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Back to the Future?

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  January 28th, 2011 at 11:49 AM  | 

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I sure hope the Tea Party Express backs away from perhaps the lamest comment uttered so far gearing up for 2012.

Sal Russo, chief strategist for Tea Party Express, says TPE won’t go after Orrin Hatch in 2012 because 35 years ago Orrin Hatch supported Reagan over Ford.

No, I’m not making that up.

There are lots of reasons one may decide not to oppose Orrin Hatch. But having to jump into the way back machine to find one should not be it.

Club For Growth, perhaps in a hint of what it intends despite what its statement says, sent out a press release with these remarks from CFG President Chris Chocola:

“While Senator Hatch’s activity in the 1976 presidential campaign is commendable, a lot can change in 35 years,” said Club President Chris Chocola. “Senator Hatch has a lower lifetime average on the Club for Growth’s Congressional Scorecard than his former colleague Bob Bennett for a reason. Orrin Hatch has done some good things over the decades, but six term incumbents who vote for TARP, the Bridge to Nowhere, the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac bailout, SCHIP, and higher taxes are quite clearly not ‘as good as it gets,’” Chocola said. . . .

Chocola concluded, “We have made no decision about the upcoming Utah Senate race, but when we do, our decision will be about improving the Senate in 2013, not 1977.”

As of yet I have no dog in the fight, though I suspect tea party activists in Utah, with or without TPE, will be looking for someone to oppose Hatch in 2012. That’s just reality.

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COMMENTS

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  • victrola

    I sometimes wonder if the Tea Party Express organization is a Soros-funded outfit. They were the geniuses that put Christine O’Donnell over the top in Delaware (and gave quite a bit of money)

    If there’s one place it makes a lot of sense to draw a line in the sand, it’s Utah. It’s impossible for a Democrat to win statewide, and the primary is tailor-made for activists.

    My only concern is that a QUALITY candidate is used to challenge Hatch, not a dingbat with ZERO experience who’s only qualification is they have “activist” on their resume.

  • talgus

    Examples of the corrupting power of Washington. No matter how high your ideals, living amongst the parasites of the people penetrates all defenses. TPE needs the slow down of filibuster between their brain and media spokesperson.

  • http://teapartisan.wordpress.com Socrates

    Every election.

    The party must keep in practice, and primary elections are the best way to identify our voters.
    ———–

    * That doesn’t apply to open primary states, but there should be no open primary states. In open primary states, Democrats could take out a good Republican in the primary without consequence.

  • earlgrey

    Didn’t they endorese Walt Minnick who voted for Pelosi as speaker? (He is a Dem).

    I don’t see how Utah wouldn’t be a great source for a very conservative Senator. Hatch has been there forever. He doesn’t realize that Democrats aren’t his friends anymore.

  • acat

    Who are the Tea Party Express anyway? Who gave them a megaphone? Who put them in charge?

    If you replace TPE with GOP, these are about the same questions that were being asked by the Tea Partiers at one point .. and they need to be asked again…

    Mew

  • http://www.theprecinctproject.wordpress.com ColdWarrior

    They learned the rules and then used that knowledge to elect the right kind of delegates to the nominating Utah Republican Party nominating convention. But they had to actually go to some meetings. And read some rules beforehand. So they knew what they were doing. And they had to organize a little bit.

    And then they pulled it off.

    Follow their example where you live. But writing about it won’t make it happen. You have to actually get out of your chair and away from your keyboard and go to your Republican Party committee meetings.

    I wrote about how they did it in Utah here:

    http://www.redstate.com/coldwarrior/2010/05/08/2101-of-3500-of-75000-denied-bob-bennett/

    Will you be sitting bleachers of politics this year and in 2012, or will you get out of the bleachers and down onto the sidelines and get into the game by going to your local monthly committee meetings to find out about how to become a voting member of the Party — a precinct committeeman? Will you just complain and offer your ideas on a blog about what “the Republicans” should do or will you become one of those Republicans actually engaged in Party politics and drive the change?

    Will you hope for change? Or make change?

    It’s really up to you. And me. It’s no accident the Constitution begins with “We the People.”

    Fed up with Obama and his Marxist/progressive/socialist minions? Fed up with the lack of fight from our Republican contingent in the House and Senate?

    Here’s the big question: What are you going to do about it?

    Thank you.

    For Liberty,

    ColdWarrior

  • Brian Hibbert

    As you’re probably aware, 1/3 of the Democrats in our state house didn’t have a general election challenger. We GAVE them the seats without even offering an alternative.

    It’s no wonder we seem to be a permanent minority in Illinois. We just haven’t bothered to try to win.

    ——

    I’ll climb off my bloggy horse now.

  • earlgrey

    I get emails from Tea Party Patriots, but I don’t know if they are affiliated with Tea party express. I know Michelle Bachmann has been closely aligned with Tea party patriots.

  • chihank

    was done on behalf of the Tea Party Express. The TPE does a good job of challenging the GOP Establishment. I am a bit surprised they are letting Orin Hatch go.

    I wonder if the Tea Party groups will be more focused on the 2012 Presidential race than ousting GOP incumbents. Will Lugar, Hatch, Corker, or Snowe face Tea Party opposition?

  • Change Jar Conservative

    But the others should.

    In fact, I’d love to see Pence take on Lugar now tha the has ruled out POTUS.

  • Change Jar Conservative

    But the others should.

    In fact, I’d love to see Pence take on Lugar now tha the has ruled out POTUS.

  • acat

    … as far as I can tell, their “authority” comes from their contacts within the media.

    We must remember that Tea Party is not a brand name or trademark, anyone can use it… and therefore we should question anyone claiming it.

    Politicians succeed by running over and getting in front of parades already in motion, after all…. if we don’t want these guys in front of the parade …

    Mew

  • froster

    thingy first, and then the top two go onto the general electorate.

  • acat

    then .. different strokes for different folks applies.

    I don’t like that some states have an open primary. Doesn’t matter what I think unless I can act to change it, eh?

    And this time, the Utah approach worked out pretty well. Next time, the establishment may be ready to fight more effectively to keep Orrin, but .. we’ll see.

    Mew

  • Change Jar Conservative

    we’d have far more conservative Republicans.

    If Bennett had made the primary last year, there is no way we’d have Lee for a Senator now.

    The “average” Republican voter is going to vote based on name recognition.

  • Change Jar Conservative

    we’d have far more conservative Republicans.

    If Bennett had made the primary last year, there is no way we’d have Lee for a Senator now.

    The “average” Republican voter is going to vote based on name recognition.

  • bk

    More like he’s a victim of this “process” business, where you don’t care how much the other side screws you over as long as they follow the proper process to do so. Meanwhile his opponents on the D side say screw the process – whatever it takes to get our way is fine with us.

  • carolina

    But Tea Party Express Chairwoman Amy Kremer e-mails The Ballot Box to say that’s not the case and that Hatch is still very much under the Tea Party microscope in Utah.

    http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/senate-races/140887-tea-party-express-hatch-isnt-off-the-hook-yet

    Hatch is not out of the woods.

  • carolina

    But Tea Party Express Chairwoman Amy Kremer e-mails The Ballot Box to say that’s not the case and that Hatch is still very much under the Tea Party microscope in Utah.

    http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/senate-races/140887-tea-party-express-hatch-isnt-off-the-hook-yet

    Hatch is not out of the woods.

  • carolina
  • carolina
  • froster

    i don’t care that the Utah Republican convention handed us Mike Lee. Sure, he’s going to be a better Senator than Bennett.

    But…

    It’s the Utah Republican electorate (not 100-200 “activists”) that should decide who their nominee is. And if they want Bennett or Hatch, they want Bennett or Hatch. If those two are so bad, Mike Lee/Jason Chaffetz or any other conservative Republican challenger should be able to defeat them among the broader electorate. 100-200 activists should not overwhelm the entire Republican electorate (and most Independents who are conservative and a lot of conservative Democrats in Utah)

    And while we are on it, I’m against the open primary. And if I’m not mistaken, Indiana might have a open primary. And that could spell problems, because Lugar needs to leave immediately.

  • aesthete

    I suppose y’all can mark me as the monarchy sympathizer :) but there is significant merit to having the selection process tended to by persons interested in our cause than by disinterested people who are, by and large, voting because they have nothing else to do.

  • froster

    Just ask Mike Castle, Charlie Crist, and on the Democratic side, Martha Coakley

  • StandardCandle

    and yet so many were quick to judge.

    I understand that the Senate Tea Party Caucus has good intentions to remain a caucus of the people… let’s hope it stays this way, and we don’t get narcissistic endorsements just because some Jerk has the title of “Chief strategist”

  • Adjoran

    But let’s target a Republican with a LIFETIME ACU rating of 89.15.

    Pure genius – if you are a paranoid schizophrenic off his meds.

  • redbankrick

    The Tea Party Express is a rip-off, pulling pr stunts to gain self publicity…they are a disgrace. They allowed that idiot Mark Williams to go on for months making us all look like racists, welcoming neo-Nazis in to our movement.Their latest disgrace was fundraising off of the death of that 9 year old & the tragedies in Aziz. The only other slime doing that was Socialist Bernie Sanders. They should be ignored, isolated & boycotted. They might as well be Soros funded.

  • clement

    I might be able to overlook his votes on bailouts….