The Republican Establishment Hates Tea Parties

It's become more apparent to me, the Republican establishment doesn't have room for the Tea Party. It's been amazing to watch how some self-proclaimed Tea Party Republicans have made it to Washington and quickly turned in their Tea Party stripes for establishment politics. Two names come quickly to mind, Kristi Noem, who told the Tea Party to basically take what the GOP gives you, and Billy Long, who is pushing to expand the powers of the Department of Homeland Security.

So should we be surprised major Internet political sources like the Politico are no picking up at what seems to be the Republican establishment holding their nose at the Tea Party? We heard on Tuesday night that some Republican insiders were upset at Michele Bachmann for agreeing to address the Tea Party after the State of the Union. The establishment wanted all focus to be placed on Paul Ryan, who gave the opposing party's official response to SOTU.

I am not surprised at all. I have always felt many of the Republicans running for Congress were using the Tea Party as a crutch while trying to hide their true colors, and of course in Missouri's Seventh District, Billy Long is the prime example. Something that I have noted about Long, when he talks about the Tea Party, it's always in the direction of Tera Sukman's neocon Tea Party Patriot HQ in Branson, and not the more Constitutionally conservative tea party organizations in Southwest Missouri. (Notice the signs in the window...like I said neocon, decepticon HQ, not strong tea.)

Politico has a strong article today further showcasing the disdain the GOP establishment has for the Tea Party. Tea Parties get in the way by forcing the GOP to live in a way it doesn't want to live--conservative and fiscally responsible to the Founder's standards. Politico reminds of the swipes that have been taken at Bachmann for speaking out against the establishment and committing to the Tea Party cause.

When Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann was named to the House Intelligence Committee earlier this year, one of her Republican colleagues responded this way: “Is that a punchline?” Another simply said, “Jumbo shrimp. Oxymoron.”

Neither dared to attach his name to his comment.

Bachmann’s Republican critics may be sick of her grandstanding, but they’re more terrified of her tea party following.

In just her third term, she has developed a fan base like 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s: Energized, fiercely loyal and capable of making a critic’s life miserable with threats of political retribution. She’s also a huge media draw — whether it’s MSNBC, which lampoons her, Fox News, which promotes her, or CNN, which aired her entire State of the Union rebuttal Tuesday night. All that’s missing is a Saturday Night Live spoof. (See: Bachmann poses challenge for GOP)

It’s enough to make most Republicans think twice before crossing her — or at least wish they had....

And of course, knowing the Republican establishment has to walk a fine line with the Tea Party, which is already looking at getting official third-party status that would risk Republican victories in 2012, the GOP establishment is now backtracking on their attacks against Bachmann and her Tea Party speech from Tuesday night.

“My primary concern with Congresswoman Bachmann’s speech was the timing of it relative to Chairman Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) official response to the President’s State of the Union address. I felt at the time the proximity of her speech was too near Chairman Ryan’s official response,” Chaffetz said. “I have since learned that the timing of Congresswoman Bachmann’s address was not simultaneous to Chairman Ryan’s official response. … Now understanding the true order of events, I would not have made the same comments to the media.”

That’s a far cry from his original assessment: “To try to upend Paul Ryan was just wrong.”

The GOP has egg on their face on this one, and it's apparent they aren't as approving of the Tea Party as they were before last November. In fact, I have good reason to believe they wish the Tea Party died in November after they won their big gains. Tea Parties must watch the Republican establishment very carefully. I say this as a sad warning.