Tea party Republican wins primary for John Boehner’s seat
A conservative tea party Republican has won the primary for former House Speaker John Boehner’s congressional seat.
If anything should tell the Republican leadership that they aren’t doing what the voters want, even more than the presidential campaign, it is this story. Boehner did nothing but show contempt for the tea party Freedom Caucus in the House, doing anything he could to block them. In the end, they were instrumental in getting him ousted. And as the article notes,
Davidson’s win Tuesday could give those [tea party] lawmakers reason to dig their heels in as things escalate. They can make their case to Republican leaders that, sure, putting their foot down on a proposed budget that increases spending might hinder Republicans’ goal of passing a budget on time. But what they’re doing is really in the interest of a growing number of Republican voters. Look no further than this highly symbolic seat they just won.
Even though I have serious doubts about Donald Trump’s conservatism, his rise is just another indication that the voters are pissed off at the leadership in Congress, from both parties. That leadership had better change its stripes soon, or it will find others taking their place, as has happened with John Boehner..
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
A conservative tea party Republican has won the primary for former House Speaker John Boehner’s congressional seat.
If anything should tell the Republican leadership that they aren’t doing what the voters want, even more than the presidential campaign, it is this story. Boehner did nothing but show contempt for the tea party Freedom Caucus in the House, doing anything he could to block them. In the end, they were instrumental in getting him ousted. And as the article notes,
Davidson’s win Tuesday could give those [tea party] lawmakers reason to dig their heels in as things escalate. They can make their case to Republican leaders that, sure, putting their foot down on a proposed budget that increases spending might hinder Republicans’ goal of passing a budget on time. But what they’re doing is really in the interest of a growing number of Republican voters. Look no further than this highly symbolic seat they just won.
Even though I have serious doubts about Donald Trump’s conservatism, his rise is just another indication that the voters are pissed off at the leadership in Congress, from both parties. That leadership had better change its stripes soon, or it will find others taking their place, as has happened with John Boehner..
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
If there is going to be a President Trump, then we will really need the Tea Party people in congress to keep him from being too unconservative. That they have been willing to fight the current establishment, perhaps means they would fight the Trump establishment.
I don’t know if Trump has coattails but he doesn’t have a nationwide network of candidates running on his platform. There is the chance for Republicans to shape the congress and elect more Tea Party type candidates. It would be rather ironic to elect a faux Republican in Trump but then see congress pick up more Tea Partiers.
Wodun said,
“he [Trump] doesn’t have a nationwide network of candidates running on his platform.”
One reason I’m not a Trump supporter (as of yet) is that I can’t really tell what his platform is, other than a few slogans.
I think he’s a one-off; I don’t know how a senatorial or congressional candidate would express solidarity with Trump, other than say that he/she supports Trump.
Having said that, you’re absolutely right that we would need a solid bloc of Tea Party Conservatives to keep President Trump in check.
I can see people voting for Trump and Tea Partiers, based on the principle of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” I’ve always described the Tea Party as the biggest threat to the Republican Party, as they believe in everything the Republican Party professes to believe in but doesn’t. Trump seems to say the same about himself, but, as always, actions speak louder than words.
Garry wrote:
“One reason I’m not a Trump supporter (as of yet) is that I can’t really tell what his platform is, other than a few slogans.”
If Trump were to win the nomination he & his delegates would shape the Republican platform but by no means control it’s content. He would become the leader of the GOP & necessarily have a lot of power within the Party to shape it & it’s platform, however the RNC is controlled by the GOP establishment. (Which is not just a derisive adjective, it’s composed of real individual people who have served their time within the Party at all levels throughout the Country. Your local/state GOP government-officials or candidates, are also members of the Party.
(Kasich for example– he’s not only the Governor of Ohio, he’s the head of the GOP Party structure, in Ohio, and that includes control over regional & local Party officials, candidates, or elected-officials.)
The Republican Party apparatchik primarily serves to unify, coordinate & run individual State Party Organizations, in furtherance of their goals, as specified in the Platform.
(There is a huge difference between what they say on paper & what they do throughout the organization on a day-to-day basis.)
Further, the RNC controls an extensive war-chest of cash & coordinates matching-funds received from the Federal Government. [recall your income tax return… “do you want to specify $3 to the Presidential…] The Federal government transfers those matching fund to the GOP, via the RNC. Same with the Democrat Party. That money is then filtered throughout the Party structure to the Presidential candidate and all down-ballot candidates of the GOP throughout the Country, State & Local.
Trump claims he will be “self-funding” whatever that really means in practice. Self funding his Primary run only, a Presidential run, or what? Is he funding all down-ballot candidates as well?
The Party isn’t just an idea, it’s a physical organization (a political business) managed, run, and controlled by hard core party operative’s — it’s their job & the Party pays them to do it. (They pay themselves to do it. Rinse Priebus for example– is the CEO of the RNC and by extension the GOP. When Bush was President he was the de facto head of the GOP, but a “professional manager” run the RNC, ostensively “on his behalf.”
–Think in your own life, maybe you have been a member of a club or similar. There’s always the few people who do all the work, if it’s a large enough organization (like the GOP) then it becomes necessary to put people on the pay-roll to run the day-to-day operation’s & those people are invested in their jobs. (Think of the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts– at a “street-level” pretty much everyone is a volunteer, but at the Regional, State & National level the work is done by paid employees.)
As far as the Platform itself—The Rules Committee drafts new rules for each Convention. The Rules & the Platform from Romney’s run, expire the day before the Convention starts.
At which point new rules are enacted & the Platform Committee starts working on the written Platform, under the new rules. The titular head of the Party has a lot of sway, given the number of Delegates he controls, and they would heavily influence the Platform– which every single “plank” must be voted on by every State Delegation. If Trump were to be elected, he would become the President of the Country & the Leader of the Party, which would be administered by the RNC.
I hope the above is somewhat clear— I for example, consider myself a “republican” but I am not a dues-paying member of the Republican Party, nor do I hold any actual position (paid or otherwise) within the Party Structure, nor am I a Delegate.
–All those people know the Party inside & out, because they run it. Presidents & your Local Councilman, come & go, the Party lasts “forever.” (or until they can no longer raise money, recruit candidate’s & volunteer’s’, pay the light bill, etc.)
The trouble with a Trump—not only is he upsetting the ‘established party structure,’ he has considerably less power than he thinks. Part of the job of a Presidential candidate is to pull as many down-ballot candidate’s as possible, into actually becoming elected officials in November.
Again– the Party is not only an “idea” it’s an actual civil-organization, with the added benefit of having a lot of it’s rules enshrined into Law.
Prior to 1960 or so, there were no Primaries– the respective Party’s met at their Conventions and hammered out deals between and among State Organizations, finally choosing a Candidate that would represent the Party and run, along with an entire slate of down-ballot people in every state.
How the Party’s choose their own Candidates, is entirely a “party thing,” which has been semi intertwined with the actual civilian Government. Taxpayers for example, pay for Party Primary elections, not the Party’s themselves. (When each Party figured out they could charge the taxpayers for their own activities, they each, essentially, colluded between and among themselves to enshrine these activities into law– except for the most important part, choosing their own Candidates to run.
The GOP/RNC doesn’t exist to “serve us” they exist to serve themselves. (we work, they eat.)
For Trump to actually consolidate power within the GOP/RNC, he will have to use the apparatus already in existence. He will have to cut a whole-lot-of-deals with a whole-lot-of-people, long before November
-These very same limitations apply to a Cruz, for example as well, but in his case, Cruz already has loyal people within and among almost every State Organization, starting with his home base of Texas and working outward.
Trump may be bring Votes with him, but votes do not translate directly to Party Power.
That would only change after he was elected. At which point the rank-n-file might very well bail, and a new set of people would take more control of the Party.
–I believe it was you who described Trump as being like the ACA Bill, in that we would have to “elect Trump to see what he actually is.”
That– is my huge concern. With a Cruz, I already know what I’m getting.