Tea Party Has So Many Litmus Tests No One's Going to Pass

[RandomGuy]

Tea Party Has So Many Litmus Tests No One's Going to Pass

THE NEWS: Herman Cain's big win in a Florida straw poll has shaken up the Republican nominating process yet again. So far, straw polls have benefited second-tier candidates Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul, who finished 1-2 in Iowa, and now Cain.

THE PROVOCATION: The GOP presidential race looks almost comical these days. It seems more like an exercise in speed dating than anything else. Find out a couple of things about a candidate, shake your head, then move on to the next table.

Once upon a time, politicians decried litmus tests. These are relatively recent phenomena and until a few years ago, they were confined to one or two core issues. For the Republicans, taxes and abortion were the most common tests of party orthodoxy. It wasn't long before candidates were asked to sign "pledges" on such issues, and shortly after that, the list began to expand. Same-sex marriage. Health care. Immigration.

These days, there are enough litmus test strips out there to paper over your high school science lab and have some left over for the principal's office.

These issues have largely been framed by the tea party, which is desperately seeking a white knight, prince charming and Ronald Reagan all rolled into one. (Not the real Ronald Reagan, mind you - he was far too liberal for this crowd.)

Someone like Rudy Giuliani? As popular as he is in some quarters, he just doesn't fit the mold. He's personally against abortion but doesn't favor government making that call. And while he opposes gay marriage, he supports civil unions for same-sex partners: another major thorn in the craw of social conservatives and one of the aforementioned litmus tests. The former New York City mayor acknowledged as much earlier this month, telling CBS News, "I understand the realistic problems I'd have getting nominated. So I have to take that into consideration."


The process so far has been like a revolving door of suitors who are quickly identified as unsuitable by one party faction or another, then cast aside as the quest continues. It's almost like speed dating. One candidate emerges to great fanfare and sits down on the hot seat. Before long, someone discovers that the candidate in question - so recently viewed as the "savior" of the party - has a flaw. On one issue or another, s/he doesn't toe the party line. So it's on to the next table ... until one runs out of tables (and candidates) and has to call in reinforcements. Another blind date is arranged, and the entire process begins again.

...there's no indication that Palin, Christie or anyone else would be able to withstand the minefield of litmus tests, pledges and second-guessing that goes along with the dating game that is presidential politics these days. I keep waiting for Jim Lange to pop up and introduce us to three handsome bachelors or lovely bachelorettes hiding on the other side of a strategically placed barrier. And barrier is, indeed, the appropriate word. The tea party and brethren may be litmus testing their candidates right out of a shot at the presidency.

After all the sorting and sifting is done, the tea party could wind up giving us a candidate who's so far outside the mainstream he or she simply isn't a viable contender. Herman Cain? If he's the last one left standing, he hasn't got a prayer. He is, after all, the person whose most "innovative" ideas were banning the building of mosques and keeping Muslims out of his administration. Then again, chances are any Cain courtship is going to be short and not so sweet, too - just like all the other momentary infatuations the tea party folks have indulged in before realizing the the object of their affection isn't quite right.


They're like Goldilocks looking for that perfect bowl of porridge, but by the time they've decided, all the options may well have gone cold.

With no one seemingly able to live up to the tea party's terms and conditions, one can hardly blame Palin, Giuliani, Christie and others for staying out of the fray until the last minute (if any of them ultimately decide to run). It almost seems as though whoever gets into the race last is the one most likely to win the nomination.

...

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http://www.theprovocation.net/2011/09/tea-party-has-so-many-litmus-tests-no.html



One of many recent editorials along similar lines, and I would agree with the assessment.

Candidates have always played to their base to get nominations, then pivoted to the center, but it would seem the right-wing extremists driving the Republican nominating process are making that very difficult this time around.

[George Gervin's Afro]

it's a purity test... sort of like when ...oh never mind

[hater]

:lol true

I was liking romney but I can see through him, he just says whatever he thinks will get him votes.

I like icongnegro now, but he's like the flavor of the week...

[Yonivore]

There were 10 Democrat candidates going into the 2008 primary season.

Senator Barack Obama
Senator Hillary Clinton
Senator Joe Biden
Senator Chris Dodd
Former Senator John Edwards
Former Senator Mike Gravel
Congressman Dennis Kucinich
Governor Bill Richardson
Senator Evan Bayh
Former Governor Tom Vilsack

It's a process. They call it politics. The Republicans will have a nominee and, if things don't change for Obama, that nominee will be the next President of the United States.

[Yonivore]

In related news...

After Feisty Fund-Raising, a More Sociable Obama (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/27/us/politics/obama-addresses-linkedin-forum-in-california.html?_r=1&hp)


That has left the campaign behind where it wanted to be in fund-raising. The campaign manager, Jim Messina, told Democratic Party officials recently that the campaign expected to raise $55 million in the third quarter, compared with $86 million in the previous quarter.

Their explanation of the sharp decline in giving?


Mr. Obama had planned a West Coast swing during the summer, campaign officials said, but it was scrapped because of the talks to raise the federal debt ceiling. Several other fund-raising trips were also canceled in the 60 days that the president was hunkered down in Washington.

First of all, I challenge the notion Barack Obama has spent 60 days in Washington doing anything of consequence but, another Times article pretty much puts the lie to this excuse anyway...

Small Donors Are Slow to Return to the Obama Fold (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/us/politics/small-donors-slow-to-return-to-obama-fold.html?pagewanted=1&sq=Obama%20donors&st=cse&scp=1)


Such defections are not merely symbolic. About a quarter of Mr. Obama’s record haul during the 2008 cycle came from donors giving $200 or less, supporters who could be tapped again and again without hitting federal contribution limits. Many of those same people were also volunteers in his campaign, knocking on doors, calling friends and neighbors and helping turn out the voters that fall.

Nadine Kurland, 62, of Falling Waters, W.Va., made over a dozen contributions to Mr. Obama during the 2008 election and also made phone calls on his behalf. But when an e-mail arrived recently inviting her to an Obama-themed get-together, she ignored it.

[RandomGuy]

There were 10 Democrat candidates going into the 2008 primary season.

Senator Barack Obama
Senator Hillary Clinton
Senator Joe Biden
Senator Chris Dodd
Former Senator John Edwards
Former Senator Mike Gravel
Congressman Dennis Kucinich
Governor Bill Richardson
Senator Evan Bayh
Former Governor Tom Vilsack

It's a process. They call it politics. The Republicans will have a nominee and, if things don't change for Obama, that nominee will be the next President of the United States.

I'm sure the Republicans in Congress will make it their goal to keep the economy in the toilet until the election. They won't admit that is what they are doing, of course, but given a large chunk of them were ready to trash our credit rating to further their political aims, putting party over country for a little while longer isn't that much of a stretch.

[RandomGuy]

In related news...

After Feisty Fund-Raising, a More Sociable Obama (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/27/us/politics/obama-addresses-linkedin-forum-in-california.html?_r=1&hp)
Their explanation of the sharp decline in giving?
First of all, I challenge the notion Barack Obama has spent 60 days in Washington doing anything of consequence but, another Times article pretty much puts the lie to this excuse anyway...

Small Donors Are Slow to Return to the Obama Fold (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/us/politics/small-donors-slow-to-return-to-obama-fold.html?pagewanted=1&sq=Obama%20donors&st=cse&scp=1)

Obama is indeed paying the price for publicly caving in to Republicans at every opportunity.

[101A]

Liberals have much broader view of the Tea Party than what actually exists; you must fear it, so you brand anything you disagree with as "Tea Party" - especially if those things are naturally politically unpopular (strong social/religious leanings, for instance). The ACTUAL Tea Party groups, however, are much more specifically focused on the deficit, debt, size and over-bearing of our Federal Government. THAT is the Tea Party Litmus test. Now there are other conservative group "tests" out there; descendents of the Moral Majority, but those are not the "Tea Party", IMO.

One example: (The first hit from "Tea Party Platform") Tea Party Movement Platform Website


Ten Core Beliefs of the Modern-Day Tea Party Movement



“Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.”

Abraham Lincoln



Preamble: The Tea Party Movement is an all-inclusive American grassroots movement with the belief that everyone is created equal and deserves an equal opportunity to thrive in these United States where they may “pursue life, liberty and happiness” as stated in the Declaration of Independenceand guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States.
No one is excluded from participation in the Tea Party Movement. Everyone is welcomed to join in seeking to achieve the Tea Party Movement goals, which are as follows:
1. Eliminate Excessive Taxes - Excessively high taxes are a burden for those exercising their personal liberty to work hard and prosper as afforded by the Constitution. A fiscally responsible government protects the freedom of its citizens to enjoy the fruits of their own labor without interference from a government that has exceeded its necessary size, scope and reach into the lives of its citizens.

“Collecting more taxes than is absolutely necessary is legalized robbery.” --Calvin Coolidge

“A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government.” --Thomas Jefferson

“Any tax is a discouragement and therefore a regulation.” --Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Also see: What is the Tea Party (http://www.what-is-the-tea-party.com/); Tea Party Ideas (http://www.teaparty-ideas.com/); Tea Partiers (http://www.tea-partiers.com/); Voice of the Tea Party (http://www.teaparty-usa.com/)
2. Eliminate the National Debt - By implementing fiscally conservative policies at all levels of government, progress can be made toward eliminating the U.S. National Debt. Massive increases in the National Debt have created and continue to create a huge burden for the next generation of Americans, thus imperiling the country’s short-term and long-term economic health and prosperity.

“You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” --Abraham Lincoln

“If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace.” --Thomas Paine, 1776

“As on the one hand, the necessity for borrowing in particular emergencies cannot be doubted, so on the other, it is equally evident that to be able to borrow upon good terms, it is essential that the credit of a nation should be well established.” --Alexander Hamilton, 1790
Tea Party Platform continued:
3. Eliminate Deficit Spending - All deficit spending must be eliminated immediately. We insist that government representatives at all levels maintain a fiscally responsible budget and balance the books as would be expected of any American business.

“Arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness.” --George Washington

“A penny saved is a penny earned.” --Benjamin Franklin

“Tomorrow, every Fault is to be amended; but that Tomorrow never comes.” --Benjamin Franklin

Tea Party Platform - Home of the Tea Party Movement Platform continued:

4. Protect Free Markets - America’s free enterprise system allows businesses to thrive as they compete in the open marketplace and strive toward ever better services and products. Allowing free markets to prosper unfettered by government interference is what propelled this country to greatness with an enduring belief in the industriousness and innovations of the populace.

“That some achieve great success, is proof to all that others can achieve it as well.” --Abraham Lincoln

“You cannot build character and courage by taking away a man’s initiative and independence.” --Abraham Lincoln

“The government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.” --Ronald Reagan
Tea Party Platform continued:
5. Abide by the Constitution of the United States - The U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the land and must be adhered to without exception at all levels of government. This includes the Bill of Rights and other Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and their provisions designed to protect states’ rights and individual liberties.

“A general Dissolution of Principles & Manners will more surely overthrow the Liberties of America than the whole Force of the Common Enemy.” --Samuel Adams, 1779

“The Constitution is the guide which I will never abandon.” --George Washington

“We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.” --Abraham Lincoln
Tea Party Platform continued:
6. Promote Civic Responsibility - Citizen involvement at the grassroots level allows the voice of the American people to be heard and directs the political behaviors of our representatives at both the local and national level so they, in turn, may be most effective in working to preserve the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness of this country’s citizens.

“The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.” --Patrick Henry

“To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men.” --Abraham Lincoln

“Truth will ultimately prevail where there is pains to bring it to light” --George Washington

“All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.” --Thomas Jefferson
Tea Party Platform - Home of the Tea Party Movement Platform continued:
7. Reduce the Overall Size of Government - A bloated bureaucracy creates wasteful spending that plagues our government. Reducing the overall size, scope and reach of government at both local and national levels will help to eliminate inefficiencies that result in deficit spending which adds to our country’s debt.

“My observation is that whenever one person is found adequate to the discharge of a duty...it is worse executed by two persons, and scarcely done at all if three or more are employed therein.” --George Washington

“If we can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people, under the pretense of taking care of them, they must become happy.” --Samuel Adams, 1802

“Energy and persistence conquer all things.” --Benjamin Franklin
Tea Party Platform continued:
8. Believe in the People - The American people, given their guaranteed freedoms, will thrive in a democratic, capitalist environment which allows individuals to strive toward ever greater achievements, innovations and the efficient production of needed and valued goods and services.

“Industry need not wish.” --Benjamin Franklin

“Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.” --Abraham Lincoln

“The people will save their government, if the government itself will allow them.” --Abraham Lincoln
Tea Party Platform continued:
9. Avoid the Pitfalls of Politics - American politics is burdened by big money from lobbyists and special interests with an undue influence on the peoples’ representatives. The Tea Party movement is seen as a threat to the entrenched political parties and thus is the continual target of smear campaigns and misrepresentation of its ideals. We choose not to respond to these attacks except to strongly and explicitly disavow any and all hate speech, any and all violence as well as insinuations of violence, and any and all extreme and fringe elements that bring discredit to the Tea Party Movement. We are a peaceful movement and respect other's opinions and views even though they do not agree with our own. We stand by the Tea Party beliefs and goals and choose to focus our energies on ensuring that our government representatives do the same.

“I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts.” --Abraham Lincoln

“Honesty is the best policy.” --Benjamin Franklin

“Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.” --George Washington

Also see: What is the Tea Party (http://www.what-is-the-tea-party.com/); Tea Party Ideas (http://www.teaparty-ideas.com/); Tea Partiers (http://www.tea-partiers.com/); Voice of the Tea Party (http://www.teaparty-usa.com/)


Tea Party Platform continued: 10. Maintain Local Independence - The strength and resilience of a grassroots movement is the ability of citizens at the local level to determine their own platforms, agendas and priorities free of an overriding central leadership. Exercising the clearly stated message of the Tea Party movement by its nature involves discourse about which policies and candidates best hold to our stated principles, and these various opinions should flourish and evolve at the local level.
“Here sir, the people govern.” --Alexander Hamilton in a speech to the New York Ratifying Convention, 1788

“Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves, therefore, are its only safe depositories.” --Samuel Adams, 1781

“This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it.” --Abraham Lincoln

Tea Party Platform - Thank you for visiting the

[RandomGuy]

Liberals have much broader view of the Tea Party than what actually exists; you must fear it, so you brand anything you disagree with as "Tea Party" - especially if those things are naturally politically unpopular (strong social/religious leanings, for instance). The ACTUAL Tea Party groups, however, are much more specifically focused on the deficit, debt, size and over-bearing of our Federal Government. THAT is the Tea Party Litmus test. Now there are other conservative group "tests" out there; descendents of the Moral Majority, but those are not the "Tea Party", IMO.

One example: (The first hit from "Tea Party Platform") Tea Party Movement Platform Website

I have begun to prefer the term "right wing extremists", myself.

If you are so unwilling to accept the fact that a large portion of the popultion disagrees with you, that you might have to compromise occasionally, and are willing to win at all costs, that fits the bill in my book for an extremist/fanatic.

The professed tea party ideals are not something that I entirely disagree with in total.

It is the rabidity, rigidity, and outright slobbering fanaticism to which those ideals are enforced that concerns me.

[101A]

I have begun to prefer the term "right wing extremists", myself.

If you are so unwilling to accept the fact that a large portion of the popultion disagrees with you, that you might have to compromise occasionally, and are willing to win at all costs, that fits the bill in my book for an extremist/fanatic.

The professed tea party ideals are not something that I entirely disagree with in total.

It is the rabidity, rigidity, and outright slobbering fanaticism to which those ideals are enforced that concerns me.

I agree with the sentiment; and as a conservative, am probably MORE annoyed by its practice than are you. Just griping about the label. I wouldn't have had a bone to pick with "Right Wing Extremists" -

[vy65]

lol

Non-negotiable 15 Core Beliefs
NON-NEGOTIABLE CORE BELIEFS OF THE TEA PARTY
1. Illegal Aliens Are Here Illegally.
2. Pro-Domestic Employment Is Indispensable.
3. Stronger Military Is Essential.
4. Special Interests Eliminated.
5. Gun Ownership Is Sacred.
6. Government Must Be Downsized.
7. National Budget Must Be Balanced.
8. Deficit Spending Will End.
9. Bail-Out And Stimulus Plans Are Illegal.
10. Reduce Personal Income Taxes A Must.
11. Reduce Business Income Taxes Are Mandatory.
12. Political Offices Available To Average Citizens.
13. Intrusive Government Stopped.
14. English As Core Language Is Required.
15. Traditional Family Values Are Encouraged.

"Common Sense Constitutional Conservative Self-Governance Is Our Mode Of Operation"

(Yes, We Are A Christian Nation) You don't have to be a Christian to enjoy freedom. The Tea Party welcomes all Red Blooded U.S. Citizens.

[boutons_deux]

St Ronnie, Ike, Nixon wouldn't stand chance of getting the Repug nomination these days, never mind elected. They're all way too sane for todyay's the anti-science, anti-ratiaonal, All Lies All The Time Repugs