Since Nov. 6, there has been no shortage of opinions as to why
challenger Mitt Romney and the Republican Party failed to ouster
President Barack Obama. Pre-election divisions in the Republican Party
between moderates and conservatives have only widened since Romney’s
defeat and the party’s strategy for the future remains unclear, a source
of contention and heated internal & external debate.
Specifically,
many now wonder what the sobering 2012 election results means for the
right-leaning Tea Party, the champions of personal freedom and smaller
government who exploded on the political scene in the 2010 midterm
elections. The re-election of a progressive like Barack Obama would
seem to signal the end of the conservative Tea Party, but the movement’s
conservative leaders insist that last month’s election results only
vindicate the group’s message.
“The Tea Party is not a political party; it’s an informal community
of Americans who support a set of fiscally conservative issues,” says
FreedomWorks’ Matt Kibbe. “And when you take a look at the roster of
new fiscal conservatives being sent to Congress next year, it’s clear
our issues are winning.”
Indeed, although the Tea Party may be focusing the vast majority of
its ongoing efforts on local issues, the conservative movement has left
an undeniable mark on the national GOP establishment. The group’s
mantra of uncompromising fiscal conservatism and limited government has
remained a driving force in shaping Republican platform.
Since Nov. 6, there has been no shortage of opinions as to why
challenger Mitt Romney and the Republican Party failed to ouster
President Barack Obama. Pre-election divisions in the Republican Party
between moderates and conservatives have only widened since Romney’s
defeat and the party’s strategy for the future remains unclear, a source
of contention and heated internal & external debate.
Specifically,
many now wonder what the sobering 2012 election results means for the
right-leaning Tea Party, the champions of personal freedom and smaller
government who exploded on the political scene in the 2010 midterm
elections. The re-election of a progressive like Barack Obama would
seem to signal the end of the conservative Tea Party, but the movement’s
conservative leaders insist that last month’s election results only
vindicate the group’s message.
“The Tea Party is not a political party; it’s an informal community
of Americans who support a set of fiscally conservative issues,” says
FreedomWorks’ Matt Kibbe. “And when you take a look at the roster of
new fiscal conservatives being sent to Congress next year, it’s clear
our issues are winning.”
Indeed, although the Tea Party may be focusing the vast majority of
its ongoing efforts on local issues, the conservative movement has left
an undeniable mark on the national GOP establishment. The group’s
mantra of uncompromising fiscal conservatism and limited government has
remained a driving force in shaping Republican platform.
Since Nov. 6, there has been no shortage of opinions as to why
challenger Mitt Romney and the Republican Party failed to ouster
President Barack Obama. Pre-election divisions in the Republican Party
between moderates and conservatives have only widened since Romney’s
defeat and the party’s strategy for the future remains unclear, a source
of contention and heated internal & external debate.
Specifically,
many now wonder what the sobering 2012 election results means for the
right-leaning Tea Party, the champions of personal freedom and smaller
government who exploded on the political scene in the 2010 midterm
elections. The re-election of a progressive like Barack Obama would
seem to signal the end of the conservative Tea Party, but the movement’s
conservative leaders insist that last month’s election results only
vindicate the group’s message.
“The Tea Party is not a political party; it’s an informal community
of Americans who support a set of fiscally conservative issues,” says
FreedomWorks’ Matt Kibbe. “And when you take a look at the roster of
new fiscal conservatives being sent to Congress next year, it’s clear
our issues are winning.”
Indeed, although the Tea Party may be focusing the vast majority of
its ongoing efforts on local issues, the conservative movement has left
an undeniable mark on the national GOP establishment. The group’s
mantra of uncompromising fiscal conservatism and limited government has
remained a driving force in shaping Republican platform.
