Thursday Highlights

8 Responses

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1. Boonton says

   And why do pundits so lack a clue? The tea party popularism is not a GOP movement, duh.

   Any Democratic primaries where the Tea Party fielded a candidate or made a major endorsement?

   May 20, 2010, 12:12
2. Mark says

   Boonton,
   The tea party has not fielded a candidate. From Wiki. See the demographics section. One polling agency puts 40% of Tea party members as Democrats. From Gallup “Tea Partiers are fairly mainstream in their Demographics. Tea Party supporters skew right politically; but demographically, they are generally representative of the public at large. ” Rassmussen, “Some on the political left see nothing but hate, while some on the right see a threat to Republican prospects.” (emphasis mine).

   Your assertion that because the tea party did not endorse a Democratic candidate that this is a GOP movement, when the only strong endorsement to my knowledge was for an idealogical libertarian (not a conservative). There was more than once instance were tea party opposition doomed GOP candidate in the latest primaries. This confuses some pundits who are laboring (like you?) under the misapprehension that the tea party movement within the GOP fold.

   May 20, 2010, 20:21
3. Mark says

   Boonton,
   Oh, and read their “Contract with America” and ask yourself how many of those things do you find would be items that the GOP stands and has historically stood behind. Week after week you’ve pointed out that the GOP is not about shrinking the size of government. Guess what, the tea party people and much of the GOP recognize that. Hence the truth behind the notion that this movement is not aligned with the GOP.

   May 20, 2010, 20:23
4. Boonton says

   There was more than once instance were tea party opposition doomed GOP candidate in the latest primaries.

   Yes this would be quite consistent with a GOP group seeking to exert its influence upon the party. That’s what primaries are for, when one candidate is ‘doomed’ that is just a fancy way of saying some other candidate was choosen. You don’t vote against candidates in primaries, you vote for them. The Tea Partiers never went to a single GOP primary casting ‘no’ votes, they casted votes for people. Yet oddly they never seem to do this in Democratic primaries. This leads me to suspect your 40% Democratic figure is basically crap.

   May 21, 2010, 09:40
5. Mark says

   Boonton,
   It’s not “mine.” It’s data from a Wiki entry. And if you don’t think that had any influence on a recent Democratic Senator winning who was “coincidentally” against abortion, Obamacare and pro-guns … just go ahead. Just ignore my giggles when y’all quote yourselves as the reality party.

   May 24, 2010, 08:54
6. Boonton says

   It’s not “mine.” It’s data from a Wiki entry.

   Uh huh, and this is supposed to make me shake in my boots at such a powerful authority?

   And if you don’t think that had any influence on a recent Democratic Senator winning who was “coincidentally” against abortion,

   “Influence” is a nice little meaningless word here. Did they endorse this Democrat over other Democrats running in the race as they have Republicans against other Republicans in the primaries? Pro-life Democrats are a rare breed but hardly unheard of and heavily pro-life districts did exist before the Tea Parties formed in 2008.

   May 24, 2010, 10:58
7. Mark says

   Boonton,

   Uh huh, and this is supposed to make me shake in my boots at such a powerful authority?

   You use wiki frequently, and I was disputing the notion that this data was somehow “owned” by myself or that I invented and defended it.

   So in your “post-modern” world Pennslyvania’s 12 district is heavily pro-life. Like most blue collar east coast districts?

   And you’re making a fine argument against yourself. Witness: ” Pro-life Democrats are a rare breed but hardly unheard of and heavily pro-life districts did exist before the Tea Parties formed in 2008.” Exactly. And now post-2008 don’t you think that these people would by sympathetic to the Tea party movement … hence the notion that this movement has a much higher number of Democrats than is being reported by the lazy MSM (and the Democratic establishment critics of the same).

   May 24, 2010, 18:49
8. Boonton says

   From what I understand his Republican opponant ran with Tea Party endorsement and ran on a national platform of opposing Obama and Pelosi. He lost.

   May 25, 2010, 06:58