The Tea Party, a driving force of conservative momentum during the 2010 midterm elections, has fizzled out to nearly nothing according to a memo out of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
The Tea Party was considered a major factor in what President Barack Obama called a “shellacking” in the 2010 midterm elections, and endorsements from the conservative movement were believed to have influenced the outcome that ultimately shifted many House and Senate seats to Tea Party-affiliated candidates.
The Tea Party’s role in the 2010 midterms ultimately led to significant partisan gridlock, such as 2011’s debt ceiling crisis, during which America’s credit rating was downgraded due to partisan bickering.
But just two short years later, a weary and broke America seems to have lost interest in the Tea Party, if the DCCC is to be believed. A memo sent by the group highlights the Tea Party’s core tenet of not compromising on legislation and progress, saying that the group that once swept the House now flounders as Americans reassess their priorities in the 2012 election:
“In 2010, these Tea Party Republicans ran on a common agenda: blocking President Obama, repealing health care reform, opposing government regulation, favoring massive cuts in government spending and refusing to compromise. They arrived to much fanfare as they took control of the House.”
The memo continues:
“Now, a merely 24 months later, the Tea Party agenda of this Republican Congress is toxic. The approval ratings for this Congress — and for the Tea Party — have plummeted. House Republican incumbents—and their candidates—are running as far away from the Tea Party as they can.”
Finally, the DCCC says:
“Regardless of whether they win or lose, the Tea Party of 2010 is over. They’ve been forced on defense in the message fight all cycle long, and now those who win will have done so by giving up on the Tea Party.”
Do you think the Tea Party is gone for good as the 2012 election approaches?
