Some have said that the placement of Tea Party candidates within the GOP could help the sole plausible alternative in virtually every district -- the Democrats. Yet it's hard to believe Democrats have much credibility left when it comes to the "bringing change" mythology, so I don't think TP success means the GOP suffers. It's also possible that the GOP can latch on to some constituencies their previous eight years in power alienated -- the anti-Bush, anti-interventionist crowd who hate the GOP establishment passionately.
Some GOPers defeated in the primary will run as Independents. A three-way race could get quite interesting. A third party candidate won't likely be viable in a three-way Presidential race, especially if the support for the Tea Party candidate comes mostly from within the likely pool of GOP voters anyway. Still, the Tea Party's Open Tent might be a draw for people who don't typically vote. Barack Obama was able to bring many of these people into his camp in 2008, especially first-time voters.
How many more disaffected persons are lingering out in the fringes we can't know. I just can't expect their numbers to be so high as to radically change the election results, which means TPers will need Independents to go Republican which, after Bush and the unpopular wars he started isn't likely to happen but could, as more Americans now consider themselves as Independents than either Democratic or Republican. A vote for the TP candidate could be considered a protest vote which, considering how poorly we're being led, may be inherently a good thing yet yield to disastrous results. Still I admit I'd get a good dose of schadenfreude seeing the Demos get beat up. It's just the notion of what could come after that scares me.
For real change, the Tea Party really needs to be independent of the two parties, I believe. To try and assume their party can exist within the GOP is stretching the fundamental purpose of creating a Tea Party, which must be to bring real change. Now, infiltrating the GOP might be easier than going the Independent route, yet there is a threat that GOP moderates could turn away, scared by TP rhetoric and populism.
Maybe if the GOP splits up, the Democrats could too. We could use a progressive party. The Establishment Democrats aren't getting it done and their leader, Barack the President, has abandoned a progressive agenda in favor of more war, corporate favoritism, and relentless spending.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
