National Party News

Many rank-and-file Tea Party voters are good and decent people who share the same concerns about a distorted economy that are shared by many Americans, including many Democrats. However, the rise of many Tea Party candidates who are weirdos, wackos, cranks and extremists has ended the chances that Republicans win control of the Senate, and may destroy the chances that Republicans win control of the House.

There are a lot of things I like about the Tea Party movement. Its commitment to the Constitution is chief among them. I especially like how seriously this movement views itself and the policy stances it stakes on behalf of average, everyday taxpayers.
 
Yet it is for this same reason that I believe Tea Party leaders should be wary of some of the party's stances when it comes to specifics.

As The Hill’s A.B. Stoddard reported here last week, the Tea Party has successfully moved the political center to the right in this primary season. Today, The Wall Street Journal follows up in a front-page story, “Tea Party Movement Gathers Strength.”

WSJ: “The tea party has emerged as a potent force in American politics and a center of gravity within the Republican Party, with a large majority of Republicans showing an affinity for the movement that has repeatedly bucked the GOP leadership this year, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll has found.” Read more...

September has been a cavalcade of disastrous economic news for the nation, the Obama administration and his proxies on the ballot box this November.

Just to review, in September alone:

* The unemployment rate in August rose to 9.6 percent, marking 15 straight months that the unemployment rate has equaled or exceeded 9.5 percent, tying the longest streak of 9.5 percent or above unemployment since the Great Depression.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren’s (D-Calif.) invitation to comedian Stephen Colbert to testify before a House subcommittee on immigration was particularly tone-deaf — but it doesn’t come as a surprise.

Perhaps the biggest problem for Democrats this election season is not their legislative record, but their apparent disconnect from the values and primary concerns of the American public.

The Republican’s new “Pledge for America,” the extended sequel to 1994’s “Contract With America” (anyone else wonder why it took them 16 years to produce a sequel?), attempts to separate Republicans in Congress from the special interests in Washington. Their document, they say, is “one in which the people have the most say and the best ideas trump the most entrenched interests.”

“Entrenched interests.” Ha.

Don’t look too closely at the digital paper trail of this document if you don’t appreciate entrenched interests; otherwise, you’d be shocked to learn that the document’s “author,” Brian Wild, is the epitome of a Washington “entrenched interest.”

A new poll came out yesterday from Pew Research and National Journal that showed where the Republican base is when it comes to compromise: They are against it.

In fact, when asked the question, “Do you admire political leaders who make compromise or stick to their principles?” fully 69 percent of Republican voters want a candidate who sticks to his or her principles and doesn’t compromise. Read more...

If elected, Republicans promise to privatize Social Security; cut back Medicare, oppose more jobs programs; raise costs for student loans; cut protections for credit card holders so banks can raise your rates; attack consumer protections for mortgage holders; defend Wall Street bonuses for bailed-out banks; oppose efforts to cut back outsourcing of U.S. jobs; support more tax cuts for the most wealthy; use taxpayer money to hire partisan Republican Congressional staff to turn the House of Representatives into a subpoena-churning partisan political operation; and bring their K Street project to seek special interest campaign money, this time in secret. Read more...

With Election Day 40 days away, the Republican leadership is about to release its latest political marketing effort: a new “Contract With America.” But their actions have already revealed what they really want for America.

Listed below are 40 agenda items we might find in the new Contract With America if Republican leaders were being honest about what they really wanted. Take a look at the list and use the Comments section below to add any I’ve missed.

In the new Gallup generic poll, the Democrats now lead Republicans, 46 percent to 45.

1. Media reports almost always misrepresent public opinion, which in America is generally evenly divided in the nation as a whole.

2. If enthusiasm is factored in, Republicans do have an edge, but if Democrats can rally more of their base, the election becomes close.

3. The extremism and radicalism of certain visible Republicans has destroyed any chance of Republicans taking the Senate, and may save the Democratic House.