Word on the street is the Tea Party was the big winner in the debt ceiling debate. But whispers in political back rooms say the Tea Party and their Republican counterparts may end up paying a huge political price for the perceived victory.
The Tea Party swept into Congress last November with a collective agenda — to clean up Washington according to their own conservative terms. Except their approach during the recent debate appeared bratty and seemed to make more enemies than friends along the way. It was the Tea Party wing of the GOP that actually held the debt ceiling debate hostage until the 11th hour, then whined they didn’t get everything they wanted. It was the Tea Party that butted heads with the Republican establishment and caused massive infighting behind the GOP scenes. And it is the Tea Party that is starting to rub some Americans the wrong way, which could end up hurting all Republicans politically during the all-important 2012 elections.
A new survey from the Pew Center found that 42% of Americans now have a less favorable view of Republicans, while 37% thought less of the Tea Party. Those aren’t impressive numbers for a party wanting to seize the argument that they best represent what the American people want.
During the debt ceiling debate, the Tea Party was willing to send the entire country into default just to prove a point and get their own way — even though the Republican establishment was surprisingly more willing to compromise. With the debt debate being moved to a later date and into the hands of a bipartisan “Super-Committee,” it is not out of the question to expect more kicking and screaming and less meeting in the middle from the Tea Party.
Will the GOP be able to harness the Tea Party and fold them into the party for a unified front? Or do they have an unruly child on their hands that is poised to cause a myriad of problems down the road?
"Will the GOP be able to harness the Tea Party and fold them into the party for a unified front?"My answer is: No.In fact, all indications are that the Tea-Party now owns and controls the GOP "establishment" which means the GOP ain't harnessing jack. Therefore (at least to my mind) the question now becomes: How much longer willl Tea-Party Repubs tolerate the GOP establishment? "Or do they have an unruly child on their hands that is poised to cause a myriad of problems down the road?"Poised??! H*ll, in light of what we, and the entire world just witnessed with the debt ceiling circus, I'd say Tea-Party Repubs are already well into causing a "myriad of problems" right now!