Delaware GOP Bites the Dust
The Tea Party have once again prevailed in electing a nut-job over a serious politician in a Republican primary - YAY!
Firstly, massive props to the Tea Party Express because that machine is backing some of the most ridiculous candidates in the history of American primaries and winning. Joe Miller, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul and now Christine O'Donnell to name a few.
In many ways this could signal the termination of moderate Republicans in House politics with only Maine Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins being notable RINOs. Even self-anointed maverick John McCain has taken a much more conservative outlook, but one day we hope he will re-discover his backbone and quick tongue before he checks out - as well as patching things up with the Daily Show; we miss you.
Now that O'Connell is the Republican nomination, we can take Delaware to the bank as a Democrat seat in the mid-terms; unless they discover their inner redneck. Delaware, VP Joe Biden's state, is largely moderate by nature, not overtly conservative nor liberal. They prefer the middle-of-the-road type candidates which Democrat nominee Chris Coons provides but O'Donnell certainly does not.
The bigger picture is that the state Republican parties and the party's Washington establishment are being out-gunned by the conservative behemoth Tea Party express which is a truly national entity. The trends of course point to a more conservative based party taking shape which is at larger ideological odds with the Democrats than the party is now, and this could play into Democrat hands.
With moderates seemingly exiled from the Republican party, they may find themselves a home within the Democratic party as members of the two smallest factions: New Democrats and Blue Dog Democrats. The former faction is the one Bill Clinton took to the White House whilst the latter is officially a House rather than Senate group with Leader Stephanie Herseth Sandlin in a battle royal with another Tea Party-backed Republican nominee in the relatively conservative state of South Dakota.
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