Behind the Tea Party Facade, Just Another Bush-League Republican

[Jefferson23]

Posted on Feb 24, 2010

Texas Republican gubernatorial candidate Debra Medina isn’t likely to win her party’s nomination, but the tea party candidate, who came out of nowhere, has done surprisingly well.

By Yasha Levine and Mark Ames

The Tea Party Revolution has struck the Texas gubernatorial race, with the insurgent Republican candidate, Debra Medina, gaining in the polls and threatening the leading candidates, incumbent Gov. Rick Perry and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Medina has positioned herself as a radical anti-government outsider who would cut Texas free from federal government programs and influence in favor of the free market. However, according to an investigation of Medina’s business records, her company, Prudentia Inc., benefited greatly over the past decade from federal government subsidies and lucrative municipal government contracts.

Our investigation shows that when you scratch the surface of Texas’ rising tea party star, you’ll find just another Bush-Republican, big-government hypocrite.

On Tuesday, Texas will hold a gubernatorial primary election that has come down to a three-way fight for the GOP nomination. Surprisingly, Medina, a rookie Republican candidate from the tiny rural town of Wharton who has positioned herself as the tea party alternative, is soaring beyond expectation. She has become a national celebrity, suddenly posing a threat to Gov. Perry and Sen. Hutchison. A tougher, rougher, stockier version of Sarah Palin, Medina surged in the polls after she slammed her mainstream Republican opponents in a televised debate, accusing both Perry and Hutchison of succumbing to “big-government solutions” and selling out their Republican ideals. But for all her derision, Medina has been milking taxpayers for years, including those in her own community who subsidize her business.

Medina, a 44-year-old registered nurse who presents herself as the proud owner of a small medical billing business, offered a small-government platform based on God and the free market. She would scrap Texas’ property taxes, criminalize abortions, expand home-schooling, eliminate guns laws and shrink government to the size of a walnut.

remainder in full: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/behind_the_tea_party_facade_just_another_bush-league_republican_20100224/

[Beartracks]

1. Tea Party = GOP dream come true?

The Tea Party is like right-wing Republicans' wet dream, a fantastical manifestation of their subconscious political/moral philosophy with about as much connection to reality as one would expect from the dreamworld. One hopes Republicans will realize that if they don't wake up soon they'll be stuck laying in the wet spot.

------------------

[Jefferson23]

2. I find it hilarious that she is hiding her Republican brand and trying

her best to keep her Tea Party mask from falling off.

[Turbineguy]

3. Texas doesn't need any federal money

they have the USPS, federal buildings, military bases and NASA.