If every Senate primary were handled the same way as in Utah, Barbara Boxer would be the most conservative Democrat in the chamber. It’s impossible to make any sweeping statement about the dynamics of the current election cycle based on a closed process where activists get to pick their top choice.

NObama 2012. If the so-called “progressive movement” cannot even bring itself to loose that election, then it is pretty clear which side the authoritarian worshippers of the Lesser Weevil At All Cost are on.

This is an inside the GOP Right Winger coup staged as a popular insurgency. Without the Tea Bagger’s money men fronting them and the support of Christian Coalition GOP party members this coup would go nowhere.
Do the Tea Baggers even have a majority of GOP voters?
Do they have popular support on the issues? Nope this is like pushing a string the GOP wants to create a movement first and hopes the people will follow later.

It’s impossible to make any sweeping statement about the dynamics of the current election cycle based on a closed process where activists get to pick their top choice.

True thats why I think the Right is attempting a coup, where they can pick off moderates in closed processes.
Granted they might beat regular GOPers in a Primary but at what cost of GOP resources?

I think we’ve all been watching this play out with somewhat bated breath, along with a lot of speculating about what it all means. Those in the Tea Party movement will strongly state that they are in no way being “astro-turfed” or “led” by anything other than what they are thinking all on their own.

With no disrespect intended (truly), all one has to do is spend less than a few hours for one day listening to rightwing radio shock jocks (Rush is the head of the class, clearly), plus Fox “Newz” and the usual line up of suspects, to see how the propoganda, talking points, walking points, etc, are pumped out. From very unscientific, but personal experience, nearly every Republican I know – and now some call themselves Tea Party, and some call themselves Libertarian (and what do those labels REALLY mean???) – spends some part of almost every single day listening to their rightwing agenda radio shows, watching Fake Noise, and so on.

And you’re going to tell me that this new “movement” is bottom up? I willingly grant that there is definitely some dissatisfaction amongst the “average righwing voter,” but I would posit that they are being led very frankly to do exactly what they’re doing. The meme about not being “purist conservative enough” was out there in full force towards the end of W’s Admin. MANY of these same people were excoriating W for being “too liberal” years ago (not just towards the end of the tottering regime).

El Lushbo has been pushing the ever more facistic meme for quite a few years now. I can’t stand him, but he bears some attention bc he does have so much power, albeit I just see him as a paid whore mouthpiece for the corporate oligarchs.

No, in the end, while this is all very interesting, I personally do NOT see it as something coming “from the ground up.” I see it as something very definitely planned and thought out by the same old authoritarian power structure that has been in play for now decades. May even have Rove’s and Cheney’s stench on it, but not sure about that.

There’s money and a lot of quiet organizing being done to make it much easier for the “boots on the ground” to appear to be doing the “dirty work” and hence, “getting their way.” I think the rightwing serf voter is being manipulated. But… I guess I could be wrong.

And then finally, let us not forget that, no matter what, these so-called Tea Party and Libertarian activists get TONS of media coverage wherever they go and whatever they do. I’ve been ranting here and elsewhere for a while now that it does *look as if* these rightwing activists are so much more “ogranized” and “active” than the left is. However, for as many times that there’s been Tea Party protests, esp over the past six months, there’s been an equal number of left wing protests of varying kinds, such as anti-war rallies, anti-Tea Party Tax Day rallies, the immigration reform protests against the draconian AZ law, etc.

The rightwing media simply puts a black out on most of these left wing protests, many of which have been way more highly attended than even folks here at FDL might think. The Anti-Tea Party Tax Day rallies, for ex, drew quite a number of protesters in various cities, including Wash DC. Did YOU hear or see anything about them?? And if not, then what does that say to you?

For all we see and hear about the rightwing “activists” never forget that they have powerful and wealthy interests funding and/or supporting them in many ways, including providing them with LOTS of media. The left: not so much.

Sometimes we superimpose plans where there are none. This is best understood by reference to old Frankenstein movies, in which the doctor is overcome by his own invention. Since at least 1964, snarly bilge-feeders have been pumped up by the Repugnant handlers; they have sowed the wind and now they shall reap the whirlwind.

Also look at the difference in how Bennet was treated by his party versus Holy Joe. The D Establishment hates their ostensible grassroots.

I would posit that the D establishment hates their “grassroots,” bc we are not AS easily manipulated (albeit we do get manipulated and misled *some* of the time, too). See my prior post, I believe that the rightwing grassroots have been manipulated by the powers that be to do most of what they’re doing.

The Bennett case is not alone. You have specter and Crist pushed out by real primaries as well.

The right wing has the potential to destroy the Republican Party. They are demanding purity – whatever their definition of that is – and the party will continue to get smaller and more tightly wound. And wackier. The more power they get, the crazier they sound, so in the future I don’t think too many people will want to be Rs.

and Obama and his neo-liberal pals have the potential of destroying the Democratic Party, if they haven’t already.

absolutely.

Not at all. The Tea Party will deliver what their overlords want, tax cuts.

I would suggest that the Teabaggers were created and revved up by corporate advertising opposed to HCR. This was their genesis. Then people like Dick Armey came along and harnessed the created outrage to improve their own power base and fundraising potential. And currently, it is the Dick Armeys who, along with Rushbo and Glen Beck and the other members of the Wurlitzer, who are giving direction to the remaining Teabaggers. Unfortunately for the Republican Party, giving direction does not mean control, so the result is a group of mobs composed of low-information, racist dumbasses revolting against their previous masters.

The real question here is whether the suthoritarians who control the GOP will ever be able to put the genie back into the bottle. Until they regain control of the mighty Wurlitzer that spews out the hatred and talking points to all the Dittoheads, they will continue to suffer at their hands. I would bet that the GOP finds a way to discredit the Teabaggers(another gay scandal within the ranks?) and put enough pressure on Roger Ailes and Rushbo to cause them to reign in the rhetoric. But it’s all fun to watch, too, sort of like a cage match with 20 rabid dogs if your tastes run to that sort of thing.

I believe there is misunderestimation of Limburger and Faux’s effects.

They are succeeding. The Tea Party has one major objective. Cut Taxes for the Rich. It is succeeding.

From what I’m seeing there are three factions at play in the Republican Party, establishment, libertarian, and the religious nuts. In other words, establishment, Paul, Palin. They can’t stand each other, the party is completely fractured.

Funny that I am reading all these posts about how the Republicans are fractured and broken yet the Teabaggers are doing “exactly” what us Progressives can’t, putting their people on ballots and challenging their moderates. Post after post talks about how we need “real progressives” in place of Blue Dogs and moderates yet when the day is over we capitulate and roll over for the Obama Party. I will not criticize the other side because they are doing what we cannot. If we get steamrolled in November all these tough talking blogs will mean “nothing”.

A lot of good points made here. First: I agree that this right wing ‘insurgency’ is fueled by corporate money, the same money that built and maintained the Right Wing Noise Machine. The tea baggers aren’t grassroots assholes, they’re assholes mobilized by corporate money. The insurgency is as fake as their independence.
Second: I believe it’s true that whatever the grassroots ‘left’ does gets disappeared by corporate media. However, the biggest problem liberals and progressives have is that they lack the courage of their alleged convictions. If Barack Obama is the best the Dem faithful can put in the White House, then we truly are screwed.