Tea Party vs. Republican Party

John Samples at Cato (click here to read the article) argues that Tea Party folks shouldn’t look to the Republican Party to represent or aid their efforts.  He argues,

[The movement] is not Republican; it is not even conservative. It has no interest in debating the merits of No Child Left Behind, abstinence-only sex education or George W. Bush’s rationale for going to Iraq. Replacing a “spend and borrow” Democrat with a “spend and borrow” Republican is not the goal of the Tea Party movement.

This movement is simply saying: “We are fine without you, Washington. Now for the love of God, go attend a reception somewhere, and stop making health care and entrepreneurship more expensive than they already are.”

I agree with Samples in part.  The Tea Party people are a long ways from where the Republican Party is now (or has been for quite some time).  Maybe there’s not hope for reconciliation.  That said, there are many true conservative politicians out there currently running on the Republican ticket.  If the Tea Party-ers could galvanize and empower those true conservatives, maybe the Republican Party could be reformed.  I’d love to hear other thoughts on this.

Also, Erica and I touch on this topic in our latest discussion podcast, Symposium #7.  Check it out by clicking here.