Electorial Tidal Wave...NOW WHAT?
We have just witnessed political history on a scale that we may never see again…maybe at a level that no one will ever see again. Riding in on the back of the Tea Party and a message of limited government, the republicans have been given a second chance, but many questions arise. Will they blow it again? Will the Tea Party be able to keep their incredible enthusiasm for the next two years, or will they self-destruct through trivial differences like Ross Perot’s Independent Reform Party in the nineties?
The progressives in this country misinterpreted the elections of 2006 and 2008 and overreached. They believed that these elections were a mandate for radical progressive policies, when in fact they were a repudiation of the corrupt “Good Ole’ Boy” network and establishment politics in general. The Republican’s of the last ten years had become as corrupt as any party before them and the voters had enough and rightly threw them out in 2006. American’s wanted change, and Obama masterfully delivered that message in the 2008 election. But what change did they want?
Enter the Tea Party. With a simplistic platform of limited government, fiscal responsibility and free trade, this movement has captured the country’s imagination and terrified the establishment both left and right. The progressive left calls them “radicals, racists, and stupid” while the established right-wingers call them “unelectable and kooky”. This is exactly the type of politics that the American people have voted against in the last three elections, 2006, 2008 and 2010. Watch for the smart politicians who heed the voter’s warnings, for these are the candidates that will start to emerge as national leaders, to the chagrin of much of the establishment.
But now what?
The problem with the Tea Party movement is its lack of national leadership and structure. The Tea Party consists of a plethora of individuals and small groups with a deep consensus on a few general policies yet great differences on many social issues. It is this depth, which has given it so much strength this election cycle, which could lead to its ultimate demise. Without a cohesive message after this year’s election, what will the Tea Party rally behind? I like to compare this moment in history to the movie “The Candidate” starring Robert Redford and the late Peter Boyle. The very last scene in the movie has Redford sitting on the bed in a hotel room staring at his campaign manger (Boyle) after unseating the establishment Senator, Redford looks up at Boyle and simply asks “Now what?” and then the movie cuts to the credits. So the Tea Party finds itself in the same situation today.
Now what?
Lee Kennedy is a speaker and author of the Award winning title; Faith Family and Freedom: A Journey of Change—Contact - lee@faithfamilyandfreedom.com