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**Soresbox** · 07-13-2010, 12:22 AM

Hey, Michelle. Those racists in the Tea Party could make your husband a lame duck.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...WhatsNewsThird

Tea Party and the Path to Power

By GERALD F. SEIB

Here are two big questions hovering over this year's congressional elections: How radical is the mood out there, and do Republicans have a real chance of taking back control of the U.S. Senate?

And here's a simple way to track the answer to both: Simply keep an eye on four tea-party amigos chasing Senate seats in the key states of Nevada, Kentucky, Florida and Colorado.

In those four states, candidates with tea-party inclinations and the support of tea-party activists have either won the Republican nomination or, in Colorado and Florida, are making serious runs for it. A couple of those candidates are people who would have been given little chance six months ago of winning a nomination, much less a general election.

In each case, Democrats and some outside analysts think Republicans may be shooting themselves in the foot by nominating candidates who can be painted as extremists with conservative views outside the mainstream, in a year when simply nominating safe, garden-variety Republicans would be good enough to win.

But are these candidates really going to be a drag for Republicans? Or are they canaries in the national coal mine, telling us that the disenchantment, fear and anger that have developed in the wake of the worst economic recession in 75 years are driving voters to seek out-of-the-box candidates and ideas they wouldn't have embraced before?

Those questions are being tested in Kentucky by Rand Paul, ophthalmologist, political novice and son of libertarian Republican Rep. Ron Paul of Texas. In Nevada, it's former state representative Sharron Angle who has won the nomination by pushing a brash populist message.

07-13-2010, 12:22 AM	#1
Soresbox Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 356 Senior Member	Tea Party Surge Could Give GOP a Shot At Senate Hey, Michelle. Those racists in the Tea Party could make your husband a lame duck. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...WhatsNewsThird Tea Party and the Path to Power By GERALD F. SEIB Here are two big questions hovering over this year's congressional elections: How radical is the mood out there, and do Republicans have a real chance of taking back control of the U.S. Senate? And here's a simple way to track the answer to both: Simply keep an eye on four tea-party amigos chasing Senate seats in the key states of Nevada, Kentucky, Florida and Colorado. In those four states, candidates with tea-party inclinations and the support of tea-party activists have either won the Republican nomination or, in Colorado and Florida, are making serious runs for it. A couple of those candidates are people who would have been given little chance six months ago of winning a nomination, much less a general election. In each case, Democrats and some outside analysts think Republicans may be shooting themselves in the foot by nominating candidates who can be painted as extremists with conservative views outside the mainstream, in a year when simply nominating safe, garden-variety Republicans would be good enough to win. But are these candidates really going to be a drag for Republicans? Or are they canaries in the national coal mine, telling us that the disenchantment, fear and anger that have developed in the wake of the worst economic recession in 75 years are driving voters to seek out-of-the-box candidates and ideas they wouldn't have embraced before? Those questions are being tested in Kentucky by Rand Paul, ophthalmologist, political novice and son of libertarian Republican Rep. Ron Paul of Texas. In Nevada, it's former state representative Sharron Angle who has won the nomination by pushing a brash populist message.
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