love this

[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by JohnR

I don't know about that. At least the Tea Party is protesting (peacefully) the government reign inn out of control costs and spending to stop the slide we are one. OWS wants Evil Wall St / Government to foot a lot of other people's bills, pay for the college, and give them a safe placed to spark another fatty.

The truth is - as usual - somewhere in the middle though me thinks that it is more realistic on the side of the Tea Party. I'm sure a lot of people in the Tea Party would rather see Wall St lose some of its greed and foster better conditions for Americans in America while OWS would rather have Wall St take the money from the rich and give to the poor, yet still make sure there is money available in order to redistribute.

Good post John. The Tea Party is not waning, not by any stretch. They have re-defined the Republican agenda, no doubt about it, and they elected dozens of Congressmen to the House Of Reps just last November. The Tea Party is a force that isn't going away in the near future.

Funny. Most ardent Tea Partiers would say they were opposed to the Wall St bailouts, which is one of the things that OWS is whining about. SO they have that in common.

You are also correct about this, John...what the occupiers want (free college, debt forgiveness, free wealth) simply isn't feasible. It has been tried a million times (because on its face it sounds great), and it fails dismally every single time. If we could just print enough money to make everyone a billionaire and end poverty, no one would oppose that. It simply cannot be done.

[RIJIMMY]

Originally Posted by Jim in CT

You are also correct about this, John...what the occupiers want (free college, debt forgiveness, free wealth) simply isn't feasible. It has been tried a million times (because on its face it sounds great), and it fails dismally every single time. If we could just print enough money to make everyone a billionaire and end poverty, no one would oppose that. It simply cannot be done.

some of the OWS folks are Ron Paul followers and many are against govt intervention.

[zimmy]

Originally Posted by Jim in CT

Good post John. The Tea Party is not waning, not by any stretch. They have re-defined the Republican agenda, no doubt about it, and they elected dozens of Congressmen to the House Of Reps just last November. The Tea Party is a force that isn't going away in the near future.

If they are responsible for the election of an unelectable republican candidate, they are done. A large majority of people agree more with Obama's ideas than the tea party; with Obama's ratings that may seem counter-intuitive. However, it is true on taxes for the wealthy, medicare, social security, etc. If a Herman Cain or Perry become the candidate, Obama gets re-elected because of Florida, PA, and Ohio. If the non-tea party candidate, Romney, wins it, he could win the general. His election would be in-spite of the tea party, not because of it. The tea party will be a fringe group within 5 years, less if the economy recovers, Obama wins, or Romney gets elected. If Cain or Perry get elected in the general, I will be the first to say I was wrong about the tea party.

[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by zimmy

If they are responsible for the election of an unelectable republican candidate, they are done. A large majority of people agree more with Obama's ideas than the tea party; with Obama's ratings that may seem counter-intuitive. However, it is true on taxes for the wealthy, medicare, social security, etc. If a Herman Cain or Perry become the candidate, Obama gets re-elected because of Florida, PA, and Ohio. If the non-tea party candidate, Romney, wins it, he could win the general. His election would be in-spite of the tea party, not because of it. The tea party will be a fringe group within 5 years, less if the economy recovers, Obama wins, or Romney gets elected. If Cain or Perry get elected in the general, I will be the first to say I was wrong about the tea party.

"If they are responsible for the election of an unelectable republican candidate, they are done."

Wrong, because unfortunately, they have already done that in Senate races in Nevada and Deleware last year.

"A large majority of people agree more with Obama's ideas than the tea party; with Obama's ratings that may seem counter-intuitive. However, it is true on taxes for the wealthy"

I don't disagree with you that most don't side with the tea party on these issues. But first, the number who DO side with the Tea Party (1) is not insignificant, and (2) they all vote. Furthermore, if folks took the time to actually do the math, they would see that it's irrefutable fact that the Tea Party is right...taxing the rich cannot EVEN COME CLOSE to getting us out of this. It's mathematical fact that only deep cuts will work.

"Romney, wins it, he could win the general. His election would be in-spite of the tea party, not because of it."

You're making some assumptions. If Romney wins, you can bet that his VP pick will be someone specifically designed to energize the Tea Party (like Marco Rubio).

"The tea party will be a fringe group within 5 years, less if the economy recovers,"

You're assuming that Tea Party relevence is only measured in the presidential election. Did you read any papers after the November 2010 elections? The GOP opened up a major can of whoop-ass on liberals, and it was largely due to Tea Party enthisiasm. There are literally dozens of United States congressmen who got elected thanks to the tea party. If the economy recovers, it will be the ultimate validation of the Tea Party, not the death bell of the tea party.

There is no way that the GOP nominates anyone other than Romney. There's always an outsider who makes a lot of noise early on. If Cain somehow gets nominated, I agree he'd have a tough time beating Obama, but that's extremely unlikely.

Ask the 50+ Democratic congressmen who got clobbered last November if they think the Tea Party is losing influence, or if they're gaining steam.

The Tea Party has not always been a productive thing (they handed senate seats to the Democrats in Deleware and Nevada last year). But if you think they're not one of the dominant forces in politics today, you are as mistaken as a person can be.