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The Spectacle Blog
The conventional wisdom — repeated by some in the comments of this blog — says the answer is yes. Sharron Angle, Christine O’Donnell, and Ken Buck were all Tea Party-backed conservatives who lost (or more precisely in Buck’s case, appear to have lost) yesterday. But I don’t think it’s that simple.
Let’s stipulate that this criticism is correct in the case of O’Donnell. Mike Castle was almost as certain to win that Delaware Senate seat as O’Donnell was to lose it. But in most other cases, it is not clear the establishment-backed candidate would have fared any better. Remember: they lost because they were extraordinarily bad candidates in the primary.
In Nevada, Sue Lowden had beaten back criticisms of her conservative credentials from Danny Tarakanian. It wasn’t until her “chickens for check-ups” gaffe and the Reid campaign’s efforts to drive up her negatives that she fell far enough to allow Sue Lowden to overtake her. None of this should have inspired much confidence in her abilities as a general election candidate. Similarly, it was not as if Gale Norton lit the world on fire during the primary.
The Tea Party-beaten Republican Senate candidate who might have fared the best in a general election was Trey Grayson. But he turned out to be the one whose nomination was least needed. Rand Paul was able to win handily in his own right, perhaps with an assist from Jack Conway’s desperate Aqua Buddha ad.
View all comments (117) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by W. James Antle, III
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Franklin| 11.3.10 @ 4:24PM
I think O'Donnell lost because the RNC leadership did not back her 100%. They were late, lame and half-hearted. I blame them.
Bo| 11.3.10 @ 4:32PM
The RNC could've paid every resident of Delaware $500,000 and she still would have lost.
mad libertarian guy | 11.4.10 @ 2:33AM
Never underestimate the liberal's desire to get "free" stuff from the government.
patricia| 11.4.10 @ 5:32PM
Unfortunately, this is the main problem. The more freebies the liberals get, the worse off we are. There is a dependency about these programs that is addictive. Like the welfare programs which caused couch potatoes to create more generations of couch potatoes, the results of his programs are an abomination.
serfer62| 11.3.10 @ 5:42PM
The GOP assaulted McDonnel instead of helping her. The only positive response from the DC GOP was after the TP were really annoyed.
Positve results
1) One more rino dead.
2) Rove the idiot down graded.
3) More direct-to-candidate money
4) Increased distrust of DC fund organizations
Penny| 11.3.10 @ 6:46PM
Totally agree serfer - Rove and Gillespie brought her down by doing what BHO always does - ignoring the will of the electors.
Hope KR doesn't see this as a win for himself - the Tea Party isn't going anywhere and its wins will give it more steam and more clout - especially given the glorious Marco Rubio's triumph.
soregon| 11.5.10 @ 8:23AM
I donated over $300 of my thin resources to individual Conservative candidates in this election season. I chewed the ass of every Republican Party, State & National, that called. I will continue to do so until this pussified party mans-up to their job.
Margie| 11.3.10 @ 11:36PM
Franklin,
Agreed. That and the fact that the voters didn't vote for her. When they tire of the Socialist boot on their necks, they'll come around.
Think Chris Christie in NJ.
Now Tom Corbett in PA.
And many others yesterday. 10 Repub Govs.
At least 50 Repubs. in the House. And 7 senators if I'm not mistaken.
Remember last Nov. it all began:
Bob McDonnell in VA.
Scott Brown in MA.
And others.
There is yet hope.
Bo| 11.4.10 @ 2:13PM
Chris Christie
Tom Corbett
Bob McDonnell
Scott Brown
Christine O'Donnell
Which one of these is not alike?
Franklin| 11.3.10 @ 4:27PM
PS. Megyn Kelly on Fox News last night said that almost all of the Tea Party supporters and independents (I don't remember the percentages) voted for O'Donnell. It was the Republicans that had a very significantly LOWER voting percentage for her.
RNC Leadership is to blame.
pete2| 11.4.10 @ 12:50PM
Very true. The problem conservatives face in elections is the number of RINO's who vote against us. The RNC is nothing more than a group of establishment politicians and their flunkies in the conservative media. The people spoke Tuesday, not the politicians.
Aleck| 11.3.10 @ 4:29PM
In my opinion, the Republican establishment long ago forfeited any right to return to power; the Republicans would still be in the abyss they drove us into if it weren't for the loose coalition of "tea party" conservatives who actually believe what the GOP has claimed to profess all along, but not practiced.
Sheila| 11.3.10 @ 7:46PM
Agreed, Aleck.
CalMark| 11.3.10 @ 4:40PM
Good post.
Let's not forget: the GOP Establishment only accepted Paul, Toomey, and Rubio when they looked like near-certain winners, suddenly and conveniently forgotting they were Tea Party guys. Others, like O'Donnell and Angle, the GOP undermined to the end, a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure to discredit the Tea Party-supporting GOP base.
O'Donnell was constantly fending off vicious, baseless GOP attacks. If your own party reviles you, how can you win Independents and members of the other party?
Angle was abandoned from the moment she won her primary. Broke and thus helpless, she was savaged by vicious Reid attacks; the GOP Establishment turned away. At the end, there was no GOP "ground game" to counter Reid's robo-vote Rent-an-Army.
Miller will probably lose Alaska. The GOP Establishment enabled Princess Lisa to buy that election.
Numerous Democrats had major ethical problems. Blumenthal lied about his war record; Giannoulias was an officer in a mob bank. Democrats always stand by their own creeps. Republicans fabricate petty reasons to destroy honest, decent candidates.
The GOP Establishment is responsible for Tea Party Senate losses. Certainly not the Tea Parties. And not the candidates: you can't blame someone for losing if their own party undermines them.
Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 11.3.10 @ 7:15PM
You're right.
Conservative Bob| 11.3.10 @ 4:44PM
A couple of thoughts, the Tea candidates that lost moved the ball in their elections further to the right in every case than their establishment primary opponents ever dreamed. This sets the table for the future. We are taking back the party that went astray and reestablishing the conservative brand.
Note last night and this AM the words of the establishment GOP leaders all are speaking from a much more conservative perspective. That is directly tied to the grass roots Tea party.
Particularly in this moment would you rather have 51-53 Senate seats comprised of a mix of RINOs, legacy fossils and a sprinkling of conservatives so that we could set the agenda and lose the votes. Enabling us to move the statist ball further left while taking the blame???? We are better off with smaller principled numbers enough to more effectively block yet still the in minority. The brakes are firmly in place in the house. Let’s support the conservatives in place while we recruit and train the reinforcements for 12.
The Tea Party revitalization/takeover of the GOP will enable principled conservatives to govern. RINO must become a seriously endangered species on an irreversible path to extinction.
Nick| 11.3.10 @ 4:45PM
Don't forget Karl Rove, folks.
He single-handedly gave all the Castle supporters the excuse they needed not to support Miss O'Donnell.
Rove needs to be purged from the party.
Sarah Palin needs to declare to the kingdom, "Bring me the head of Karl Rove!"
Metaphorically speaking, of course.
serfer62| 11.3.10 @ 5:51PM
Why metaphorically?
Nick| 11.3.10 @ 6:05PM
Serfer62,
I wouldn't want to be reported as a terrorist to Homeland Security, now would I? Ha-ha!
Charie| 11.5.10 @ 1:33AM
You're a conservative and probably a tea partier so you're already on their list of terrorists! Boy, I hope you're not a veteran or you're in deep doo-doo!
J Kelley| 11.3.10 @ 4:46PM
O'Donnel won the primary election. We have Republican primaries so Republicans can pick a canidate of their choosing. Then all Republicans are susposed to back the winner. Carl Rove did not and he will always be on my list.Castle is a RINO and he may or may not have won. Even so it is better to have left a wing Democrat than a RINO Republican. The next to go should be Snowe and Collins of Maine. We now have a real Republican in Pa. Also Rubeo in Fl.
gearjammer| 11.3.10 @ 5:47PM
Are you from Maine ? If not, butt out. The people there will resent your intrusion along with Pallin and the gang. A dope like O'donnell or an erratic and less than deft type like Angle will get slaughtered. They love and respect Snowe and Collins-maybe your best bet is to just kick them out of the Republican party. You guys are not the BOSS. Americans do not want a political BOSS=that is the message of this election. Republicans like me look forward to teaching people like you a lesson.
serfer62| 11.3.10 @ 5:54PM
Whew gearjammed, what a load!
Senators effect the WHOLE nation and your 2 clowns effect us. If the clowns that conpose maine continue to harm the country then do it with out right Kommies instead of rinos...
Charie| 11.5.10 @ 1:41AM
Not true. Not true. Numbers count in Congress. If you have an (R) behind your name and the R's are the majority, you will have the majority on committees and in the House it makes a difference as to who gets to be the Speaker which is one of the most important jobs in Congress.
Please, don't let your feelings overcome your thought processes.
We need Snowe and Collins. I know they vote with Dems a lot of the time, but they did hold firm on a recent vote that was important to conservatives.
Nolann Ryann| 11.3.10 @ 6:05PM
The only lessons RINOs like you teach anybody is you are no different than a standard issue dem. Go ahead and love Snowe and Collins while they undermine every conservative principle that authored a historic election for the Rs. Of course that is lost on dunces such as you. Keep voting RINO and you'll end with more cap and tax, Obamacare and other wonderful statist policies. Let's not forget that Snowe voted the first iteration of Obamacare out of committee. No wonder you love her. Also spare us your bilge about conservatives screwing the RINOs. We're the ones when our guy or gal loses the primary that are told unequivocally by the RINO establishment to suck it up and support the party. Mike Castle followed that script right? He fully supported the party nominee didn't he? Spare me your little BOSS rants.
Sheila| 11.3.10 @ 7:48PM
Well said, Nolann Ryann. Maine's twisted sisters must go.
SpiralArchitect| 11.4.10 @ 1:10PM
Absolutely. Stop being a ignorant 'political slut'.
Angle was all about getting Reid out of the Senate, she could ahve been some drunk off the streets and I would ahve supported her over Reid.
Unfortunatley, you are not the only one too dim and lacking the ability to see the big picture of a NATION not just a region or a state.
Hope you can catch up soon; if you need any help along the way, just ask, we are always here...
J Kelley| 11.3.10 @ 6:08PM
Am not from Maine. But we still have a free Country(or somewhat free). In my humble opionion the Republicans should rid themselves of all RINO's. And Maine has two of those. The rest of the Country would be better off if we had two Left Wing Democrats.They would never cave as Snowe and Collins do. Then the Dems say we got support from the Republicans .Give me real Republicans
Sandy| 11.4.10 @ 9:25AM
gearjammer is just angry because the entire Maine state legislature just flipped to GOP for the first time in something like 100 years. Snowe is up for re-election in 2012, and, I know there is already one candidate who will be primarying her. I'm sure there will be more. She must go.
gearjammer| 11.4.10 @ 10:09AM
Snowe and Collins worked for those GOP folks who now are the legislature majority in Maine ! You idiots don't get reality. If, a better candidate runs and wins the primary in 2012 I will support that republican-I just pray she or he is not an Angle or O'donnell. I know republicans in that Maine legislature-they are with ME not YOU ! You need my vote and money BITCH ! Show me some respect or else ! We loyal republicans may have to jack your sorry asses up it seems ! And, Rove did a ton of work to help many republicans win-you morons- less attitude more gratitude-or ELSE ! WE STAY HOME !WE DON'T SEND OUR MONEY TO BACHMAN AND OTHERS LIKE I DID.
Vic| 11.4.10 @ 1:08PM
Now you get a taste of what true conservatives have been getting from the GOP ever since Reagen. Hold your nose and vote for the lesser of two evils, or you help the enemy.
Well I for one am sick of the slow suicide of the Cloward-Priven Republicans. My nose is too sore to hold anymore. If we are going to kill our representative republic, I prefer a single gunshot to my own head.
Bo| 11.4.10 @ 2:18PM
If you're voting for O'Donnell and Angle and didn't have to hold your nose, you must've lost your sense of political smell. Those were two total clunkers.
Derek Leaberry| 11.3.10 @ 4:51PM
Although Aleck is quite correct that the Republican elite has earned itself derision and consignment to the outer darkness(and that includes George W. Bush and Dick Cheney), the Tea Party may have cost Republicans two races, the Senate races in Delaware and Nevada. Christine O'Donnell and Sharron Angle were incoherent and undisciplined as campaigners. Mike Castle and Danny Tarkanian would have been better candidates. Of course, Castle would have added little to the Republican Party but an organizing vote and perhaps would have been a puppet for the loathsome Heckle and Jeckle of the Republican Party, John McCain and Lindsey Graham.
In the end, Republicans did well in 2010. What they should learn is not to fritter away Senate and House seats in misguided Middle East military adventures as they did in 2006 and 2008.
serfer62| 11.3.10 @ 5:59PM
So Dereck why is it so important to win the senate majority? Lets see, better offices, committee heads, prestigue and not one damn things that gaurantees conservative priciples. Gram, McNast & the Maine sisters do nothing for the conservative movement and neither would the primary clown losers.
Get over it.
Charie| 11.5.10 @ 1:53AM
Why is it tht you people can't understand the concept of the numbers. Why don't you study the methodology of the House and Senate so you can figure it out.
The GOP never even got a bill out of committee the past couple of years much less got it on the floor for a vote.
If you're a committee chair and have a majority of your party in the committee you can get bills out and also block bills. This isn't kindergarten here, kids. It's the Big Leagues and to nonchalantly say we should get rid of 2 Republicans is just plain nutz!
The same thing in the House. The Dems had the majority in the house which is why we ended up with Pelosi ramming bills through like a madwoman. If the Republicans were in the majority she wouldn't have come near the gavel!
Just read up on how the two houses of Congress are run!
Republicans were in the minority for about 40 years until 1994. Do you want to go back to that? Never having a bill of our own put forth. All they got then was Democrat bills to either vote aye or nay on. What said whether they passed or not was how many Democrats voted aye or nay. Is that what you want again?
Margaret Schlosser| 11.3.10 @ 6:59PM
Christine O'Donnell was not 'incoherent'. Castle savaged her before the primary. People in Delaware said he had lost his reputation as a 'nice guy'.
The local GOP did nothing to help her. They kept Castle's poster pictures in their offices well after the primary.
I was not a fan of hers in the beginning, but followed her campaign. The two half-hour video's she made, I think would have greatly helped her greatly, had they been shown on local cable TV.
Unfortunately, they were not shown. The local cable outlet said they 'forgot' to show them. Later, they came out with a different excuse, but too late for Christine. I saw it the day of the election on a Conservative blog.
A well respected Conservative in Sussex county, said that 50% of Sussex county voted. However his opinion was that from the numbers, she wouldn't have won if 70% had voted.
The influx of new residents in the last 10 years, added to the overwhelming number of Democrats in the other two counties, is turning Sussex co., into a purple county instead of the only red county in Delaware.
Larry Sheldon | 11.3.10 @ 4:54PM
The Republicans had best not be concerned about third parties and get focused on being one of the three.
The GOP got a Final Notice yesterday.
gearjammer| 11.3.10 @ 5:51PM
Where you gonna go ? You are not the BOSS ! have a little respect for the other half or so of the republican party. This is a marriage-the spouses get equal respect and rights. Stuff your political Sharia law up your ass !
serfer62| 11.3.10 @ 6:01PM
gear j...bad night for you huh?
Charie| 11.5.10 @ 1:57AM
gj, why don't you get off the internet if you can't keep a civil tongue in your head? You're the only one here with a filthy mouth.
Nick| 11.3.10 @ 5:16PM
Here is the list of democrats who should be easy to beat in '12:
Bill Nelson - FL
Claire McCaskill - MO
Jon Tester - MT
Ben Nelson - NE
Kent Conrad - ND
Sherrod Brown - OH
Bob Casey, Jr. - PA
Jim Webb - VA
Here are the democrats who, with a determined, conservative offensive, should also lose in '12:
Debbie Stabenow - MI
Amy Klobuchar - MN
Jeff Bingaman - NM
Joe Manchin - WV (Yes, he's up again in '12)
Herb Kohl - WI
And, here are the RINOs who need TEA Party challenges in the 2012 primaries:
Richard Lugar - IN
Bob Corker - TN
Orrin Hatch - UT
Kay Bailey Hutchison - TX
If we can pick-up 75% of the democrat seats, i.e. 10 seats, and all of the GOP seats, that would give the TEA Party about 23 seats in the Senate, a very powerful voting block.
gearjammer| 11.3.10 @ 5:36PM
Too bad we can't clone O'donnell. It would solve everything.
Nick| 11.3.10 @ 6:04PM
Why so bitter, Gearjammer?
Bo| 11.4.10 @ 2:22PM
Here's a list of Senators that won because the Tea Party blew it:
Harry Reid - NV
Michael Bennet - CO
Chris Coons -DE
Nah, we won't need those seats when trying to override a veto of the health care repeal.
Nick| 11.4.10 @ 4:37PM
Bo,
It takes 67 votes to override a presidential veto in the Senate.
The TEA Party "blew" nothing.
Tyler| 11.3.10 @ 5:18PM
This little bit of "conventional wisdom" is just another lie intended to discourage the grassroots from continuing reforming government. I don't know whether O'Donnell (and Angle and Miller) was capable of winning if her own party hadn't undermined her. I do know that the GOP establishment have made it very clear that they are not on our side.
The proper question is not whether the Tea Party "cost" Republicans a couple seats by backing actual conservatives over RINOs, but what would the entire field look like without them?
The bottom line is, the only way to put a stop to this madness is to elect people who actually believe in the Constitution. If we're not successful, we'll just go back and forth- Republicans, Democrats, Republicans, Democrats, etc., and nothing will ever change.
RINOs are plentiful and nearly worthless. Actual conservatives are rare and priceless. Don't ever apologize to anyone for backing conservatives.
gearjammer| 11.3.10 @ 5:54PM
The party did not undermine her-she got a ton of money-I sent some even though I knew it was a waste. She was not good enough.
ste| 11.3.10 @ 9:26PM
It wasn't for lack of money but lack of faces. Not one Republican stumped for her in the state, she had to go it alone. Obama, Biden, Kerry, Kaine, and many other Democrats coming to the state.
Granted she had plenty of video from the past, doing a comedy show, but was more right then wrong on even those issues, though you'd never know it from the MSM. Local and national press had something negative to say about her most every day, yet nothing on Coons, and he is no saint.
Bo| 11.4.10 @ 2:23PM
O'Donnell couldn't have won in Oklahoma much less Delaware.
Grant Johnson| 11.3.10 @ 5:40PM
Perhaps better to ask how many seats the Republican Party cost conservatives. Could O'Donnell have won this year in Delaware if the party actually used the primaries to LISTEN to their supporters and then marshalled resources in support of their choice? Who knows?
We DO know that Castle supported Cap-n-Tax and a host of other socialist policies. How would his election have helped "we the people"? Meanwhile the TEA party moved the ball downfield to such an extent that another Republican "loss" saw the election of a Democrat in West Virginia who is taking literal shots at the Cap-n-Tax bill.
The party insiders that supported Castle have barely had time to scrape the Crist and Specter bumper stickers off their limos, but they think the TEA Party picked bad candidates? Win or lose with Miller in Alaska, Murkowski is a bridge to nowhere.
Grant Johnson
Tom Poole| 11.3.10 @ 5:54PM
Mitch McConnell thinkd Coryn did a great job in the election. I think he, Rove and several other "leaders" of the Republican Party should look in a mirror and acknowledge that had they done their job, that is, support the winners of the primaries, we would have taken both House and Senate. If Alaska goes to the Dem, or Murkowski, it will be all Coryns fault. I'm almost of a mind to think this was a repeat of '08 when McCain gave up in September. A pox on all the "leaders", followers take charge now.
serfer62| 11.3.10 @ 6:04PM
Right on Tom. Any examination of the leadership from as long as a year ago would tell you that they were going to make no waves on GOP proposals. BUT they did on preprimary selections that hurt the national GOP...I mean christ! Scuzzyflava! Good grief...
Sean| 11.3.10 @ 6:18PM
It is nice to have a conservative choice. Castle is not a choice for conservatives. What the Republican party heads fail to understand is a lot of people are conservatives first and Republicans second. Give us a Castle and we will reject him. A Castle v Coons election is a victory for the left. We would rather fight and lose than surrender without a fight.
Chuck| 11.3.10 @ 7:17PM
Did you notice four pro-life Tea Party backed GOP Senate candidates lost yesterday? Not surprising the GOP establishment who happen to be pro-abortion wanted them to lose. A more pro-life senate is a threat to the Roe v. Wade preservation society. Remember the senate advice and consent federal judiciary appointments including Supreme Court justices. 5 of the 7 justices who voted for Roe v. Wade were GOP appointees. Things are getting curioser and curioser.
Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 11.3.10 @ 7:29PM
The truth is that the Republican leadership in the Senate are either incompetent or they felt a polish charge at the machine guns was appropriate.
It appears the Republican leadership tried to pull a fast one on the public and members of their own party when they tried to run a slew of RINO's including Crist in Florida and Castle in Delaware. I truly believe that the R Leadership in the Senate was taken by surprise when the public was no longer asleep at the wheel.
Regardless, they picked up some seats even though a smashed pumpkin could have run a better campaign.
But listen to them now. I just saw McConnell claim he would wait until January to make a decision about what to do about raising the debt limit. This was on a day when the FED raised the debt limit by printing 600 billion, and the buying it back, thereby debasing the currency. McConnell couldn't even utter a faint protest.
The ruling class has plans of their own and if you don't fight them every step of the way you and your families are doomed to serfdom in Oceania.
Gold BC| 11.3.10 @ 7:46PM
After what happened to JFK in '63 no one fights the FED. Politicians are scared to death of the FED the most powerful organization ever to exist. No investigations, no audits but trillions of our tax dollars stuffing their silk stockings-tax free interest paid to an unconstitutional foreign dominated central bank.
Sheila| 11.3.10 @ 7:55PM
I just saw McConnell as well, and that's exactly what I yelled at the t.v. - the milquetoast couldn't even say "No" when asked if he would vote to raise the debt ceiling. Oh dear, oh dear - we couldn't possibly let the government shut down! As Sean said, I would rather fight and lose than surrender. I'm just waiting for the first genuine conservative to step up here so I can volunteer for his/her campaign and get rid of Kay Bailout - John Cornyn as well. They do not represent conservative Texas.
Ben Pugh| 11.3.10 @ 7:54PM
If we didn't have the Tea Party, we'd have Senator Specter, Senator Crist, Senator Grayson and Senator Feingold instead of Senator Toomey, Senator Rubio, Senator Paul (!) and Senator Johnson. It looks like we'll be stuck with Senator Murkowski regardless.
Charie| 11.5.10 @ 2:04AM
Absolutely, Ben. Tea Party backed candidates won a whole lot more times than did candidates not backed by the Tea Parties. Remember when G. Bush stumped for that weasel, Specter. Toomey was backed by conservatives then but he couldn't make it until the Tea Partiers came out for him in this election. Anyone who thinks the Tea Parties hurt the Republican candidates is smokin' something that ain't tobacco.
Tim*| 11.3.10 @ 8:31PM
Which O'Donnell Conservative Positions on The Issues are O'Donnell Critics saying she was wrong about ?
Michael L. Hauschild| 11.3.10 @ 8:42PM
Yes, the tea party cost the Republicans Senate seats. The conservatives have cost the Republicans Senate seats, the SoCons….. , the neo-cons…. , ect. But, the landslide was due to the Tea Party and that my fellow traveler is the bottom line. Tred lightly in their presence, they carry that flag for a reason.
WL| 11.3.10 @ 9:26PM
Folks...regardless of who would have won if this or if that...
Keeping RINOS out is extremely important...lets remember..."there's no difference between the parties" is what is hurting our cause. ALSO, "those right-wing extremists" is hurting it too...
The good news:
Pale differences will give way to stark differences the better our people stick together and we eliminate the RINOs....the Dem voters who are misled...(some are just garbage) will then see more clearly...KINDA LIKE THEY "SAW" REAGAN....
Secondly, the few tea party "extremists" that we got IN...will further show how they are NOT "extremists" when the squishy Repubs are caving and playing on the Leftist's field (as they always do) people can hear the "extremists" saying what THEY ARE THINKING THEMSELVES...
Gonna take time....just like it took time for people to see the truth about the Bamster...
Patience folks...I know we don't have much time to save the place...but even if we fail...
Sometimes starting over is the best way anyhow...
Tim*| 11.4.10 @ 5:58AM
40 Tea Party Candidates and still counting Are Now in The House,
5 Tea Party Candidates and still counting Are Now In The Senate.
While The Jackassian Party lost 6 Senate Seats & and 60 to 64 House Seats.
Siegfried X| 11.4.10 @ 7:31AM
We should ask "Did the Republican establishment cost us Senate seats?" The answer, of course, is yes. The establishment lost those seats by choosing candidates like a world wrestling executive, a billionaire with an illegal alien nanny, and an ex-corporate executive who had laid off tens of thousands of US workers. All of those candidates had no political experience, just like those Tea Party candidates which the establishment criticizes like O'Donnell and Miller.
And of course the leadership is responsible for everything that happens, including divisions within the party. If the Republican party had competent leadership then it would be united. The leadership's failure "created" Jim DeMint and the Tea Party.
Yosemeti Sam| 11.4.10 @ 9:59AM
" Did the Tea Party Cost the Republicans Senate Seats? ....
Yo, did the ORIGINAL Tea Party and it's spawned impetus 'freedom express' succeed in a brief and 'bloodless' victory in dealing with being MIDDLE-FINGERED by their opposition?
It - the American and CONSTITUTION developing revolution - did not come easy!
Um, GW - knew something about winning some and losing some!
What now, the doubt: how politically gosh of the Tea Party movement of today - to win some and lose some?
Somewhere, out there, is a political-savy GW who will take up the BATON and exercise
generalship towards a re-constituted home-bred CONSTITUTION oriented America.
Yo, Tea Party - go into TURBO mode!
And - bypass the Democrat bus in the ditch!
WhiteBikerTrash| 11.4.10 @ 11:15AM
This must all be seen as the first battle won by the Constitutionalists/Classic Liberal/Country Class!
The Republican Party has not represented us in over 100 years, although they have pandered to us, for our votes. Just as the Democratic Party first pandered to the left before their takeover. Now we have a voice in a unorganized group called the "Tea Party" The left fears us, because we show the light on their "Intents" and the results there of, and the Republican Party fears us for two reasons. The first, our take over of their structure throwing out the Ruling Class RINOs. Then the second, the thought of our breaking away to become a third party, taking our Conservative values, and leaving them impotent. We have proven that we don't need them, and they know that they need us! They will continue to sabotage our honest attempts at returning our country to Constitutional principles, simply because that would degrade their POWER! The Ruling Class has been warned!
james wilson| 11.4.10 @ 12:35PM
It's two questions, not one. The Tea Party cost one Senate seat, possibly two. Conservative voters decided having Castle "represent" them was a great mistake, greater than being represented by a Marxist who was not of their own party. They were right.
I do not know what seats the TP gained (many, in the House), but it gained a great deal of respectability and reason to continue for conservatives. It's a start, not a finish.
John| 11.4.10 @ 12:39PM
McCain, Grahamnesty and all you other elitest republicans, sit down in the back and shut up. We'll do the driving, you had your chance and blew it. Shut up!
Gadsden Tea| 11.4.10 @ 2:05PM
It is somewhat revealing to me that someone would attempt to blame the Tea Party for seats lost which have been held by the democrats for decades. O'Donnell lost a seat held by Joe Biden, which speaks volumes about the expectations of the electorate in Delaware. Perhaps O'Donnell wasn't enough of a clown for them. I don't know, but judging from their voting record, liberty, fiscal responsibility, and constitutional governance seem to be somewhat low on their priority list.
We Tea Party types expected these Alinsky type tactics and we are neither deterred, or apologetic. We expected the GOP establishment types and their DNC fellow travelers to join hands in doing everything in their power to discredit the movement. I dare say we won more than we lost, or you wouldn't be reading articles like this one in AS. You can bet you have not heard the last from us, and we will never be cowed into returning to the establishment status-quo of holding our nose to vote.
Good attempt though.
Long Ben| 11.4.10 @ 3:32PM
Haley Barbour said well , that the Party should not get involved in the primaries . Doing so is interloping and a little arrogant . Delaware I think is not so outhouse crazy blue as California is . Instead of pooh pooing the will of the people in Delaware and treating Christine as not " their type " of Republican , the will of the people in the primary should have shut the machiavellian and calculating mouths of the central schemers of the Party . And help should have come with all dispatch .
Rude Waken| 11.4.10 @ 6:17PM
I was watching SA against HR campaign and had mixed feelings about the progress. Sure SA did a really good turn out for a newbi, but it was no match for media heckles in news programming and the unions. If you looked at the Red/Blue map, it was just the casino counties that went with HR. Obviously HR won because of promises of special favor to the unions, not because the people of NV wanted or even likes HR.
Dale | 11.4.10 @ 10:56PM
I live in Colorado and the reason Ken Buck lost is voter fraud. The main counties with large populations are Denver, Adams, Boulder and Arapaho they were all late in turning in election results. The first three counties are run by democrats and they gave the democrat candidate the the votes needed to win at the end.