THE GRAND OLD TEA PARTY
Jan. 5th, 2010 11:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
defrogITEM: A survey from Rasmussen finds that if teabaggers were a real political party, the Tea Party candidate would pull more votes than a Republican candidate on the same ballot.
In a three-way Generic Ballot test, the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds Democrats attracting 36% of the vote. The Tea Party candidate picks up 23%, and Republicans finish third at 18%. Another 22% are undecided.
In other words, the Tea Party brand is stronger than the GOP brand among right-wing voters right now.
Rasmussen does add that technically, the odds of the teabaggers actually forming a viable third party are very slim, if only because the FEC rules make it difficult to compete against the Democrat and Republican machines.
Which is why, says Rasmussen, “The more conventional route in the United States is for a potential third-party force to overtake one of the existing parties.”
You see where this is going already, don’t you?
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) does.
So does Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC).
Of course, the only potential snag in that idea is that teabaggers exist in part because the GOP wasn’t batshit enough for them. So Republicans are going to have to go out of their way to out-batshit the teabaggers to convince them that coming onboard won’t compromise their batshit principles.
Still, with people like Bachmann and DeMint leading the goodwill campaign – to say nothing of Sarah "Second Most Admired Woman In America" Palin – that shouldn’t be a problem.
Upshot: This could be the scariest, most entertaining mid-term election EVER.
Get the tea ready,
This is dF
In a three-way Generic Ballot test, the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds Democrats attracting 36% of the vote. The Tea Party candidate picks up 23%, and Republicans finish third at 18%. Another 22% are undecided.
In other words, the Tea Party brand is stronger than the GOP brand among right-wing voters right now.
Rasmussen does add that technically, the odds of the teabaggers actually forming a viable third party are very slim, if only because the FEC rules make it difficult to compete against the Democrat and Republican machines.
Which is why, says Rasmussen, “The more conventional route in the United States is for a potential third-party force to overtake one of the existing parties.”
You see where this is going already, don’t you?
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) does.
If the Republican Party is wise, they will allow themselves to be re-defined by the tea party movement. And I hope that that will be the case.
So does Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC).
“We need to stop looking at the tea parties as separate from the Republican party. If we do that, we can stand up and create the biggest tent of all.”
Of course, the only potential snag in that idea is that teabaggers exist in part because the GOP wasn’t batshit enough for them. So Republicans are going to have to go out of their way to out-batshit the teabaggers to convince them that coming onboard won’t compromise their batshit principles.
Still, with people like Bachmann and DeMint leading the goodwill campaign – to say nothing of Sarah "Second Most Admired Woman In America" Palin – that shouldn’t be a problem.
Upshot: This could be the scariest, most entertaining mid-term election EVER.
Get the tea ready,
This is dF
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no subject
on 2010-01-05 05:50 am (UTC)You're only saying that because you're not living here. Some of us who live here are more scared than amused.
no subject
on 2010-01-05 10:23 am (UTC)no subject
on 2010-01-05 05:47 pm (UTC)And how's that for a convoluted sentence?