Is the GOP Tea Party on Life Support? Not Even Close -- More Spin from GOP!

The vast majority of Republicans in the House, however, allowed that shutdown to happen. Most establishment lawmakers have sat by quietly for years as the party was pushed to the extremes, too afraid of a primary to speak up. Many benefited from secret super-PAC spending provided by the likes of the Koch brothers, or took Tea Party stands without ever really believing in them, all because they liked being back in power and didn’t particularly care what kind of bargain would keep them there.

Former Rep LaTourette sounds good if you are a Republican but you have to remember for years he was Speaker John Boehner's Lieutenant in the House and would do what was necessary to protect him. Is this is what is going on today as they want to raise large sums of money and run ads against Tea Party candidates.  How about getting a backbone and standing up to the Tea Party and the Koch Bros so people know you are serious?  That looks unlikely to happen.

A new Republican group called “Main Street Advocacy” is about to begin running ads against the hard-liners who have done so much to embarrass the party. One of the ads puts losing candidates like Todd Akin and Sharron Angle in a “Hall of Shame,” and ends with the word “defund” — a reminder of the failed attempt to end health care reform, which led to a widely reviled government shutdown. 

“We want our party back,” the group’s leader, former Representative Steven C. LaTourette of Ohio, told Eric Lipton of The Times. “And we are going to do what it takes to accomplish that.”

Call me the skeptic as I don't think any of the GOP have the backbone to stand up to the Koch Bros who are calling the shots and the reason I refuse to support any GOP in 2014!  As stated in an article below we have a case in Oklahoma with a GOP ALEC Governor who has backtracked on what she said about threatening school administrators to basically shut-up or lose school funding.  Then comes along and says she didn't say that and people who say that she did are wrong.  That is how I see what happened in the House of Representatives that led the shut down -- try not to take the blame for what they did.

The minute former Speaker Denny Hastert said there was NO Hastert Rule that required that you have to get a majority of your conference to bring a vote to the floor, he effective yanked the rug out from under Speaker Boehner and his conference.  Then he revealed he never talks to Boehner.  OOPS!  We are starting to see that the House is filled with a group of Republicans who run back to their district saying one thing and voting differently in DC like no one has access to the internet.  Seems Republicans are really stuck in the Way Back Machine.

This from the David Firestone article at the NY Times made me laugh:

Standing up to the speaker and taking a public position on divisive issues would require actual courage, which is rarely on display in the Republican Party. Instead, the moderates would rather raise corporate money and hide behind the anonymity of a TV ad, making fun of easy targets like Christine O’Donnell, notorious for declaring that she was “not a witch.”

Lost track of the number of times I have referenced the "I am not a witch" O'Donnell since I first saw the video and she was dressed in black.  I still chuckle today -- that was a classic video.

Been sitting here today reading and listening to the fallout from elections last night and seems I have a different take on which race to look.  IMHO the key race with the numbers that count is the Lt Governor statewide race in Virginia which gives a better indication of what it is like for a Democrat to take on a hard right Tea Party Republican who won at the Virginia convention for Lt Governor. Republican Jackson, who turned out to be extremely hard right which even caused the GOP candidate for Governor Cuccinelli to back away from him lost big.  Democrat State Senator Northam ran a quiet race and ended up winning the Lt Governor's race 55.14% to 44.49% -- there is your real difference when you have a candidate like Northam who is well liked.

Democrats were concerned about McAuliffe running because of baggage from the beginning.  Looks like even though Cuccinelli was hard right who made some really dumb statements, being a Clintonite hurt McAuliffe with some independents and disgusted moderate Republicans.  Democrats would be well advised if they want to pick up those extra house seats to choose their candidates looking to the general election.  Don't Democrats understand that independents and moderate Republicans don't like the Clintons any better then the Democrats like GW Bush -- call it a standoff.  Independents are an important part of the electorate you need in some states to win.  I say no more Bush's or Clinton's - have had enough.

The Democrats need younger blood to run IMHO as they have some outstanding candidates on their bench versus the hard right of the Republican Party who is still in charge of the GOP.  Last thing we need is an aging baby boomer running with baggage for President from either party.  Don't be fooled into thinking Christie is a moderate who has a hard right base who will push him further to the right. He is pro-life, anti-gay marriage, anti-raising the minimum wage, etc. but he takes credit for it after the Court struck him down on gay marriage and his veto gets overturned on various issues.  Christie will not be able to to play it down the middle if he runs for President.  His record will catch up with him.

Washington Post article by Reid Wilson hails the fact that today would be the time to sell Christie if he was a stock as he most likely has reached as high as he will go:

Chris Christie just won a higher percentage of the vote than any Republican running in New Jersey since 1985. He won a huge majority of independent voters. He made inroads among African Americans, Hispanics, women, even Democratic voters. The northeastern-centric media universe will hail Christie as the savior of the Republican Party. 

All of that is why, if he were a stock, today would be the perfect day to sell shares in Chris Christie. 

Christie has plenty of assets that will serve him well as he prepares his all-but-inevitable presidential bid. He is aggressive at a moment when Americans crave decisive leadership. He is certain of where he stands in an era that abhors flip-flopping. He is highly intelligent and savvy enough to avoid an “oops” moment. He’s even more popular than the average presidential candidate is before launching a bid. 

But the reality is that Christie faces enormous hurdles if he wants to run for president, which means today, as he basks in the glow of an adoring media spotlight after his historic win, is probably at the apex of his political career — at least until he wins his first early nominating process.

These are just a few of my takes on last night.  The days of the Tea Party GOP would be numbered if there were any backbones left in the GOP leadership but when you are bought and paid for by big donors, it doesn't leave much wiggle room when you put your career head of the Country.  There is another example of that coming once again from Pete Sessions (R-TX) (what is with the TX water?):

"Everything we do in this body should be about messaging to win back the Senate,” Sessions said. “That’s it. If you don’t want Benghazis to happen or you want an investigation for Benghazi, if you want an investigation on the IRS as opposed to the excuses that [Senate Majority Leader] Harry Reid [D-Nev.] is all about, if you do not like what’s happening at the [National Security Agency], then you gain the Senate.” Rep Pete Sessions

Republicans are not there to Govern but obstruct to take the Senate back.  Show the GOP the door from the Congress straight to the unemployment line in January 2015.