Tea Party: Puppets of the Republican Party?

The opinions about the tea party range so wide it is almost like aliens from outer space gave their opinions after a two minute look at our history. It depends on what part of the country you are in, what your political leanings are, your age, your income, etc. People have become so fanatical in their opinions is is bizarre. I no longer have anything to do with a local tea party and I was in at the beginning of it. They have gotten too fanatical for me. Their emails got so strange that even the leader of the group finally stopped them. I am not sure who is leading who in relation to the Republican Party. I think that both parties still need to look long and hard for a decent candidate. Neither one have an electable candidate yet...

sorry balthasar, i can only look at this from a uk perspective. where we currently have a coalition government, because the tories did not win enough seats at the last election to form a government on their own. but the right wing of the tory party, in some respects resemble the tea party, and would so love one the uk, seem unable to accept they didn't win. they really believe, though all evidence points to the opposite, that the tories didn't win because they weren't right wing enough. and to me the tea party looks very similar to the right wing of the tory party too, and the problem is no dialogue is possible because their viewpoint seems to be so emotional, and angry, that it so clouds their judgment that trying to make them happy doesn't makes them happy, it just makes them want more. cameron, our prime minister, has made the mistake of giving into them on a few things, hoping that will appease them, but it doesn't, they just want more. and though the US is a different country to the UK (though theres quite a lot of shared dna there) i see a similar pattern. but i think you have to give up thinking of the tea party as rational in their desires, if you see them driven by overpowering emotions, my feeling is you will better understand them. you would be more likely to find the tools you need to analyse the current republican party in books on psychology, than books on politics.

While republicans no doubt take advantage of the tea party, I however think the tea party is made up of very angry political conservatives, most of whom would like to take the nation back to the callous practices of the 1960s and beyond: Most members of the tea party seem to resent the fact that the law is now inclusive of all people.

Well all I can say is that the person who wrote that article sounds like a moron. The Tea Party certainly hasn't let up at all. Unless you've been living under a rock the last few months you must have seen their impact on the debt ceiling debate. If not for the tea party, they would have quietly raised the debt ceiling without a single mention of it on the major networks just as they did so many times under Bush. Perhaps this ignorant woman hasn't noticed how many former tea party candidates are now on the Tea Party's $hit list for voting to raise the debt ceiling. Allen West was a tea party hero before he did that. The republicans are trying to coopt the Tea Parties and the same is happening vice versa. So far, I'd say the tea party is winning.

There is no doubt that they are both using each other, many Tea Party people are republicans, or former republicans. The Tea Party has shown no leadership, so they are subjected to the leadership of who they believe are closer to their beliefs. Republicans are the closest to their beliefs, and the furthest at the same time. But, the Democrats are the furthest on both. So, yes they are both using each other, the problems lies in the fact that is they don't support republicans in elections, than they will negate each others votes, and democrats win elections easily. The problem is the there are not enough Tea Party candidates in elections throughout the states. So it becomes a measure of lesser of two evils to them.

It looks like this so-called Tea party (which isn't a party at all) has had a lot of success, primarily due to their ability to stick with their message (reduce spending) and be utterly ruthless against anybody who strays off of that message. The problem with their single-minded rhetoric is the same problem we all have. Everybody wants less federal spending--unless that person is the recipient of that spending. The assortment of governors and former governors running for President have all been vigorous about getting federal funds for their respective states. That is why none of them has attacked any of the others for soliciting and spending federal funds; they have all done it. This kind of attitude gives us people who demand that the government stay out of Medicare. It is a federal program and a very successful one, so keeping government out of it is hardly a rational request. I suppose if these folks continue to get their way on everything, we will reach a point where our economic problems cannot be solved. When unemployment hits 30%, what will that do to government revenue? The problem with our federal deficit is not excessive spending (although there is some of that--we are still paying for two wars); it is reduced revenue. Why? Too many people are out of work. The math is pretty simple.

..It seems as if the Tea Party is running the Republican party, by taking them to the outter limits, and to make the party as extreme as they can. One of their bizarre ideas was to allow the country to default on its debt. The S & P basically said on page 14 of its report, that there should have been a balanced approach, with tax revenue along with spending cuts, to balance the budget and cut the deficit. This was one of the reasons the U. S. credit was downgraded, they stated. Some of the Republicans are intimidated by the Tea Party because of what happened to Bob Bennett, who was defeated in his relection, and did not get through his primary. As Representative Maxine Waters has said, "the Tea Party can go straight to hell." Someone else said the Tea Party does not want any jobs created, so that they can oust President Obama in 2012. But with the crew they have running, who remaind me of the tower of Babel, we'll see if they have what it takes, to get what they want. Rick Perry is amazing with his rhetoric. Cheers.