Much has been written this week about the apparent demise of the Tea Party not only here in Georgia but across the nation. Debbie Dooley’s ill-fated trip north has been well documented, and while she promises to keep the pressure on the Speaker, the margin of victory for Ralston, (65%-35%) seems to be all that need be said. On the Senate side, Tea Party favorite Paul Broun could never quite pick up any momentum, while late choice Karen Handel fell to ‘establishment candidate’ Jack Kingston and failed to reach the runoff. Dark days for a movement that once seemed poised to take over the Republican party.*
*As an aside, there is an argument to be made that the essential platform of the Tea Party has been absorbed into the Republican establishment. In that sense, while the corporeal form of the Tea Party may be gone, its spirit remains like the ghost of Obi Wan Kenobi guiding young Luke Skywalker in his bid to gain a majority in the U.S. Senate. That, however, is a different story for a different day.
For all the slings and arrows fired at the Tea Party though, nobody can say that they aren’t resilient. You can bet that they’ll be back in the mix as Jack Kingston faces off with David Perdue for Republican nomination to face Michelle Nunn in November. The question then is who do they support, and what role do they play?
Perdue, at first, seems the obvious choice. He is the ‘Washington outsider’, a role which he embraces. Tuesday night during his victory speech he told a crowd of supporters, “We retired three career politicians. And we’ve got one more to go.” If that’s not the exact type of fired up rhetoric the Tea Party loves to hear, I don’t know what is. It sounds like a quote Ted Cruz would print out and stick on the front of his fridge. Herman Cain, Tea Party darling in 2012, is perhaps Perdue’s most high profile supporter, saying “He is not going to become a part of the status quo establishment, and he understands how to identify problems, what the problems are and how we solve problems. Because what we need most are people who are not afraid to rock the boat, solve problems, and put bold ideas on the table.”
However Perdue, as he was in the primary, is going to be painted as ‘the moderate’ candidate. His stance on Common Core is a bit wishy-washy and he’s been accused of not voting in GOP primaries in past election cycles. Kingston has called him time and time again a ‘moderate flip-flopper’, pointing to his own consistent Conservative voting record as a counterpoint. Perdue received next to no Tea Party support in the primary, and it seems unlikely that any of those who rallied behind Handel would be willing to jump over to the man who so famously questioned her educational credentials.
So Kingston then gets the brunt of Tea Party support right? After all he’s the one with the nearly spotless Conservative voting record in Congress. The one who has helped cut the federal budget, the one who is strong on national defense. Radio personality and Conservative blogger Erick Erickson was quick to jump over to Kingston after Handel’s defeat, and one would have to imagine that most of her supporters will follow suit.
But no, Kingston is unlikely to receive the Tea Party blessing either. He’s been in Congress for 22 years, a ‘career politician’ if ever there was one. He has establishment support, as evidenced by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce pouring nearly a million dollars into the primary on his behalf, with more aid likely on the way. He has a Conservative message to be sure, but it is certainly not one that promotes change and upheaval.
Who then, does the Tea Party support in this high profile race? It seems unlikely that it would sit out the most contested and important race of the cycle, especially considering its disappointing performance in the first round of primaries. Does either candidate want the Tea Party though? Does either candidate need it? Money isn’t an issue in this race, as both men have deep pockets. Kingston probably has the larger grass roots movement, so perhaps the Tea Party could aid Perdue in that respect.
It would have seemed inconceivable 5 years ago that in the highest profile GOP contest in the state, if not the nation, the Tea Party would be completely uninvolved. As of now, that seems to be the case. In a race that promises to be a kock down, drag out slug-fest, these two candidates will surely welcome support from wherever they can find it, so stay tuned as we keep a close eye as it develops over the next couple of months.
