The Tea Party base is very restless these days so they've released their manifesto, a ten-page pamphlet to enlarge shrink their base and prove what progressive's have been saying all along about them.
Some of those principles laid out in the new document — strict opposition to illegal immigration, same-sex marriage and abortion — represent the hot-button positions that many Republican congressional candidates are trying to avoid as the party attempts to broaden its appeal. Several attendees said they fear that elected Republicans, even if they succeed in retaining control of the House and winning the Senate majority, would cast aside the core conservative base.
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In the 10-page pamphlet finalized Thursday, they called on party leaders to champion lower taxes, a well-funded military, and the idea that “married moms and dads are best at raising kids.” The document warns Republicans against signing on to an immigration overhaul unless the U.S. border is “fully secure,” and it argues that support for school prayer, a balanced-budget amendment and antiabortion legislation should remain priorities.
And their heroes are, of course, wacko birds like Ted Cruz and Mike Lee. These Tea Party groups are filled with con-men and charlatans looking for good paydays.
“Conservatives ought not to delude themselves that if Republicans win the Senate majority, it will somehow be a conservative majority,” said L. Brent Bozell III, president of the Media Research Center, which monitors perceived media bias. “We should have no expectation whatsoever that they will listen. That’s why we’re fighting.”
I have to laugh at seeing Brent Bozell, Grover Norquist, and Tony Perkins being interviewed as Tea Party dudes fighting the GOP establishment because they've all been fighting with the GOP establishment as long as I can remember. Grover pushes some politicians to sign his no-tax pledge, but since the good old days of Reagan, most Republicans have no problem with his pledge.
Many of the newer right-wing extremists that make up the Tea Party were too extreme for the Republican party-- until they feared Obama and his influence on young people so they opened up the floodgates and let the Phil Robertsons and the "forcible rape" crowd crash their party. The Establishment Republicans loved these extremists when they helped them take back the House, but with their new members, it was only a matter of some months before the gates crashed in on them.
Digby sez:
The Chamber of Commerce wants immigration reform. Grover Norquist (who attended as a Wingnut Emeritus apparently) also wants immigration reform along with a discussion about military spending. And across the board the establishment would really like to have an election where their candidates don't spend their time talking about lady parts.
It's not that the establishment doesn't agree with the Tea Party. They are perfectly happy to pass racist and sexist policies and allow their religious zealots to impose their beliefs on everyone else. Some of them undoubtedly agree with all that. But what is most important is having enough political power to ensure that the 1% is not interfered with. All else flows from that.
The problem is that the anti-immigrant faction and the Christian Right and the gun nuts all thought they were running things. They are learning the hard way that they can have what they want but they have to settle down when the Big Money Boyz need some running room. It's unclear they have learned it yet.
