The Lapeer County Tea Party Patriots are the topic of the Wed. County Press editorial.

[William Gavette]

IN OUR WORDS  (County Press Opinion 9-14-2011)

  

Country's 'anger' could turn face

On Sept. 12, 2009, frustrated tea party citizens from across the country marched upon the Capitol in Washington, energized by a shared sense of disenfranchisement in the political system and anger at a federal government they believed was taxing too much and racking up a dangerous amount of debt.

Two years later, much has changed. A powerful coalition of tea-party-backed freshmen strut the halls of Congress, where they have unsettled the establishment and pushed the Republican Party to the right. On the campaign trail, the support of tea party groups has helped launch campaigns and is a force candidates ignore at their peril.

For those who doubt the movement has moved toward the mainstream, the Tea Party Express joined CNN on Monday night to host a nationally televised forum where eight GOP presidential candidates vied for tea party support.

The loose affiliation of activists is making the transition from upstart outsiders to a force trying to affect change from within, putting different pressures and expectancies on the movement.

Expanding on its 2010 congressional election victories, the tea party has become a major factor in the presidential race this election cycle. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney acknowledged its reach earlier this month, when he rearranged his schedule last-minute to speak at two tea party events.

Candidates Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul have enjoyed strong early support from tea party groups and are working to leverage that momentum into victories in the primary ballot box.

Tea Party Express Co-Chairman Amy Kremer said as the movement continues to mature, tea partiers are increasingly recognizing their activism can change outcomes in Washington, in Lansing and here in Lapeer County. The bloc has become so powerful, she said, that a Republican could not win his or her party's nomination without tea party support. She's probably right.

The Lapeer County Tea Party Patriots claims to have the support of nearly 1,000 local residents. On Sept. 6 the group hosted a evening with Congresswoman Candice Miller, who recently endorsed Texas Governor Rick Perry - a surprising move considering how early it is in the process to name a flag carrier for the Republican Party in the 2012 presidential election.

The hard-line, no-compromise stance tea party freshmen took on deeper spending cuts in Washington this year in the debt ceiling deal may have hurt the group's standing among Americans. A Wall Street Journal poll from August, published Monday, found the number of voters with a "very negative" view of the tea party had doubled since January, rising from 15 to 29 percent.

GOP strategists are hopeful, that despite the infighting between the party establishment and tea party, voters will come around to support the party's candidate so long as they see winning back the White House as a real possibility. The Lapeer County Tea Party Patriots does.

Good or bad? You decide, but one thing is clear - don't count the tea party out. Despite many predictions that the movement had reached its peak, the tea party continues to be a relevant force because it is based upon sustained anger among the electorate.

The question remains, however, if the debt ceiling debate is to be an example of how the tea party movement has hijacked the Republican Party and in the process any real hopes of compromise in governance, will the anger turn on them?

 

 

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