Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann’s enthusiastic political work could disrupt the unity of the Republican Party, an article from the Daily Beast claims. Bear with me here. This idea formed from the fact that she wanted a Conference Chair to give “constitutional conservatives” a clear voice.
She may be considering a run for presidency, admittedly based on the fact she’s going to Iowa for fundraising and gave a vague answer when questioned about her intent to run.
And finally, “on Friday, Bachmann announced that even though Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan is slated to deliver the official Republican response to President Obama’s upcoming State of the Union address, she would be giving her own online rebuttal on behalf of the Tea Party Express ‘shortly after’ Ryan’s speech concludes.”
Her ambition is worrying the GOP leadership, who mostly supported her rival for the conference chair post, after which Bachman “bowed out” from attaining the post.
Their concern seems to be her ambition is underscored by her lack of actual political acumen. The article mentions while an excellent speaker and fundraiser, she so far has failed to propose new legislation.
The GOP is not fond of her possible presidential ambitions, either. Any such ambition for the short term will probably be beaten out by the party rivals. Giving Bachmann a chance to develop some actual experience for a possible run later on is another case of the Tea Party interfering with the unity of the Republicans.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the Tea Party still doesn’t get it. The GOP is dealing with a group of loose political cannons they can’t afford to have around. Solidarity is the greatest strength of the GOP, and the Tea Party seems to be intentionally undermining that unity.
That’s the occupational hazard of new politicians, it seems. If Republicans can’t control their Tea Party members, distancing themselves from the group might not be a bad idea.
Yes, the Tea Party movement is a big block of conservative voters. But are the kind of politicians they want in office good for the GOP, or even the nation at large?
Of course it’s a bit early to be jumping to conclusions about the effectiveness of the Tea Party elected officials, but the evidence so far does not bode well for the future.
Unfortunately at this point, the best the Republicans can do is damage control and containment of the problem. Of course, that will really tick off the Tea Party movement, which, if nothing else, will separate from the GOP. And this could even lead to another third party.
That would likely split the conservative vote, though. And a split conservative vote means a free ride for the Democrats.
No matter how you slice it, things do not look good for the GOP. They’re either stuck with a bunch of volatile, unpredictable, over-eager, ambitious loose-cannons, or they alienate those cannons and split the voter base.
On the bright side, the Republicans have a year or two to figure out a solution, which is good, because it’s going to be a doozy.
