Tea Party in the USA

The Republican Party is split. Ever since Barack Obama was elected president, the GOP has advocated for a policy against big government, particularly in the fight against Obamacare. Unfortunately, this fragmented them -- and thus the Tea Party was born. Tea Party leaders like Sarah Palin and Ted Cruz trumpet a revolution of sorts, claiming to want to go back to the traditional values upon which America was founded. Standing in their way is the establishment, centrist faction of the party, Republicans who have, as far as the Tea Party is concerned, sold their souls to Washington and to the Democrats.

It’s no coincidence then that more than half of Republicans would vote for somebody who has never held elected office if the election were held today. This is the logical and unintended consequence of a party line against government. When you ask for a government that governs least, why not look for those who have never governed at all?

GOP candidates are going back to the basics in appealing to this cohort. Donald Trump is perhaps doing it the easiest way possible: anti-immigrant rhetoric. Carly Fiorina’s plans for military spending make it sound like China, Russia and The Galactic Empire are preparing to invade our shores. Ben Carson recently mentioned that he considers Islam against the Constitution. Contrary to common sense, this will probably help his already-strong poll numbers. My personal favorite is Jeb Bush admitting he once smoked marijuana. Bush, former governor of Florida, and brother and son to presidents, is trying to show that he’s a political outsider…

Scott Walker’s calling card was his work against labor unions as governor of Wisconsin. Originally, this put him amongst the top tier of candidates. But the emergence of Trump, Fiorina and Carson, combined with two strikingly poor debate performances, forced him to quit the campaign altogether, his poll numbers going from double digits to negligible in a few months. Even House Speaker John Boehner, who bawled while Pope Francis spoke in front of Congress this week, gave up and resigned, apparently sick of the Tea Party threatening to shut down the government (again).

Every single sound bite that a Republican releases trying to win this far right vote is attack ad fodder for Democrats. The short-term benefits risk sinking the GOP’s chances at the general election. Fiorina, who is rising up the polls, will have to answer to building an army that would make Darth Vader quake in his boots while social security is approaching insolvency.

Democrats have a similar problem with Bernie Sanders. The Vermont senator could pull Hillary Clinton far to the left, damaging her long-term odds. The party has a crude solution for this. Led by a former Clinton campaign aide in Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, the Democrats are refusing to hold more debates. This newspaper’s editorial last Monday hit the nail on the head. With a quarter of the debates (six) as they had eight years ago, the Democrats are trying to shield Clinton. Then, Democrats opted for a fresh voice in Obama over Clinton. The party is making sure that history does not repeat itself.