# What role will the Tea Party play in the 2014 midterms? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 24, 2014, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-will-the-tea-party-play-in-the-2014-midterms/679632 "2014-01-24T17:24:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2014, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-will-the-tea-party-play-in-the-2014-midterms/679632/1 "2014-01-24T17:24:43Z")
I would have thought the TP would have peaked by now, but, at least according to [this](http://www.alternet.org/tea-party-and-right/gop-insiders-fretting-right-wing-crazies-will-upset-gops-election-chances?page=0%2C1&paging=off¤t_page=1#bookmark) (openly hostile) analysis, they have plans, energy and funding going into the 2014 primary season. Meanwhile, the “plutocrats” are also spending desperately to keep control of the GOP and avoid its defeat in November. > [@](#): > > January 20, 2014 | With the Republican Party being torn apart by its internal civil war, an ideological battle that pits establishment Republicans against the no-compromise Tea Party/Christian Right, party backers are doing their best to suppress the craziness as the 2014 midterms approach. But are they succeeding? > > The Chamber of Commerce and an assembly of anonymous plutocratic donors are pumping money into local congressional primaries to prevent Tea Party-endorsed candidates from scoring nominations. The plutocratic wing of the party is terrified of losing control of the House, and of missing its opportunity to win the Senate on the back of evangelical candidates who make factually incorrect remarks about rape or declare masturbation to be a sin. > > \ > > The establishment wing is discovering that it’s hard to keep the crazy quiet when your party’s voter base consists of neo-confederates, white supremacists, know-nothing libertarians, and evangelical theocrats. Moreover, social conservatives are no wilting wallflowers when it comes to raising campaign money. A recent Politico piece reported that roughly 25 socially conservative groups combined to pull in more than $280 million in 2011 and 2012. Notwithstanding the fact that much of the Koch brother’s political spending goes to the ideologically insane, too. > > \ > > All in all, seven of the 12 GOP senators up for reelection in 2014 are facing primary opponents, which is a record number of challenges. The far right also plans to target 25 House races, highlighting the deep divisions within the Republican Party. Tea Party Express says, “The false narrative continues to be written that the Tea Party is dead and that 2014 will not be like 2010, but every month we see a strong example to the contrary." ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2014, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-will-the-tea-party-play-in-the-2014-midterms/679632/2 "2014-01-24T19:49:13Z")
Hopefully, the role of retiring in massive disgrace. ---
**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:** [January 24, 2014, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-will-the-tea-party-play-in-the-2014-midterms/679632/3 "2014-01-24T20:23:37Z")
I see their role as comic relief, mostly. They will score some upsets in nominations and that will cost the Republicans a few seats in both chambers. At somepoint, the business class will figure out that the Teanuts aren’t going to vote for the Democrat in any event, so they’ll pay a little lip service to hating abortion and Obamacare and loving guns to death but other than that they’ll take the party back from the whack-a-doodles. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2014, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-will-the-tea-party-play-in-the-2014-midterms/679632/4 "2014-01-24T20:27:45Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > At somepoint, the business class will figure out that the Teanuts aren’t going to vote for the Democrat in any event, so they’ll pay a little lip service to hating abortion and Obamacare and loving guns to death but other than that they’ll take the party back from the whack-a-doodles. But, **can** they? ---
**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:** [January 24, 2014, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-will-the-tea-party-play-in-the-2014-midterms/679632/5 "2014-01-24T20:30:53Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > But, **can** they? I believe they can, they just need to get some deep pockets to spend big on negative ads against the tea guys in primaries. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-will-the-tea-party-play-in-the-2014-midterms/679632/6 "2014-01-25T02:30:09Z")
Does anyone realize the strangeness of rooting for the big corporations over regular folks, no matter how whack a doodle you think they might be? I just can’t understand the motivation for that. The Bush/Delay/K street GOP was a disaster for this country. The worst you can say about the Tea Party is that they don’t allow things to be done except through a painful process akin to a root canal, and at the state level some of the Tea Party governors have actually done pretty well. It’s a nutcase movement to be sure, but if it matures it could be a positive thing. Much better than having the business elites running things. And in the meantime, it means Democrats win! So what exactly is the problem here? ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-will-the-tea-party-play-in-the-2014-midterms/679632/7 "2014-01-25T03:34:15Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I see their role as comic relief, mostly. They will score some upsets in nominations and that will cost the Republicans a few seats in both chambers. At somepoint, the business class will figure out that the Teanuts aren’t going to vote for the Democrat in any event, so they’ll pay a little lip service to hating abortion and Obamacare and loving guns to death but other than that they’ll take the party back from the whack-a-doodles. That’s what they had been doing for decades and what led to this revolt in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-will-the-tea-party-play-in-the-2014-midterms/679632/8 "2014-01-25T03:35:31Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Does anyone realize the strangeness of rooting for the big corporations over regular folks, no matter how whack a doodle you think they might be? I just can’t understand the motivation for that. We are rooting for corporations over insane racist sexist homophobic science hating idiots, what is so strange about that? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-will-the-tea-party-play-in-the-2014-midterms/679632/9 "2014-01-25T05:34:54Z")
Well, I guess that’s fair. We root for corporations to control the Democratic party instead of socialist America-hating, Constitution-hating, zero population growth advocates. Perhaps that’s why corporations control BOTH parties. Each side is rooting for business’s success in the other party.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-will-the-tea-party-play-in-the-2014-midterms/679632/10 "2014-01-25T06:28:56Z")
adaher, I almost agree with your point, but really it’s just a testament to how insane the tea party is. The tea party could have been a great thing, but of course it was backed by people with deep pockets and only now are those people realizing that the tea party is not to be controlled by them. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-will-the-tea-party-play-in-the-2014-midterms/679632/11 "2014-01-25T12:43:34Z")
For the good of the country, I’m rooting for the death of the Republican Party. This will likely be facilitated by having a significant number of Republican incumbents succesfully primaried by tea party candidates who go on to lose in the general election. It is merely a happy coincidence that this outcome involves the Koch brothers spending millions of dollars and getting NOTHING. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-will-the-tea-party-play-in-the-2014-midterms/679632/12 "2014-01-25T15:03:45Z")
The Republican Party is dead. The Tea Party has replaced it. Look, 40% of Americans are conservative. Whether you like it or not, one of the major parties, often both major parties, will be conservative parties. Especially around election time, when the Democrats do their best to sound like Reagan Republicans.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-will-the-tea-party-play-in-the-2014-midterms/679632/13 "2014-01-25T16:28:33Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > The Republican Party is dead. The Tea Party has replaced it. > > Look, 40% of Americans are conservative. Whether you like it or not, one of the major parties, often both major parties, will be conservative parties. I don’t think anyone here will dispute that (even though I’ve read a lot of spew over the last decade about how we’re REALLY 90% conservative). However, the Tea Party is not conservative, it’s bugfuck nuts. American politics has a center, which slowly shifts around over time but not by as much as many would try to make others believe. Our successful eras are those when we have a plenitude of reasonably balanced viewpoints across that center. Our shameful eras come when one side or the other is dragged to extremes, forcing the other side to extremes, and the notion of a center is lost. Time for the Tea Party bullshitters and whiners to fuck off and let a real conservative faction have a voice. I think (hope) they may as well show up at the convention in clown suits. The baggy pants will fit over their Depends just fine, and the big shoes won’t pinch their corns. Just be careful not to catch all the ruffles in the scooter wheels. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-will-the-tea-party-play-in-the-2014-midterms/679632/14 "2014-01-25T19:50:44Z")
That depends. Are any of the Tea Partiers witches? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-will-the-tea-party-play-in-the-2014-midterms/679632/15 "2014-01-25T20:26:18Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Does anyone realize the strangeness of rooting for the big corporations over regular folks, no matter how whack a doodle you think they might be? I just can’t understand the motivation for that. > > The Bush/Delay/K street GOP was a disaster for this country. The worst you can say about the Tea Party is that they don’t allow things to be done except through a painful process akin to a root canal, and at the state level some of the Tea Party governors have actually done pretty well. > > It’s a nutcase movement to be sure, but if it matures it could be a positive thing. Much better than having the business elites running things. And in the meantime, it means Democrats win! So what exactly is the problem here? Well, actually, the Tea Partiers, [they ain’t exactly regular folks.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=704287) It’s really a(nother) party of business elites – local as opposed to national. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-will-the-tea-party-play-in-the-2014-midterms/679632/16 "2014-01-25T20:29:41Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Look, 40% of Americans are conservative. Weellll . . . Study the [2011 Pew Political Typology](http://www.people-press.org/2011/05/04/beyond-red-vs-blue-the-political-typology/); it’s not that simple. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-will-the-tea-party-play-in-the-2014-midterms/679632/17 "2014-01-25T20:32:34Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > That depends. Are any of the Tea Partiers witches? [Emphatically not!](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/09/kristen-wiig-parodies-chr_n_757116.html) ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-will-the-tea-party-play-in-the-2014-midterms/679632/18 "2014-01-25T20:47:14Z")
The Tea Party will lead a valiant, Populist cavalry charge–_away_ from good, rational Government & a better America. The K Street GOP will lead a valiant, Corruptionist cavalry charge–_away_ from good, honest Government & a better America. And, OG he’p us, the Democratic Party will lead a valiant, cavalry charge–in circles, a unguided missile. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-will-the-tea-party-play-in-the-2014-midterms/679632/19 "2014-01-26T03:46:24Z")
Well, many people dispute that this is a center-right nation. Let’s test that theory. Have the Democrats run as unabashed progressives. Let Warren and her type steer the ship. Quit with the “We’re the conservative lite party!” every election season. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-will-the-tea-party-play-in-the-2014-midterms/679632/20 "2014-01-26T18:02:23Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Well, many people dispute that this is a center-right nation. > > Let’s test that theory. Have the Democrats run as unabashed progressives. Let Warren and her type steer the ship. Quit with the “We’re the conservative lite party!” every election season. I don’t see what you think that would prove. Suppose that the USA is in fact exactly “balanced” between the “right” and the “left” (acknowledging that many of those terms are very ill defined). It would still be a winning move for either party to run a very centrist candidate, and a potentially losing move to run a candidate from much further out on the spectrum. And that’s ignoring the difference between self-identification and actual voting patterns and how people respond to various proposals in a vacuum vs how they respond when they know where the proposal comes from, etc etc etc. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-role-will-the-tea-party-play-in-the-2014-midterms/679632.md?page=2)