Republicans are looking at what (they're saying) tea party candidate, Jack Davis, did to them in New York state this week. Presumably it wasn't that Republicans really really lost (no! impossible!) it's that the eccentric candidate ruined their clear chances holding onto that seat.
The numbers may be against that assumption, but what are facts to Republicans! Dust in the wind!
Tea Party activists say Davis was an “impostor candidate,” because he ran for office several times as a Democrat before claiming the Tea Party mantle. He still managed to win 8 percent of the vote, and Republicans claim he deprived Jane Corwin, the GOP nominee, of the win.
For Republican senators, it’s conjured the memory of H. Ross Perot splitting center-right voters in 1992 and 1996, ensuring the election and reelection of former President Clinton. Some worry third-party candidates could cause similar havoc in 2012. ...The Hill
Watch for relations between Republicans and "their" tea party get worse.
Of course, every shade of Republican is looking for a gain in his or her position. Jim DeMint is right in there.
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), a member of the Tea Party Caucus, said it’s likely a Tea Party presidential candidate would run in the 2012 general election if Republicans nominated a centrist to challenge President Obama.
“It’s a real danger if we nominate someone who is clearly moderate and not espousing conservative views — it’s a real danger,” said DeMint.
This reminds me of an old B movie in which the ship hits the iceberg: a sharp crack, the top of the berg crashes on deck. First one mast falls and then another. Passengers fight to untangle from the rigging and jump into the nearly frozen sea.
That's what the Republican party is beginning to look like. Broken and desperate and kind of comical at the same time.
