Tea Party: Silent No More

Continued from here.

Let's return to the 1960's, when Richard Nixon famously courted what he called America's Silent Majority. He insisted that there was a vast swath of the American electorate that was center-right in its proclivities that was largely ignored in political circles in favor of a more vocal minority.  The squeaky wheel gets the grease, and so too did the loud trumpeters of the Left get the media coverage. 

Richard Nixon attempted to give voice to these heretofore undetected voters, but met with mixed success. Ultimately, it was his Southern Strategy (attracting an entirely different type of voter) which bagged him the White House in 1968. The Silent Majority itself never really fell for Mr. Nixon's dubious charms, nor for Gerald Ford in 1976. But it existed, and a good case can be made that the Christian Right was a major part of it, finally coming out of the closet in the late 1970's. 

In my opinion, the Tea Partiers are the remainder of the Silent Majority, finally awakened from their slumbers by the political seismic shocks visited on America by President Obama.

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Tea Party: Silent No More

Click the title for all posts in this series.

Despite the best efforts of the Democratic Party and the national media, it seems the Tea Partiers will not don the racist-militia-angry-white clown suits their betters have made for them. The latest obstacle to the Democrat's pr machinations? A survey by Gallup placing the TP'ers solidly in the demographic mainstream of America. That's right; on income, education, sex, race, et al., these people mirror the broad middle of America itself.

Only on party affiliation do the results skew towards Republicans, but this is by no means a wholly owned subsidiary of the Republican Party. Independents are just as likely to be Tea Partiers, and are represented in this movement in about the same proportion as they are in the general population.

So, Tea Partiers are not the fringe of American society; they are Everyman. But that something is everything tells you exactly nothing about what it is. Who are these people, really? And what does this movement mean for the politics of America?

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Another Rino Charging the Ranks?

It appears Gov. Crist is seceding from the Republican Party.

If this is true, then rather than accept the clear preference of Floridians for Marco Rubio for the Senate, Charlie Crist is prepping for a run as an Independent.  He cannot win; his brand of Republicanism will not fly with the base this election season, and the general public is not taking kindly to cynical political moves like this.  But Mr. Crist might siphon off enough votes to cause Rubio to lose. 

If I may be so bold as to quote myself on so-called Republicans In Name Only (Rinos):

NY-23 was another instance of the historic confrontation between two factions of the Republican Party going back more than 60 years. To name just a few of the contests: Goldwater v. Rockefeller in 1963, Reagan v. Ford in 1975, and then Reagan v. Bush (the Elder) in 1979.

The lesson for the Republican Party is the same lesson after NY-23 that it should have learned from those races: the Rino/Molted faction of the Republican Party are bitter, petty losers, who will not hesitate to savage their own party when election day comes. Rockefeller did it to Goldwater; Ford did it to Reagan when he refused to make Reagan his Vice President; and George Bush (the Elder) would have done it to Reagan if not for Reagan's statesmanlike reach across the Republican divide to tap Bush for Vice President.

And now, Crist does it to Rubio.   "Bitter, petty loser" only begins to describe Mr. Crist as he turns on the Florida Republicans who have supported him all these years.  I think Marco Rubio will win anyway, and Mr. Crist will become a tattered footnote in politics.  If so, good riddance.

Take Down

I know funny, and THIS is funny. But it's also one of the best analyses I've read of why the latter day Star Wars movies were just --- not quite right. I'd tell you to watch all 7 parts of the RedLetterMedia review, but you won't be able to stop after the first one.  So I won't.

Palin Power

Sarah Palin appears to be coming into political focus. Matthew Continetti writes:

Palin is assuming a new role as a conservative vanguard, a charismatic leader who summons the masses to battle. That is clearly what she was up to in Minnesota. The crowd, the rhetoric, the energy all confirmed that the balance of enthusiasm favors the GOP.

"Charismatic?" You betcha. Her performance in the Minnesota Republican Party campaign rally even impressed Chris Matthews:

MSNBC talk show host Chris Matthews proclaimed himself "dazzled" by Bachmann's and Palin's speeches Wednesday, suggesting they may be "the new star power of the right."