House Republicans aren't accountable to the people, they're accountable to the Tea Party

In It’s almost like the Tea Party won Steve Kornacki looks at the ongoing tussle between the White House and Republican members of the House over the Sequester, the debt ceiling, etc. He concludes with the following:

It’s an outcome almost no one saw coming a year ago, and one made all the more remarkable by the fact that the most recent election seemed to represent a rebuke of the GOP and its embrace of Tea Party fiscal values.

I think Kornacki and many others are making a fundamental mistake in their understanding of the members of the Republican Party in Congress. Thanks to gerrymandering most Republicans in the House pretty much occupy safe seats. The greatest threat they face is not at the next election but in the preceding primaries. That's where the Tea Party, with its organisation and money, is at its strongest. House Republicans who do a deal with Obama that helps the nation but puts them offside with the Tea Party may well lose endorsement at the next election. On the other hand, not doing a deal no matter what the consequences for the nation could see them re-elected. What option do you think they'll take?

Tea Party vs Occupy Wall Street

In Tea Partiers: The self-hating 99 per cent Heather Digby Parton compares the Occupy Wall Street movement to the Tea Party movement. It's an interesting read if you take an interest in US politics.

Reagan, tax increases and the Tea Party movement

I started writing about the Tea Party movement the other day. In an early draft, which didn't make it into the final blog, I discussed how President George W. Bush cut taxes like his hero President Ronald Reagan. However, unlike his father and President Reagan, he didn't increase taxes when he needed to. That's significantly contributed to the size of the US federal deficit and the national debt.

By a happy coincidence, Mark Barabak has just Reagan an odd fit for red-meat Republicans. In the article Barabak opens by stating that the Republican presidential candidates are about to "pay lavish tribute" to President Reagan. The then goes on to compare how President Reagan was actually a very pragmatic politician and was prepared to compromise when it was necessary and in the interests of the country.

As president, the conservative shining light approved several tax increases to deal with a soaring budget deficit, repeatedly raised the nation's debt limit, signed into law a bill granting amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants and, despite his anti-Washington rhetoric, oversaw an increase in the size and spending of the federal government.

By current Tea Party Republicans standards that would almost make him a communist.

Reagan's willingness to compromise has also fallen out of favour in a Republican Party fired up by its give-no-quarter Tea Party ranks. ''People that pragmatic now are what they call RINOs,'' Mr Spencer said, using the epithet ''Republican in name only''.

Don't hold your breath waiting to see that reported by Fox News.

The Tea Party

The influence of the Tea Party movement within and outside the USA is a real cause for concern.

Bob Altemeyer wrote The Authoritarians that discusses how traditional conservatism in America has been hijacked by the "Religious Right" and amoral authoritarian leaders. He also wrote Comment on the Tea Party Movement that builds on his earlier work. Both are worth reading and can be freely downloaded from his website.

A substantial source of funding for the organisations behind the Tea Party movement are the Koch brothers. Have a read of The New Yorker article The Billionaire Koch Brother's War Against Obama if you want an idea of the people that are really setting the agenda.

Unfortunately, we now seem to have some imitators in Australia. Annabel Crabbe wrote recently that Our culture warriors are fanning too much foreign fare and I guess the Australian Tea Party is an example.

The Tea Party probably wouldn't have gotten anywhere without Fox News. For an interesting article on the guy behind Fox News have a read of the Rolling Stone article How Roger Ailes Built the Fox News Fear Factory.

Edit 5/10: A Bloomberg article on Kock Industries Koch Brothers Flout Law With Secret Iran Sales.

Edit 16/2/2013:  Study Confirms Tea Party Was Created by Big Tobacco and Billionaire Koch Brothers