The 19th-century cartoonist Thomas Nast, who made the Republican Party an elephant and the Democratic Party a donkey, would, if he were alive today, have reason to draw the Tea Party as a paper tiger. Glenn Beck, Michele Bachmann, Ron Paul
| Ron Paul? |
He could have saved his breath. There's evidence that this Tea Party rebellion is a bust.
Or maybe the census isn't too high on a lot of folks' list, Dana.
There are other indications, too, that the conservative Tea Party movement is louder than it is big. Remember the Tea Party rally on the Capitol grounds the day of the House health-care vote? There was a pro-immigration rally on the Mall that day that attracted far more people. But the Tea Party got much greater attention, in part because Republican lawmakers joined the protest from the House balcony. In addition, most Tea Party-backed candidates have had little electoral success. As the Wall Street Journal reported, 18 Republican House members faced primary challenges last month in Texas, but all incumbents won easily.
Time will tell, Dana. I'll look forward to your column on Sunday, November 7th.