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Title: Tea Party Is Losing The GOP Presidential Primary
Source:
Washington Examiner
URL Source: http://campaign2012.washingtonexami ... osing-gop-presidential-primary
Published: Oct 13, 2011
Author: Philip Klein Senior Editorial Writer
Post Date: 2011-10-13 12:19:49 by Brian S
Keywords: None
Views: 1599
Comments: 2
During last year's midterm elections, Tea Party activists swamped Republican primaries and helped send dozens of lawmakers to Washington who were committed to fighting big government. But the once-feared constituency is looking more like a paper tiger in the Republican presidential race. The Tea Party movement was fueled by opposition to the Wall Street bailouts, President Obama's health care reform legislation and out-of-control spending in Washington. Yet the current favorite to win the Republican nomination has rejected the Tea Party line on all of these issues. During Tuesday's debate, Romney effectively endorsed the 2008 Wall Street bailout. Though he criticized the implementation, he defended the governing philosophy behind the move: "My experience tells me that we were on the precipice, and we could have had a complete meltdown of our entire financial system, wiping out all the savings of the American people. So action had to be taken." Romney has also stood by his Massachusetts health care legislation, which served as the model for Obamacare. Both laws expand Medicaid, mandate that citizens purchase insurance or pay a fine, and provide government subsidies to individuals to purchase government-designed insurance plans on government-run exchanges. Obama and Romney even consulted several of the same advisers when crafting their plans. Defending his plan during last night's debate, Romney boasted, "I care about people." And those who reject the type of government-run health care he imposed on Massachusetts don't? Though Romney has talked about getting government spending under control in the abstract, he has shown little willingness to take on the true driver of our long-term debt crisis, which is our nation's broken entitlement system. If anything, he's campaigned as its protector. When Texas Gov. Rick Perry called Social Security a Ponzi scheme, Romney launched a sustained attack against him for being too critical of the program. At a recent appearance at a Florida senior citizens community, Romney declared, "When you see your friends with signs that say 'keep your hands off our Medicare,' they are absolutely right." Last month, Romney wrote an essay outlining how he would control federal spending. He mentioned Medicaid reform, but not Medicare or Social Security. Romney is running as an unabashedly establishment candidate, something that would have been a death sentence in last year's Tea Party-dominated Republican primaries, yet even Rush Limbaugh had to acknowledge this week that "Romney is gonna get this nomination if nothing changes." Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn. and Texas Gov. Rick Perry had hoped to ride a wave of Tea Party support to the nomination, but their candidacies have lost steam. Herman Cain is presently benefitting from the anti-establishment wave, but he is only just now coming under serious presidential scrutiny. And Cain isn't totally pure either -- like Romney, he's expressed support for the Wall Street bailout in theory, just not in practice. Collectively, Romney's rivals have been either unwilling, or on unable, to challenge him during debates. We saw a pattern in House and Senate primaries last year of Tea Party favorites burying candidates tagged with the "establishment" label. But it's much easier to pull this off at the state or district level, where a candidate can surge in the last few weeks of a race and capture the nomination. Any serious presidential candidate has to endure months of scrutiny, and win a string of primaries across the country. There are still months before the first votes are cast, so things can change. But if Romney ends up with the nomination, it will be a blow to the Tea Party's political influence.
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#2. To: Brian S (#0)
(Edited)
"My experience tells me that we were on the precipice, and we could have had a complete meltdown of our entire financial system, wiping out all the savings of the American people. So action had to be taken." You can put a junk tire on a car to get where you are going ! Eventually you need to get new tires - car ! We need an ambulance - tow truck - hearse - cemetary motorcade for the rest of these wreck - people ! Especially the stupid ... get a horse's ass --- paulbots !
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Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/LatestDuring Tuesday's debate, Romney effectively endorsed the 2008 Wall Street bailout. Though he criticized the implementation, he defended the governing philosophy behind the move:
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