Kaine: Tea Party movement 'devouring' GOP

[Blue_Tires]

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine said Thursday that the tea party movement is “devouring” the Republican Party and is already proving “corrosive” in key GOP primaries.

Speaking at the 11th annual American Democracy Conference hosted by the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics and POLITICO, Kaine argued that while the “headwind” may be against Democrats heading into 2010, divisions within the GOP will prove deadly to the Republican brand.

“The tea party movement is devouring the GOP,” he said. “It is something that we expect to see going forward.”

Kaine pointed to last month’s special House election in New York’s 23rd District — where Democrat Bill Owens ended up winning a long-held Republican seat because of divisions between supporters of Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman and GOP nominee Dede Scozzafava — as exemplifying what he anticipates will happen in future Republican primaries.

“We are already seeing some pretty corrosive primaries in the Texas governor’s race, the Florida governor’s race,” he said. Kaine added that there is a “corrosive and consistent fight” within what he referred to as “the tea bag party.”

“On the Republican side, we see a party that is narrowing geographically, narrowing ideologically and narrowing demographically,” the DNC chairman said.

While Kaine contended that some of the already bloody primaries on the Republican side will hurt the GOP, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) insisted that, as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, he is looking forward to tough primary battles to ensure that the best GOP candidates emerge to challenge Democrats.

http://hamptonroads.com/2009/12/kaine-tea-party-movement-devouring-gop

[izquierdista]

1. Maybe we should call them crumpets

Since they seem to go down so well with tea.

[get the red out]

2. The "base"

"Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) insisted that, as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, he is looking forward to tough primary battles to ensure that the best GOP candidates emerge to challenge Democrats."

The base of the Republican Party, especially in the South, won't accept the best GOP candidates, only religious extremists with obvious mental issues are acceptable.

[TheCowsCameHome]

3. I hope they go the third party route......

......and sink what's left of the GOP.

[tanyev]

4. Oh how I wish he'd said they were sucking the life out of the GOP.

:evilgrin:

[BeFree]

14. Or

Blowing away any advantage they may have had.

[dpbrown]

5. This is old thinking. Dividing the GOP won't help Democrats if they don't stand for something

The Democratic strategy of coopting the "middle" and pushing the GOP to the extreme has apparently paid off, unless Democrats and other populists decide they're looking for the Democrats to "walk the walk" and not just "talk the talk" when it comes to making society better.

[Blue_In_AK]

9. +1

[shadesofgray]

11. So true. Look what just happened in Kaine's own state (where I unfortunately live).

[MisterP]

12. very true: but then, "not as bad" works fine for those benefiting from neolib policies--and

they're the ones with all the money and influence

it'll take structural change, not just writing letters and voting for primary candidates that never pass 20%

another obstacle are the RW populists, because
1) they channel rightful anger at real problems towards crank goals: thrown out of your home? end the Fed! bad Senate? term limits! they'll absorb any anger at the economic situation
2) they fabricate issues outright, like the death panels and the birth certificate
3) they reinforce the idea that there's the System, with liberal and conservative parts, facing against radicals left and right--even though the milksop Moynihans and Pelosis have always been far wronger than, say, "far lefties" like Kucinich or Bob Avakian
4) they discredit good ideas: Americans SHOULD be against subsidies for insurers and Nobels awarded to warmongers for their mere charisma--but "Kill the bill" and "Take back the Nobel" will end up in the mouths of teabaggers who haven't a clue as to why they're shouting it: they do so because they think it's socialized medicine (and, since they say that, moderates will flee from the idea like wild, no matter how successful it is) or an award for some UN-Russkie-Muslim-FMLN-Nelson Mandela plot to subvert Murka
4b) complaints by left and right against the middle are held as identical, even if only the left knows why it's opposing a moderate; since both are criticizing the same person or policy, they must be intrinsically the same

[Canuckistanian]

6. You know what the GOP needs?

Purity tests. Lots and lots of Purity tests.

That'll ensure their success at the polls.

:rofl:

[girl gone mad]

7. Too bad the New Democrats seem to be filling in the void.

Enacting the Republican platform.

[Blue_In_AK]

8. We have our own divisions,

maybe not as deep and wide as theirs, but, still, you know many of us have some very strong negative feelings toward the "conservadems."

Maybe what this country needs is a multi-party system with a run-off between the two highest vote-getters. In truth, there are really four or five parties NOW, we just don't recognize them as such. Maybe if the various factions went head-to-head each election cycle we could get somewhere, and I'm not talking about primaries.

[MineralMan]

10. I feel like singing:

[tabbycat31]

13. Kaine has to motivate the base

this is something that he or the party did not do in NJ and now we have to live with a Rove protege.