Editor’s Note – Has enough time passed yet to take an honest look at the overall results of the November election, from a tea party perspective?

Considering that we have a two party system at this point,  I buy into the philosophy that we are conservatives in the primary and Republicans in the general.  Now, should the Republican Party blow this second chance they’ve been given, and there are many who believe they will, this could very well be the catalyst that launches a meaningful third party in this country.

Until then, the hard truth is that the Republican Party offers the best vehicle to advance the conservative cause.  Now there are exceptions to this rule, such as Mike Castle in Delaware or Lisa Murkowski in Alaska.  The old guard GOP is quick to point out that the tea party cost the Republicans several seats in the Senate, pointing to these races.

Personally, I’m firmly in the Jim Demint (R-SC) camp, who said, “I’ve been in the majority with Republicans who didn’t have principles and we embarrassed ourselves and lost credibility in front of the country. Frankly, I’m at a point where I’d rather lose fighting for the right cause then win fighting for the wrong cause.” 

Ultimately, we are no worse off with a Democrat Senator from Delaware than we would have been had Mike Castle been elected, just as we are no better off with the ‘so called’ Republican Murkowski in Alaska.

Which brings us back to the tea party.  Surprisingly, there are still far too many tea partiers who stand by the principle that the movement should not endorse candidates.  Make no mistake about it, this movement has changed the political landscape in America, however, if it is to remain a deciding factor, then we must learn from our experiences and apply that knowledge to future efforts.

By not endorsing candidates and, thereby, sitting out the primary, we are giving the Republican party a distinct advantage in choosing who will be the candidate.  And, as we have seen time and again, the Party does not always choose the right candidate – pun intended.  And for those who still buy into the idea that the Party does not ‘pick’ the candidates, you’re only fooling yourself.

Another valuable lesson from the 2010 Election is that the tea party must coalesce it’s efforts around a single candidate in the primary.  There’s simply no way the tea party can compete with the political machine if it’s divided in it’s mission.  Of course, that’s an easy decision to make when you have a Rand Paul in the group.  If you don’t, your odds for success are greatly diminished.

Which brings us to the following article about recruiting, vetting and training candidates.  Yet, what is the point if the tea party is then not going to support that candidate throughout the election process? 

(One word of caution, the article quotes Tea Party Nation’s Judson Phillips extensively.  Phillips is no more a spokesman for the tea party than you or me.  He makes some good points, however, he also states that the “top three” Senate candidates lost, completely overlooking Marco Rubio and Rand Paul, which seriously questions his credibility.  He also suggests that abortion be added to the tea party agenda, which is a very contentious topic that many will disagree with.  Ultimately, electing true conservative candidates will advance the entire conservative agenda.)

Should Tea Partiers Recruit, Vet and Train Candidates? Hint: They Already Are

By Carl Cameron
FoxNews.com

In the wake of the Tea Party’s 2010 victories and losses, a new effort is underway to improve vetting and candidate recruitment. It is an explicit acknowledgement of past mistakes to avoid in the future.

Ned Ryun of MajorityAmerica.org is running a nationwide “New Leaders” program with several Tea Party factions and says the movement is going through some rigorous self-appraisal.

“I will say this when I’m talking with these local leaders they have mentioned by name Christine O’Donnell and Sharron Angle and said we’d prefer not to have that again in 2012. In many ways they felt it was damaging to the movement to have candidates like this,” Ryun said.

It is a goal being embraced by several of the major organizations within the broader Tea Party movement.

“We’ve got to do some vetting of the candidates because we don’t want someone getting out there announcing they’re a Tea Party candidate, getting some good support and suddenly we discover something terrible about them,” said Judson Phillips who organized the first Tea Party Convention as a founder of Tea Party Nation.

Tea Partiers admit they did not know much about Republican Christine O’Donnell’s background before supporting her for the GOP nomination in Delaware. It will never be known if a well-run Republican campaign in Nevada may have ousted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, but Tea Partiers are painfully aware that Sharron Angle spent more time running from reporters than she did waging a credible campaign.

To the Tea Party, such setbacks amount to growing pains and the operative word is growing. “We want to see candidates that can be far more credible, that are able to effectively communicate the ideas that we know are winning ideas. And not have the other things that came with O’Donnell and Angle campaigns,” Ryun said. He is looking to recruit, vet and train new Tea Party candidates based on more successful models. “I would say Ron Johnson in Wisconsin was probably the best example that could really communicate and articulate the ideas of how we grow the economy, how we create more jobs but still believe in limited government and free enterprise.”

Another question from the Tea Party’s internal review is if it should expand its agenda. They are already debating the addition of social issues. “It absolutely has to be expanded a bit because we had a lot of good success in this election but it’s also kind of a mixed bag too,” Phillips said. “If you notice the three top Tea Party candidates in the United States Senate didn’t get elected. Christine O’Donnell, Sharron Angle and Joe Miller are not going to be sworn in January as senators. So one of the things we need to do is go back to the old Reagan formula, expand our coalition out. Because the conservative coalition has always consisted of both fiscal conservatives and social conservatives.”

Phillips would like to see the GOP get tougher on illegal immigration and thinks the Tea Party can help them get a little backbone “The Republicans have been pretty much totally AWOL on illegal immigration over the last few years. Who have been the biggest champions of illegal immigration? George W. Bush. John McCain. Republicans! And this is absolutely infuriating to the base.”

Even abortion, by virtue of its federal funding, would be added to the Tea Party portfolio. “We complain about the fact that for over a seven year period from 2002 to 2009 Planned Parenthood got about a billion dollars from the government. Why? That just shouldn’t happen,” Phillips bemoaned.

But the chief strategist for the Tea Party Express, arguably the most effective faction within the movement at the ballot box for its bare-knuckle ad blitzes, thinks it’s best to stick with what works and leave the conservative social issues to the national Republican party platform.

“I’m a little skeptical that it’s a good idea to try to supplant the political parties,” Tea Party Express strategist Sal Russo said. “The Tea Party movement is a movement designed to get candidates who are committed to lowering the size of deficits, stopping the intrusiveness of the federal government and bringing the expansiveness of government under control. I think it’s stronger if it sticks to its guns, to that issue.”

But that reserve does not mean outright opposition “Our view has always been that the Tea Party movement doesn’t have to be united, the strength comes from the thousands of groups that have sprung up around the country and they don’t always see eye to eye.” Russo quickly added.

Read More – http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/11/26/should-tea-partiers-recruit-vet-and-train-candidates-hint-they-already-are

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Tom Tillison

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The longest-tenured writer at BizPac Review, Tom grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills.

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