The Revolt Continues

Two top pollsters, Scott Rasmussen and Doug Shoen, have a piece in the Washington Examiner on how the Tea Party movement is reshaping politics in America:

The Tea Party movement has become one of the most powerful and extraordinary movements in recent American political history.

It is as popular as both the Democratic and Republican parties. It is potentially strong enough to elect senators, governors and congressmen. It may even be strong enough to elect the next president of the United States -- time will tell.

But the Tea Party movement has been one of the most derided and minimized and, frankly, most disrespected movements in American history. Yet, despite being systematically ignored, belittled, marginalized, and ostracized by political, academic, and media elites, the Tea Party movement has grown stronger and stronger.

Read the rest of it here.

The GOP establishment is reeling a bit today. Several Tea Party backed candidates, most notably Christine O'Donnell in Delaware, won big upsets last night, more or less telling the GOP establishment to shove it. And the establishment isn't taking it well. Karl Rove had a meltdown on Fox News that really angered conservatives all over the country as he lambasted Christine O'Donnell's win. She fired back at him in this piece.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee, and political body which is responsible for helping get Republicans elected to the Senate, announced they would not help O'Donnell in her race. They have effectively killed themselves among conservatives on the web and will see a dramatic drop in their contributions. Why waste money on that organization when you can donate directly to the candidates you like?  (UPDATE:  NRSC backs down and announces support for O'Donnell.)

The GOP establishment can no longer control who their party's candidates are gong to be, and that angers them.  They want the GOP voters to be loyal to the choices the party's leaders set before us and the Tea Party insurrection is shaking them to the core.

Rush Limbaugh said something interesting yesterday.  He said if the Tea Party movement results in a third party, it won't be the Tea Party that ends up with the smallest percentage of voters.  It will be the establishment Republicans.

I'm not in favor of a third party movement, however if the establishment Republicans refuse to listen to the voters, they're not only going to lose elections, they'll lose all their power to influence future elections.