The Republican Tea Party is not a third party. There were a million questions a year ago (not so much now, obviously) about "who are the Tea Party"?
The answer should have been obvious. But since we have a semi-ridiculous political class it wasn't. Here it is:
They are Republican primary voters. That's all they ever were. And that's why they're a mixed bag. Some are social conservatives, some fiscal, etc. The mixed bag shouldn't have perplexed people, but it did.
Now what does this have to do with Democrats? Well, I'll tell you. Their small band that can control the larger Republican party can be copied by Democrats. With the same results. After the fold, I'll explain how...
First, you have to understand why Dems lose so many arguments that they should win. Not just when they have the people (which can be an illusion), but when they have the actual facts (they can prove mathematically that they're right).
The healthcare debate was a good example. How could Republicans say that universal healthcare would bankrupt the country, when the countries with it (and not just small Denmark countries, large ones like Germany and Japan) spend about half what we do?
And how could they say it would kill old people when the ones in countries with universal healthcare live measurably longer?
For the same reason that Tea Party people primary establishment Republicans. The establishment has a love affair with the establishment.
You have to say "love affair" because "business" does not describe everything a political hack gets out of being a political hack...
Why don't Dems ever try to sell a government program the way someone in private industry would try to sell something in private industry? The way a maker of Porches or Cadillacs would try to sell one of his or her cars? That is: It's worth the money. Buy it.
In other words, why don't Dems say: "We're not going to cut medicare. It's a popular program. People like it. People pay for things they like. Therefore we're going to raise taxes to pay for it. Not just on the well off. But on anyone making over $30,000 a year. It'll be some of the best money they've ever spent".
And then: "And if the people want it, we'll offer a medicare for all. Republicans say the government can't do anything right. Well, medicare seems to work all right. If the tax payers are willing, pay a higher medicare tax, and you'll never have to worry about health insurance again. But we are being straight with you. This cannot all be paid by the top 2%. The math simply doesn't add up. But pay the medicare tax increase, and you'll have health insurance until you die...er...so to speak."
If Obama would have said something like that during the health care debate, it would have been so clear, so right (no, not that kind of right!) it would have become a triumph.
So why didn't he? For the same reason so many here are pissed off at him. But many of you can't quite find the right words why.
Some say he's a Republican. He's not. A Republican wouldn't nominate those two Supreme Court Justices. In fact, with those two Justices, the DADT repeal, and the Health Care Bill (if the monkeys who wrote it didn't write it so badly that the mandate can take the whole law down) no one who worked for Obama in 2008 should feel they wasted their time. Those are important victories for liberalism. But why not more?
Because he's no Republican. But he is an Establishment Democrat.
The Tea Party understand that establishment Republicans are nearly as dangerous to the republic as Democrats. Progressives need to learn to understand that establishment Democrats are nearly as dangerous as Republicans.
This has nothing to do with forming a third party. The Tea Party is not a third party. It has to do with using the primary challenge to hold democrats accountable. Not for what you say they should do, but for what THEY said they should do.
Primary the lying bastards. Then in November, hold your nose and vote for the establishment type if you couldn't get him or her. Just like the Tea Party will vote for Romney if they can't take him out, and it's him or Obama. But they will at least try to take him out.
Why is it that the one Democrat in the Senate who seems to have read the Democratic Party Platform, isn't even a Democrat (Bernie Sanders...and I exaggerate, there are others who seem to have read it, but not many)?
Progressives are going to have to do it. Only progressives care enough about the Democratic Party to change it. But other Americans will benefit from getting one of the two major parties from under whatever shit-sea both parties have been drowned in.
You need to:
1. Primary all "centrist" democrats. The Tea Party did this with all centrist republicans. People said they were stupid. They weren't. They got a lot of way conservative people in, and even in the disasters (Christine O' Donnell) scared the shit out of the future centrists. Like: "If she can take him down there, then anyone can be taken down anywhere, by anyone".
2. Vote for the establishment Democrat if he or she survives in the general. But only with the clear message that you will take them down next time unless they change their wicked ways. And mean it. Not a bluff. The only thing that may save Boehner from the hatred of the Tea Party, is they may hate the President more...
But that has got to be cold comfort for the cocksucker.