Does the Tea Party like winning or does it just like to be provocative? In less than two years, we will find out the answer to that question when the 2012 presidential election is held. Even before then, Tea Partiers will have an incredible amount of influence in choosing who the 2012 Republican presidential nominee will be. Judging from its power grab in the 2010 midterm elections, the Tea Party will back one of their own (probably Sarah Palin) and try as best as they can to undermine the support for a more centrist candidate.
This is foolhardy in my opinion. If the Tea Party really wants to remove President Obama, they should do so using a realistic approach. If Palin wins the nomination, she will garner no across-the-aisle support (McCain had some support from Democrats from older voters in 2008). On top of that, her image cannot be resuscitated among independents. 2008 did too much damage to the Palin brand. Unless the country bends backwards before 2012, independents will want nothing to do with Mama Grizzly.
Unfortunately for those non-Tea Partyers who want an alternative to Obama, the Tea Party will likely decide who that challenger will be. Qualified candidates from the Republican party will be pushed aside or more likely decide not to run at all because of Tea Party bullying. What we won't see in 2012 is what happened in 2008: a moderate Republican winning the Republican nomination. Sorry moderates, but your place in the party is being hijacked.
So expect a Tea Party-backed candidate in 2012. Although it's a wide-open field with plenty of time left until the race, the likely front runners look to be Palin and Mike Huckabee at this point. Too bad, because a ticket with General David Petreaus would have been a sure win for Obama opponents. If 2012 becomes an election year about national security (which I think it very well may become), no one would shine brighter than Petreaus, the greatest military figure of his generation. Pair him with Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty (a guy with bonafide executive experience and success) and you have yourself a dream ticket for 2012.
Too bad Petreaus will likely never enter the political arena. With the Tea Party looking over the shoulder of any non-supporter, it looks like many qualified men or women will not throw their hat in the ring. Rather, the Tea Party will only attack the current Republican establishment in hopes of elevating their own status in the national scene. Someone should tell the Tea Partyers that the Thirteen Colonies won the Revolution, they didn't just show up to lose the battles.
No comments:
Post a Comment