The Defeat of Richard Luger and Moderations Death

Last Tuesday, longtime Indiana Republican Senator Richard Luger was defeated by Tea Party favorite Richard Mourdock. Luger was a symptom of the very problem that the Tea Party rallies against. He was a long time Washington politician that appeared more tied to Washington than his local district.

The defeat of Senator Luger is also an ominous sign for those wanting Washington to actually get something done. Luger understood how to work across the aisle, looking beyond the party label for the betterment of the country. We need more Richard Lugers’ in the halls of Congress, not less.

As the few incumbents who prided themselves on bipartisianship continue to be defeated by more extreme Tea Party challengers, we need to become concerned about the Congress that we are creating.

By voting out moderate candidates, we are only creating these factions of extremity within both parties. With two extreme political parties, not only does nothing get done, but the American people are deprived of meaningful representation because America is a very conservative country by nature.

 It will be a dark day in America when a little extremity becomes the new moderation.

Newt Gingrich: The Tea Party Choice?

I’ve been off-blog for a few days, but still wanted to comment on some of the goings on down in Florida.

 Newt Gingrich was endorsed by Herman Cain down in Florida and Sarah Palin compared him favorably to Mitt Romney. It looks like major forces in the Tea Party are trying to rally around Newt Gingrich, and I’m not exactly sure why Gingrich holds such an appeal to some Tea Party favorites.

Forgive me for perhaps understating the Tea Party platform, but I thought the premise behind the Tea Party was that Washington D.C. was broken and needed fixing?

Apparently, some key figures within the Tea Party believe that the best way to fix Washington is to make a twenty year Washington insider…the President?

 How does that advance the interests of the Tea Party? I mean, sure Gingrich has inventive ideas, but how does he propose to get them through Congress?

Bachmann: Tea Party Sinker?

Is Michelle Bachmann sinking the Tea Party? That’s the question as Ned Ryun- head of the Tea Party Group American Majority has written a blog calling on Bachmann to go, amid falling poll numbers, staff shakeups, and other scandals. But are such things damaging to the Tea Party itself?

Not really. Republicans and Democrats run dog candidates all the time, usually in seats they have little chance of winning, and no one questions their strength on the basis of one or two uninspiring candidates.

The Tea Party themselves had this experience previously with Christine O’Donnell and Sharon Angle among others, who were defeated by more experienced and/or mainstream candidates.

 The Democrats lost Ted Kennedy’s Senate Seat to a Republican Scott Brown after running a lackluster Martha Coakley. My overall point is: As long as the message doesn’t get bogged down, the Tea Party will remain a force on the political scene.