-2010-midterms/553916/3 "2010-09-16T01:09:44Z")
> [@sleeping](#):
>
> \*I do not think the Tea Party, overall, is a libertarian movement. It may have started out that way with Ron Paul in 2008, but that’s not what it is now, as a whole. It is really an intensification of most far-right Republican stances (on abortion, the government, spending, gay marriage, the war on terror, immigration, tort reform, etc.).
Well, I would judge the movement’s stances – at least, its highest-priority stances – mainly from its [“Contract from America”:](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Party_movement#Tea_Party_agenda_.22Contract_from_America.22)
> [@](#):
>
> The Contract lists 10 agenda items that it encourages congressional candidates to follow:[63][64]
>
> 1. Identify constitutionality of every new law: Require each bill to identify the specific provision of the Constitution that gives Congress the power to do what the bill does. (82.03%)
>
> 2. Reject emissions trading: Stop the “cap and trade” administrative approach used to control carbon dioxide emissions by providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of carbon dioxide. (72.20%)
>
> 3. Demand a balanced federal budget: Begin the Constitutional amendment process to require a balanced budget with a two-thirds majority needed for any tax modification. (69.69%)
>
> 4. Simplify the tax system: Adopt a simple and fair single-rate tax system by scrapping the internal revenue code and replacing it with one that is no longer than 4,543 words – the length of the original Constitution. (64.9%)
>
> 5. Audit federal government agencies for constitutionality: Create a Blue Ribbon taskforce that engages in an audit of federal agencies and programs, assessing their Constitutionality, and identifying duplication, waste, ineffectiveness, and agencies and programs better left for the states or local authorities. (63.37%)
>
> 6. Limit annual growth in federal spending: Impose a statutory cap limiting the annual growth in total federal spending to the sum of the inflation rate plus the percentage of population growth. (56.57%)
>
> 7. Repeal the health care legislation passed on March 23, 2010: Defund, repeal and replace the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. (56.39%)
>
> 8. Pass an ‘All-of-the-Above’ Energy Policy: Authorize the exploration of additional energy reserves to reduce American dependence on foreign energy sources and reduce regulatory barriers to all other forms of energy creation. (55.5%)
>
> 9. Reduce Earmarks: Place a moratorium on all earmarks until the budget is balanced, and then require a 2/3 majority to pass any earmark. (55.47%)
>
> 10. Reduce Taxes: Permanently repeal all recent tax increases, and extend permanently the George W. Bush temporary reductions in income tax, capital gains tax and estate taxes, currently scheduled to end in 2011. (53.38%)
Note that there’s nothing about abortion or gay marriage or the War on Terror. Its focus is small-government economic-libertarian – deregulate, defund, privatize, cut taxes.
> [@sleeping](#):
>
> \*there has been considerable corporate funding of the movement, particularly the millions from the Koch brothers to Americans for Prosperity.
No surprise. A lot of the above – or at least moves in the same general direction – might appear beneficial to a lot of corporate interests.
---
### Author:  [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2010, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tea-party-movements-overall-effect-on-the-2010-midterms/553916/4 "2010-09-16T01:13:42Z")
> [@sleeping](#):
>
> \*there has been considerable corporate funding of the movement, particularly the millions from **the Koch brothers** to **Americans for Prosperity**.
Same-same.
---
### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2010, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tea-party-movements-overall-effect-on-the-2010-midterms/553916/5 "2010-09-16T01:18:57Z")
BTW, here are two books I heard discussed on the radio in the past two days but have not read:
[_The Backlash: Right-Wing Radicals, High-Def Hucksters, and Paranoid Politics in the Age of Obama,_](http://www.amazon.com/Backlash-Right-Wing-Radicals-High-Def-Hucksters/dp/0061991716/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1284596219&sr=1-1) by Will Bunch.
[_Boiling Mad: Inside Tea Party America,_](http://www.amazon.com/Boiling-Mad-Inside-Party-America/dp/0805093486/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1284589443&sr=1-1) by Kate Zernike.
---
### Author:  [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2010, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tea-party-movements-overall-effect-on-the-2010-midterms/553916/6 "2010-09-16T01:22:55Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#):
>
> > [@sleeping](#):
> >
> > \*I do not think the Tea Party, overall, is a libertarian movement. It may have started out that way with Ron Paul in 2008, but that’s not what it is now, as a whole. It is really an intensification of most far-right Republican stances (on abortion, the government, spending, gay marriage, the war on terror, immigration, tort reform, etc.).
>
> Well, I would judge the movement’s stances – at least, its highest-priority stances – mainly from its [“Contract from America”:](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Party_movement#Tea_Party_agenda_.22Contract_from_America.22)
>
> Note that there’s nothing about abortion or gay marriage or the War on Terror. Its focus is small-government economic-libertarian – deregulate, defund, privatize, cut taxes.
>
> > [@sleeping](#):
> >
> > \*there has been considerable corporate funding of the movement, particularly the millions from the Koch brothers to Americans for Prosperity.
>
> No surprise. A lot of the above – or at least moves in the same general direction – might appear beneficial to a lot of corporate interests.
The problem is that, while their candidates may adhere to these principals, most of them also bring along a lot of far-right social conservatism. You would think that, if the above-mentioned principles are the driving forces of the Tea Party movement, they’d have been able to put up and promote some conservative Democrats. But, there’s no sign that they’ve even tried to do this.
I think the number of these candidates in the upcoming midterms decreases the Republicans’ chances of taking over either house. They’ll still make gains, so the Democrats will have all of the same problems they’ve had for the last two years.
I’m more interested in what happens when the successful Tea Party candidates actually start working in Congress. Will the Republican leadership be able to maintain the party unity they’re so famous for, or will these new Congresspeople be thorns in their sides?
---
### Author:  [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2010, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tea-party-movements-overall-effect-on-the-2010-midterms/553916/7 "2010-09-16T14:49:50Z")
It is such a weird contradiction. The tea baggers identify with the Republican party. Yet who caused the deficits that they are screaming about? Who wants them to fight Obama so the rich get more money and power? Boehner and the Repubs like him, are using tea baggers to their own ends. They have convinced them they have similar needs and problems. But they are so far apart in their ends. But it is possible the baggers can weaken the Dems ,so the Repubs will be back in power. After Bush, how can the baggers make sense of that?
---
### Author:  [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2010, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tea-party-movements-overall-effect-on-the-2010-midterms/553916/8 "2010-09-16T16:42:28Z")
> [@](#):
>
> 1. Simplify the tax system: Adopt a simple and fair single-rate tax system by scrapping the internal revenue code and replacing it with one that is\*\* no longer than 4,543 words \*\*– the length of the original Constitution. (64.9%)
Bolding mine. This is how you identify the stupid people.
Would they be in favor of all Federal regulations being limited to 4,543 words?
---
### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2010, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tea-party-movements-overall-effect-on-the-2010-midterms/553916/9 "2010-09-16T16:47:58Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#):
>
> > [@](#):
> >
> > 1. Simplify the tax system: Adopt a simple and fair single-rate tax system by scrapping the internal revenue code and replacing it with one that is\*\* no longer than 4,543 words \*\*– the length of the original Constitution. (64.9%)
>
> Bolding mine. This is how you identify the stupid people.
>
> Would they be in favor of all Federal regulations being limited to 4,543 words?
Wouldn’t be surprised. It’s nonsensically arbitrary, but it kinda, you know, resonates.
---
### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2010, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tea-party-movements-overall-effect-on-the-2010-midterms/553916/10 "2010-09-16T17:34:07Z")
Of course, it’s not the multiple tax brackets that make the tax code complicated in the first place: That can fit easily in a corner of a single page. It’s determining taxable income that’s complicated, and you’d still need to do that in a single-rate system.
---
### Author:  [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tea-party-movements-overall-effect-on-the-2010-midterms/553916/11 "2010-09-16T18:39:51Z")
**Chronos** is correct that the multiple tax brackets has really nothing to do with the complexity of the currect income tax.
> [@](#):
>
> 1. Reject emissions trading: Stop the “cap and trade” administrative approach used to control carbon dioxide emissions by providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of carbon dioxide. (72.20%)
“Cap and trade” is an economic incentive, isn’t it?
For that matter, can you “stop” something that hasn’t actually been started yet? And without “cap and trade” how would the government provide “economic incentives”? Certainly not in the tax code; we’ve only got 4,543 words to play with, must use them carefully.
---
### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2010, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tea-party-movements-overall-effect-on-the-2010-midterms/553916/12 "2010-09-16T18:58:24Z")
The best outcome we can hope for is that the two major parties come to the realization that they MUST stop conducting business as usual, or face ouster from their cozy environs. The worst case scenario is that the republic suffers irreparable harm from crackpot policy-making or the blocking of necessary legislation (should they gain enough seats). We’ve seen what can happen with oddball choices before: Jesse Ventura in MN is a prime example, and California under the Governator has certainly spiraled into economic disaster.
---
### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2010, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tea-party-movements-overall-effect-on-the-2010-midterms/553916/13 "2010-09-16T19:24:32Z")
> [@](#):
>
> …and California under the Governator has certainly spiraled into economic disaster.
It was my understanding that California’s problems were mostly attributable not to the Governor, but to 37 million different governors. All of the referenda passed directly by the voters hamper the professional government’s ability to do anything about problems. In particular, the referenda have put in both limitations on taxation and mandatory government spending, since high spending and low taxes are both popular taken in isolation to each other, but they’re inconsistent.
---
### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2010, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tea-party-movements-overall-effect-on-the-2010-midterms/553916/14 "2010-09-16T20:33:09Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> > [@](#):
> >
> > …and California under the Governator has certainly spiraled into economic disaster.
>
> It was my understanding that California’s problems were mostly attributable not to the Governor, but to 37 million different governors. All of the referenda passed directly by the voters hamper the professional government’s ability to do anything about problems. In particular, the referenda have put in both limitations on taxation and mandatory government spending, since high spending and low taxes are both popular taken in isolation to each other, but they’re inconsistent.
Yeah, Prop 13 that capped property taxes wreaked havoc there many years ago and is still causing problems, IIRC.
---
### Author:  [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2010, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tea-party-movements-overall-effect-on-the-2010-midterms/553916/15 "2010-09-16T20:33:32Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> > [@](#):
> >
> > …and California under the Governator has certainly spiraled into economic disaster.
>
> It was my understanding that California’s problems were mostly attributable not to the Governor, but to 37 million different governors. All of the referenda passed directly by the voters hamper the professional government’s ability to do anything about problems. In particular, the referenda have put in both limitations on taxation and mandatory government spending, since high spending and low taxes are both popular taken in isolation to each other, but they’re inconsistent.
Partly, although both the governors\* and legislature has used the referendum process to push unpopular policies.
---
### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tea-party-movements-overall-effect-on-the-2010-midterms/553916/16 "2010-09-16T20:50:38Z")
> [@Chefguy](#):
>
> The best outcome we can hope for is that the two major parties come to the realization that they MUST stop conducting business as usual . . .
In what respect? I mean, it’s fairly easy to identify what aspects of business-as-usual are infuriating the Tea Partiers, but it is much harder to identify which of those are things that can or should be changed.
---
### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2010, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tea-party-movements-overall-effect-on-the-2010-midterms/553916/17 "2010-09-16T22:07:49Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#):
>
> > [@Chefguy](#):
> >
> > The best outcome we can hope for is that the two major parties come to the realization that they MUST stop conducting business as usual . . .
>
> In what respect? I mean, it’s fairly easy to identify what aspects of business-as-usual are infuriating the Tea Partiers, but it is much harder to identify which of those are things that can or should be changed.
In the respect that both parties engage in blocking legislation as a matter of political idealogy rather than on the basis of whether it may be good for the country. Everybody with a brain is angry at these tactics, regardless of who uses them.
---
### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2010, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tea-party-movements-overall-effect-on-the-2010-midterms/553916/18 "2010-09-16T23:03:51Z")
> [@Chefguy](#):
>
> > [@BrainGlutton](#):
> >
> > In what respect? I mean, it’s fairly easy to identify what aspects of business-as-usual are infuriating the Tea Partiers, but it is much harder to identify which of those are things that can or should be changed.
>
> In the respect that both parties engage in blocking legislation as a matter of political idealogy rather than on the basis of whether it may be good for the country. Everybody with a brain is angry at these tactics, regardless of who uses them.
I think you mean “alignment” rather than “ideology.” Blocking something for an ideological reason is perfectly consistent – in fact, arguably identical – with blocking it because you think it’s bad for the country.
And we can’t reasonably ask the Pubs to stop voting by political alignment, even when they do so in some conflict with their individual ideologies. That is simply party discipline in action, and party discipline is something of which the American political system/culture has never had **enough.** Better the Dems should learn some.
In any case, I don’t think excessive party discipline, nor excessive obstructionism, in Congress are among the things that are infuriating the Tea Partiers.
---
### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2010, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tea-party-movements-overall-effect-on-the-2010-midterms/553916/19 "2010-09-17T02:17:49Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#):
>
> > [@Chefguy](#):
> >
> > In the respect that both parties engage in blocking legislation as a matter of political idealogy rather than on the basis of whether it may be good for the country. Everybody with a brain is angry at these tactics, regardless of who uses them.
>
> I think you mean “alignment” rather than “ideology.” Blocking something for an ideological reason is perfectly consistent – in fact, arguably identical – with blocking it because you think it’s bad for the country.
>
> And we can’t reasonably ask the Pubs to stop voting by political alignment, even when they do so in some conflict with their individual ideologies. That is simply party discipline in action, and party discipline is something of which the American political system/culture has never had **enough.** Better the Dems should learn some.
>
> In any case, I don’t think excessive party discipline, nor excessive obstructionism, in Congress are among the things that are infuriating the Tea Partiers.
I think that the Dems exhibiting more party discipline would be nothing but bad for this country. If anything, the Pubs need to do less of it. All this stiff-necked behavior has done nothing but polarize the country. There is almost zero spirit of bipartisanship
in government. While this is not the sole reason for the sudden rise of the Tea Party, it’s certainly an element of it.
---
### Author:  [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2010, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tea-party-movements-overall-effect-on-the-2010-midterms/553916/20 "2010-09-17T02:42:53Z")
The tea party brought the Repubs Angle, O’Donnell, Paladino, Brewer, and others of that ilk. That is not a real big favor. If the Reubs are pleased with that group, then they have some real low standards.
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-tea-party-movements-overall-effect-on-the-2010-midterms/553916.md?page=2)