Rand Paul's win in Kentucky, Sarah Palin's national prominence, Herman Cain's temporary popularity and a handful of other races around the nation gave those who like the TEA party plenty of excitement over the last year or so. But looking across the nation now it is hard to see a growing TEA party influence this cycle.
Newt Gingrich might get more TEA party support than Romney but Newt is far from the kind of outsider candidate which the TEA party seemed to prefer just a few months ago. Ron Paul has his followers within the TEA party but the group was not formed around him and many TEA partiers have noticed how he has faded in the polls. What many are beginning to notice is how the money interests of the establishment gives it an advantage over the long haul. In other words, though the TEA party flashed quickly onto the national stage, those with the most chips can stay in the game longer.
Perhaps what the TEA party needs to do is put aside its emphasis on national races and the ones that get all the attention and instead focus on party re-organization and the local races. When the chance arrives to put one of their members on a party committee, the city council, the school board or in a county office, that is where they might find a better shot at building a movement from the ground up.
Comments