We don't hear the Tea Party mentioned accept with nostalgia for what it could have been.
It came from out of 'nowhere' and set the stage for a conservative resurgence after eight
years of George W Bush talking of limited governance while growing the federal government
with all its trappings that continued the move of our nation of independent states to a country
governed by a city.
'Nowhere' occurred in 2010 when eighty, newly elected Congressman surprised Washington
and even the Republican Party by giving the party control of the House and setting the stage
for serious efforts to return control to Congressional districts rather then allow control to remain
in the District of Columbia!
The first thing I noticed about the Tea Party were the dozens, then hundreds, of grass roots
Tea Party clubs springing up across the nation, all uniquely independent, not merely a subset
of existing Republican clubs, proving that any club which labels itself one thing is meaningless
unless it performs as it promotes itself.
Tea Party grass roots efforts were the key to Republican success across the country as the party
grew by more than 1200 elected offices at local, state and federal levels, something the GOP
could never have done on its own.
But, despite its success the Tea Party became a 'prize' left on the trophy shelf to be admired,
not the force it was meant to be.
The Tea Party was almost immediately neutered by one of its own leaders, former Rep. Michelle
Backmann who could not help herself and co-opted its independence by making its caucus a
subset of her own.
Adding insult to Bachmann's action both John Boehner and Paul Ryan treated new Tea Party
members as 'reliable votes' rather than important partners. Neither man did much to embrace
the only Republican caucus which was fully committed to the party's platform as the party remained
subservient to Washington, not its constituents.
Despite the election success, by every other measure the Tea Party never became the force it
earned the right to be, even as its many clubs remained strong advocates and actively engaged
in elections.
As the Republicans continued to hold control of the House and even win the majority in the Senate,
the conservative resurgence strengthened despite the distance from its leadership.
A telling sign occurred in January, 2015,when the Freedom Caucus was born , led by an unlikely
first term Republican from North Carolina, Congressman Mark Meadows.
Meadows did what Bachmann did not, he allowed to Freedom Caucus to have its own identity as
most other Congressional caucus have.
The Freedom Caucus will shortly be three years old and Meadows has become a force, ensuring
true conservatism will not once again be put on hold.
Most importantly, we now have a president, Donald Trump, who actively engages Meadows and
the Freedom Caucus. Trump understand his sixty million supporters ARE the Freedom Caucus as
they were the Tea Party.
Neither Rep. Meadows or President Trump will allow this political juggernaut to wander aimlessly
as Bachmann allowed the Tea Party to do.
One distinction is that I have seen no indication the Freedom Caucus has populated the country
with grass roots clubs as the Tea Party did. Perhaps this is due to the organic creation at the grass
roots level, not born within the halls of Congress.
Never the matter, if the Freedom Caucus fulfills the dreams of Tea Party members, we can't ask
for anything more, can we?
Feedback appreciated. Feel free to enter in comments section below, or email, ajbruno14@gmail.com "Point of View" blog http://ajbruno14.blogspot.com/
