Rove advises tea parties to remain independent

For those who have always accused Karl Rove of being only a GOP political hack, I think this proves otherwise. He could have said, "Corral the tea party movement." But he didn't. As he wrote, "The power of the movement is its independence from Democrats and the GOP:"

There has been a lot of talk about combining the tea party movement with the Republican Party. And on a small scale, that seemed to happen last week in South Carolina after state GOP representatives agreed to create a "Tea Party Republicans" group to coordinate activities with tea partiers in Greenville and Spartanburg.

This week, however, those arrangements fell apart as some tea party groups dissented from the decision. Other attempts to draw tea party groups into formal alliances are running into similar difficulties. That is a good thing. The tea party movement will be more effective than it otherwise would be if it refuses to allow itself to become an appendage of either major political party.

Mr. Rove pinpointed the start of the movement:

The bank bailout in the fall of 2008 may have lit the fuse, but the tea party movement began in earnest last April 15 with protests after congressional Democrats and the Obama administration unleashed a torrent of spending: the stimulus package, a swollen omnibus appropriations bill, and auto company bailouts. Democrats also raised the specter of new energy taxes when the House passed a cap-and-trade bill.

The movement's activity reached a fever pitch in August with raucous town hall meetings where senators and congressmen felt the burning-hot opposition of tea partiers to ObamaCare.

After the August townhall meetings came the highly successful 9/12 March on Washington where upwards of 1.2 million conservatives converged on the Capitol to protest government-run health care and more.

Mr. Rove went on to raise awareness of smaller groups within the tea parties:

A small fraction of the tea partiers' leadership are ambitious individuals who haven't been able to hold office in either the GOP or Democratic Party. Some are from fringe groups like the John Birch Society or the remnants of the LaRouchies. Others see the tea party movement as a recruiting pool for volunteers for Ron Paul's next presidential bid.

And then he offered this advice:

My advice to them is to keep their distance from any single party and instead influence both parties on debt, spending and an over-reaching federal government. Allowing third-party movements to co-opt the tea partiers' good name, which is happening in Nevada, will only serve to elect opponents of the tea party philosophy of low-taxes and fiscal restraint. It could also discredit the tea party movement.

Good advice if the tea parties will take it. Be sure and read the entire article. David has good analysis at Augusta Conservative.