Weak Tea

Kaplan Daily columnist E.J. Dionne takes a look at the upset victory by Democrat Kathy Hochul in the deeply Rethuglican NY 26th Congressional District today. He also smacks those that wanted to believe the Tea Party was the wave of the future:

"From the beginning, too many Republicans (and too many in the media) saw the Tea Party as a broadly based movement whose extreme anti-government views reflected the popular will. This was never true. The Tea Party consisted of citizens on the right end of politics who were always there but got angrier and better organized after Obama was elected. They crowded the polling places on Nov. 2 while progressives found other things to do."

We can recall the crowing by Rethug leaders after the 2010 elections, claiming to have "heard the voice of the people." (Odd they didn't hear it in 2008, isn't it?) No, they are only listening to their hard core right wing activists who stormed the polls. Now, as the teahadist agenda is biting them in the buttocks, Rethugs are looking at the broader electorate and beginning to realize the public's not drinking the tea.