Moist Tea Bags

You could tell that their plans to "take back" their country wasn't going to work out as well as they hoped as soon as Doug Hoffman appeared on the scene. And after Scott Brown blew-up in the Tea Bagger's faces, it's starting to look like things aren't getting any better.

From Texas to Illinois to upstate New York, a string of lackluster showings for tea party-linked candidates have highlighted a central question about the group’s future: Can an organic and fledgling movement that lacks the institutional grounding and top-down organizational strength of either major political party transfer protest-oriented grass-roots energy into tangible success at the polls?

Some observers raise the question of whether the tea party crowd is cut out to achieve electoral success — or whether it is more influential as a more radical, guerrilla movement. “I think they are tremendously influential as a force in the November election,” said Curt Anderson, a veteran GOP strategist and a top adviser to the Republican National Committee. “Except if you see them as an organized political force — in which case, they have been less relevant.”

The early results from tea party candidates, despite their focus on hot-button issues such as opposition to President Barack Obama’s health care reform bill and concern about budget-busting policies of both parties, have not been pretty.

The Tea Baggers can't afford to operate as a completely independent party, as they will drain votes away Republicans and Democrats will likely gain even larger majorities. However, some people could simply opt to not vote at all. But considering their newly discovered "patriotism" and "love of country", I'm guessing that there isn't going to be a Tea Bagger NOT voting - and we all know who they'll vote for.

Recently, though, NPR reported that many within the Tea Bagger movement that are considering running for political office are doing this at the local level. This, at least to me, makes more sense, as many within the Tea Bagger movement lack the policy and procedural chops required for national level positions. This isn't to say that they couldn't get votes, or worst, actually win a seat in the House or Senate at some point in the future. If the later were to happen, it's almost a certainty that their actions would be a detriment to the country in one fashion or another.