Tea Party Threatens Republican Party

I just wanted to highlight TPM's recent article 'We Might As Well Be Able To Vote For Disney': Tea Partiers Slam Citizens United Ruling, which is about how many in the Tea Party "movement" are realizing what a lousy development this was for them.  And yes, this is something I predicted twelve days ago, in my post Tea Party Money Becomes Irrelevant. 

And the reason should be obvious: The Tea Party movement isn't some popular uprising against Obama or the Democrats.  It's a faction of the Republican Party which has existed for decades, but only recently adopted an official name and identity.  But these people have always existed, have always believed roughly what they believe now, and have always hated liberals as much as they hate liberals now; which is the only thing that really defines them.  They're not Big Business Republicans, or Social Conservative Republicans; and don't really have any specific agenda.  They just hate liberals and they've finally found a banner to wave in front of themselves.

And now that the Republican-hype machine has inflated their egos, the faction is splintering off from the Republican Party and claiming a distinct identity.  And for as much as they're identified as being a thorn in Obama's side, it should be obvious that they're really a huge threat to the GOP Establishment.  Just as the Naderites were a threat to Democrats, the Tea Partiers are pulling Republicans apart.  They're sick of being taken for granted and now need to be appeased.  It's all about a quest for power; they've tasted blood and now they want their political party to do their bidding; whatever that happens to be.

And in that light, the Corporate Cash ruling is a huge blow at their position of power.  Right now, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of little Tea Party organizers trying to make a name for themselves within the movement; while the GOP leadership continues to play with fire by building them up without letting them loose.  But these people are generally contrarians and like to imagine that they're free-thinkers, and the more Republicans try to box them into the party, the more they're going to resist.  They're not looking to be cogs in the GOP's machine; each of them wants to be the leader of the movement.  And the more the Republicans try to use them as cogs, the more these people will resist.

As things were, these little Partiers were finding themselves to be important; even being quoted in the media and whatnot.  But an influx of Corporate Cash into politics will drown all that out.  Some of these little guys are already realizing that, and the more impotent this Corporate Cash makes them, the more angry they're going to get.  As evidenced in the New York recently, these people don't care about political victories; they just want to be heard.  They don't want to put Republican leaders in power; they want the power for themselves.  And for as much as Nader lost credibility when he relished in giving Bush the Whitehouse, the Tea Partiers only get more aggressive in defeat. 

If the Republican Establishment's candidate doesn't tell them what they want to hear, they'll find a candidate who will.  These people aren't joing together to storm Obama out of the Whitehouse; as they imagine they are.  They're looking for a party to call their own.  I hope they find it.