That didn't take long. Turns out this kangaroo Congress isn't crazy enough for the tea party, which already has candidates chomping at the bit to take on Republicans at home. Here's the details
from Alex Isenstadt.
Since the new Congress kicked off Jan. 6, more than a half-dozen Republican congressmen and senators have drawn potential challengers from the right – an unusual level of intra-party electoral strife this early in the campaign season. Many of the incumbents have reputations as solid conservatives – lawmakers like North Carolina Rep. Renee Ellmers, who was elected on the tea party wave of 2010, and Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran, who oversaw the party’s Senate campaign arm in the midterms — but have nonetheless drawn the ire of tea party adversaries.
One of the biggest threats is directed at North Carolina Rep. Renee Ellmers, who helped lead the revolt against the abortion ban bill, causing leadership to pull it from consideration at least temporarily. Ellmers is a pro-life conservative, but that's not good enough.
Jim Duncan, chairman of the Chatham County Republican Party, is said to be considering challenging Ellmers following her successful push to stop the passage of an anti-abortion bill that she criticized as too stringent. It required a rape victim to report an assault to authorities in order to qualify for an exemption from the bill’s restrictions on abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
This is what Republican women get for having an opinion about something like rape and abortion—a male primary challenger who knows better.
Some representatives have invited challenges because they simply voted for John Boehner as speaker. Others just aren't getting the job done and let's face it, several weeks should be plenty of time to turn around the shipwreck known as Congress.
Of course all of this early jockeying for position has a real downside for the country. Every one of these congressional Republicans, including some senators, will spend the entire 114th looking over their shoulder. That means it will be nearly impossible to pass any reasonable legislation.
Many in the party want to pass immigration reform, believing that it would help the party woo critical Hispanic voters in the presidential race. But supporting an overhaul may be difficult for members facing the specter of challenges from the right.