Tea party groups push GOP to quit culture wars, focus on deficit

[DEDixon 39]

Representatives of the loosely organized tea party movement urged GOP leaders in a letter released Monday to abandon their fronts in the culture wars – issues such as gay marriage, school prayer, and abortion – and instead focus their new electoral power on individual liberties and "economic freedoms."

The letter, signed by 16 tea party groups and a conservative gay organization, points to an emerging rift between the tea party movement and the GOP, which still counts social conservatives seeking "moral government" as a key constituency.

The signatories, ranging from conservative commentator Tammy Bruce to local tea party group leaders, say the key lesson the GOP should draw from the election is that Americans are concerned chiefly about taxes and the size of government, not their neighbors' lifestyle choices or personal decisions.

But the push to quit the culture wars is already meeting resistance from mainstream Republicans, who worry about a rebellion from social conservatives if the party refrains from taking stands on moral issues.

"If the Tea Party wants to remain true to its limited government principles, then it strikes me that the default position would be less government and more personal freedom, whether the issue being dealt with involves economics or so-called 'social issues,' " writes Doug Mataconis on the Outside the Beltway blog. "At some point this unnatural split in the GOP's view on freedom will have to be reconciled."

The letter, sent to presumptive House Speaker John Boehner and Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, tackles the rift between small-government conservatives and those who might see the Republicans' Election Day victory as a mandate to legislate morality on issues such as gay marriage and abortion.

"This election was not a mandate for the Republican Party, nor was it a mandate to act on any social issue, nor should it be interpreted as a political blank check," the letter reads in part. "Already, there are Washington insiders and special interest groups that hope to co-opt the Tea Party's message and use it to push their own agenda – particularly as it relates to social issues."

The tea party letter implies that many activists believe the GOP has lost ground with certain voters who, though fiscal conservatives, disapprove of the way the party has in the past used "wedge" issues like abortion and gay marriage to garner votes.

"For almost two years now, the tea party has been laser-focused on the size of government," Christopher Barron, who heads GOProud, a gay coalition, tells Politico. "No one has been talking about social issues – not even the socially conservative candidates who won tea party support."

Yet social issues have cropped up among some tea party stalwarts. Sen. Jim DeMint, considered a tea party kingmaker for his support of candidates across the US, had before the election urged a ban on gay teachers. What stance to take on the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy that prevents gays from serving openly in the military remains a source of conflict within the movement. And a tea party-inspired GOP platform in Texas urged stronger sentencing for those caught with small amounts of marijuana.

"Caught between Scylla and Charybdis, the Republicans are now facing the big problem that they faced not long ago with defining who they are as a party," writes Bridgette LaVictoire on the Lez Get Real blog. "Do the remain small government or do they go for social issues? Can they continue to balance the issues in order to please both sides of their base?"

:thumbs:

Edited November 21, 2010 by DEDixon

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

"The spirits that I called..."

The Sorcerer's Apprentice. Would've been good to have read some of them classics before heading down that road...

[^_^ 5,021]

Diss social conservatives and abandon their "values" and the GOP will suddenly be a lot more palatable to a lot of people.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Diss social conservatives and abandon their "values" and the GOP will suddenly be a lot more palatable to a lot of people.

Social conservatism and "values" have sustained the GOP for the longest time. Wedge issues ring a bell? Diss that and there will be another party.

Edited November 22, 2010 by Mr. Big Dog

[^_^ 5,021]

Social conservatism and "values" have sustained the GOP for the longest time. Wedge issues ring a bell? Diss that and there will be another party.

GOP - bible freaks = possible new majority party. There are a significant number of people in the D umbrella today who are only there because of the bible freaks.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

GOP - bible freaks = possible new majority party. There are a significant number of people in the D umbrella today who are only there because of the bible freaks.

Yes and there are a number of people that vote GOP only because they are the "party of the righteous".

[Danno 1,228]

Diss social conservatives and abandon their "values" and the GOP will suddenly be a lot more palatable to a lot of people.

Thats about as logical as suggesting a football stadium run off all their loud cheering fans in the confidence that others will start coming who like a more tame atmosphere.

There may well come a day when this type of trade off would be worth it for the GOP, that time is at least a decade.... maybe three, away.

[DEDixon 39]

Thats about as logical as suggesting a football stadium run off all their loud cheering fans in the confidence that others will start coming who like a more tame atmosphere.

There may well come a day when this type of trade off would be worth it for the GOP, that time is at least a decade.... maybe three, away.

i hope you are wrong.

lots of people are losing their religion so a new GOP wing could rise up and eventually take over. i hope it doesn't take decades.

[Pooky 3,825]

Right now, this country needs economic answers a damn sight more than it needs "social" ones.

Funny how the "Tea Party", since some of them actually got elected, are the ones still saying the right things. While traditional Democrats and Republicans are looking to the DREAM Act and looking at the class-war side of the Tax-cut-extensions, at least Americans have a voice in Congress calling for focus on what actually matters to them, as amply shown on November 2nd, THE ECONOMY.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Funny how the "Tea Party", since some of them actually got elected, are the ones still saying the right things.

Saying the right things but backing off when it comes to taking a chance on having to act on those things. What good does that do?

[Pooky 3,825]

Saying the right things but backing off when it comes to taking a chance on having to act on those things. What good does that do?

So, they're mostly two months away from getting seated and they have already failed? Are you psychic, or something?

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

So, they're mostly two months away from getting seated and they have already failed? Are you psychic, or something?

Psychic? Me? No. I just peruse the news. You should try that sometime.

A band of conservative rebels has taken over the House, vowing to slash spending, cut the deficit and kill earmarks.

And of course they’d love a seat on the powerhouse Appropriations Committee so they can translate their campaign zeal into action, right?

Not really.

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) was asked to be an appropriator and said thanks, but no thanks. Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), a tea party favorite, turned down a shot at Appropriations, which controls all discretionary spending. So did conservatives like Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), an ambitious newcomer who will lead the influential Republican Study Committee.

“Anybody who’s a Republican right now, come June, is going to be accused of hating seniors, hating education, hating children, hating clean air and probably hating the military and farmers, too,” said Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), a fiscal conservative who is lobbying to become chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. “So much of the work is going to be appropriations related. There’s going to be a lot of tough votes. So some people may want to shy away from the committee. I understand it.”

Get it? They rather not be in the positions where the tough calls and tough votes are to occur. Where the rubber hits the road. Where action will be the measure stick rather than rhetoric. They're good at the latter but lack the fcuking guts for the former. So, they'll continue to say the right things as long as their names aren't attached to the front line of doing any of them.

[Pooky 3,825]

Get it? They rather not be in the positions where the tough calls and tough votes are to occur. Where the rubber hits the road. Where action will be the measure stick rather than rhetoric. They're good at the latter but lack the fcuking guts for the former. So, they'll continue to say the right things as long as their names aren't attached to the front line of doing any of them.

Kind of a "damned if they do, damned if they don't" isn't it?

Because the other side of the coin will have you believe that if they take these committee positions, then the "Tea Party" reps will have allowed themselves to be co-opted by the GOP and will be expected to repay the committee position "favours" by voting the appropriate line when it comes down to the wire.

Right now, letting the Democrats and Republicans keep messing things up seems the smart way to build for the Tea Party, regardless of what the media, the Democrats and the GOP would like to see, namely the disappearance of the Tea Party from the mix. Yes, they miss the fallout when it goes south, which it inevitably will. But there is just the chance that the GOP and maybe even some Democrats will actually listen to the message and try putting it into action.

So, continue to see things in black and white and write them off. I think both major parties will be underestimating the Tea Party for the duration of this Congress and this could pay off big time for them in 2012. This country needs an effective third party to break the stagnant, divisive and confrontational two party system currently residing in Washington.

Personally, I think it's the smart approach for the Tea Party to build support now that they have elected representatives. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Kind of a "damned if they do, damned if they don't" isn't it?

Not really, you can put your money where your mouth is or you can continue to merely engage in rhetoric w/o ever backing your words with tangible actions. Go the latter route and you might get through another couple of election cycles but remain largely irrelevant. They're loudmouths. All hat and no cattle.