The Tea Party Effect

[Dan Bell]

THE TEA PARTY EFFECT?

If you're like most of us, you've grown more than a little weary of the media's steady stream of half-truths and outright lies about tea party activists. After spending most of the last year claiming that the tea party movement was a fringe movement of a handful of mean angry racist redneck astroturf mobsters that would never amount to anything, the media talking heads now feign surprise that the tea party activists didn't succeed in completely taking over the entire Texas government in one election.

As with all the media's prior lines of attack, this one is every bit as ridiculous.



ELECTION VICTORIES FOR THE CENTER-RIGHT GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT

The NUMBER ONE success of the center-right grassroots movement--of which the tea party movement is a large and growing part--was the INCREDIBLE TURNOUT in the 2010 primaries. We said early on that VOTER TURNOUT would be our scorecard, and on that score, WE THE PEOPLE knocked it out of the park! In one county after another, voters turned out in numbers not seen in DECADES, if ever. Turnout in this year's primaries SET ALL-TIME RECORDS.

Across North Texas, tea party activists got themselves elected as Precinct Chairs and Party Convention Delegates this election season. These are key positions through which tea party activists will be able to advance our core principles, both in the PRECINCTS and the PARTIES.

As you know, the tea party movement doesn't endorse candidates. Contrary to the media's claims, it's not accurate to describe any particular candidate in a race as 'THE tea party candidate.' Determining the impact of tea party activists on a particular race can be a tricky undertaking. That said, there were a whole bunch of races in Texas in which individual tea party activists played a visible role in advancing our limited government principles at the ballot box. Here are just a few examples:

In State House District 7, Republican incumbent TOMMY MERRITT is GONE. He lost his re-election bid to DAVID SIMPSON, a local tea party activist enjoying substantial support from his fellow tea partiers.

In State House District 66, establishment-backed Republican BRIAN MCCALL is GONE. He dropped out of the race after being challenged by local tea party activist WAYNE RICHARD. In the primary election, tea party members largely split their support between Wayne Richard and Van Taylor, who together garnered 59% of the vote. Van Taylor now proceeds to a runoff against establishment candidate Mabrie Jackson, and has a very good chance of beating Jackson.

In State House District 83, liberal Republican incumbent DELWIN JONES garnered only 39% in a three-way race and now faces a runoff against tea party activist CHARLES PERRY. Delwin Jones may soon be joining Tommy Merritt and Brian McCall as FORMER State Representatives.

In State House District 91, conservative KELLY HANCOCK garnered 75% of the vote against CHARLES SCOMA. Hancock received substantial support from the local conservative grassroots.

In State House District 96, conservative BILL ZEDLER garnered 64% of the vote against JOY KELLER. Zedler was also backed by the local conservative grassroots.

In the Collin County Judge race, KEITH SELF won handily, with 58% of the vote, against JOHN MUNS. Self enjoyed a substantial level of support from tea party activists, while there was little or no tea party support for Muns.

In Congressional District 17 and Congressional District 30, ROB CURNOCK and PASTOR STEPHEN BRODEN are now in runoffs. Both have benefited heavily from the support of grassroots conservatives in their districts.

In State House District 65, longtime incumbent BURT SOLOMONS barely held on to his seat, garnering only 53% against a young tea party activist named MIKE MURPHY running a race on a shoestring budget. Murphy enjoyed substantial support from his fellow tea partiers, despite Solomons' public endorsement of 'tea party values.'

In State House District 98, logntime incumbent Republican VICKI TRUITT barely escaped a runoff, garnering only 52% against her three challengers. Tea party support was mostly split between challengers GIOVANNI CAPRIGLIONE and RICH DEOTTE. Truitt gained headlines early in the campaign by publicly criticizing the tea party movement, but later publicly endorsed 'tea party values' in her campaign.

DEBRA MEDINA'S METEORIC RISE

The candidate most often identified by the media as a 'tea party candidate' was Wharton County Republican Party Chair Debra Medina, whose incredible insurgent campaign for governor was an inspiration to Texans across the state. As noted, it's not accurate to describe any candidate as 'the tea party candidate,' but there's no denying she attracted substantial support from the ranks of tea party activists (as did Rick Perry). In a matter of weeks, Medina went from single digits to almost 20% in the polls with almost no money. Of course, the news media would have us all believe that Medina's 20% showing was some sort of failure, or proof that people power doesn't matter in politics. Nothing could be further from the truth. By any reasonable measure, Medina's showing was an INCREDIBLE SUCCESS, and her meteoric rise in the polls in the weeks before election day was likely unprecedented in the history of Texas politics. Medina's showing in the polls was a HUGE SUCCESS, folks. Don't let the media define the message.

While Debra Medina certainly did court tea party activists for support, delivered a tea party-friendly message,garnered significant support from tea party activists, and might be accurately described as A tea party-ALIGNED candidate, she wasn't THE tea party candidate. Based on our own internal polling and other evidence, support for Debra Medina ranged between 50% and 60% of tea party members, with most of the balance going to Rick Perry.

You may not have supported Rick Perry, but it is undeniable that Perry courted--and gained--the support of many tea party activists over the past year. Recall that Perry first showed up at a tea party rally last April, at a time when many politicians were still steering clear. Whether you supported Rick Perry or not, or whether you think he really believes in tea party principles, the fact remains that the candidate who won the Republican Primary in the governors' race was a candidate who actively sought to publicly align himself with the tea party movement and its principles, and who apparently made the sale with a substantial portion of tea party activists.


THE MEDIA IS NOT YOUR FRIEND

For those of our limited-government, pro-freedom activists who didn't get the memo, THE MEDIA IS NOT YOUR FRIEND. From here on out, you can fully expect the news media to continue to do what they've been doing all along--namely, to tell everyone that the tea party movement is 'a flash in the pan,' that it won't make a difference, that it's a meaningless fringe group, etc., etc.

Let's review:

When we showed up on February 27, 2009 we were 'racist' or 'astroturf'--or maybe both.

When we came back on April 15 of last year, we were 'racist rednecks' (of course) and a 'temper tantrum'.

When we showed up at town hall meetings in the Summer of '09, we were 'an angry mob' (a racist one, we suppose) and 'a loud minority'.

When nearly a million of us showed up in Washington, D.C. on September 12, we weren't really there (but if we were, it was because we were angry racists--and probably astroturf, to boot).

When the energy and the passion became impossible to ignore at the rallies and town hall meetings, they told everyone that the energy and passion wouldn't find its way into the polling places come election time.

And then, when the INCREDIBLE turnout in this election put the lie to that claim, they tried a new tack. They identified essentially every primary challenger running this cycle as a 'tea party candidate.' Then, they highlighted every challenger that didn't win , while ignoring the tea-party aligned winners, to claim that tea party activists had little, if any, effect on the election.

It's an old and transparent tactic, folks. Don't believe the hype.

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