The Tea Party quickly took credit for David Brat’s primary win over Eric Cantor this week. The only problem was that Tea Party groups did not support Mr. Brat or his campaign. So why is this a victory for the Tea Party and not a victory for people? Especially the real grassroots patriots who are responsible for this victory?
What does that say for the “Tea Party” movement when “representative” Tea Party groups take credit for someone else’s hard work? I call that desperation on the same level as the Democrat’s efforts to label patriots as Tea Party racists. So who really won with David Brat’s victory? David Brat, his real supporters and “We the People”.
David DeGerolamo
How national tea party groups missed the David Brat boat
Leaders of the Tea Party Patriots quickly chimed in on Twitter:
In a post on the FreedomWorks for America blog, President Matt Kibbe wrote, “If you stop representing your voters, they will hold you accountable at the voting booth. We are proud to stand with Dave Brat in his election and look forward to working with him to reform Washington, D.C.”
And the Madison Project’s Daniel Horowitz crowed in a statement that “just a few short weeks ago, the Establishment was working the media over trying to shut the coffin on conservatives and the Tea Party.
“But first Mississippi, and now Virginia’s 7th show that the people, and not the political class will not accept a growing government dead-set on expanding their power, and passing policies that do nothing but line the pockets of special interests,” he added.
So how much did their groups spend to help Brat win?
Zero.
Tea Party struggles to repeat Cantor-style shock in Tennessee
The shock defeat of Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a primary in Virginia this week has fueled hopes among Tea Party activists in Tennessee that they can stage a similar upset against Senator Lamar Alexander in August.
But the Cantor loss, while enough to shake Washington and the Republican establishment, may not be a sign of things to come as the Tea Party movement has yet to show this year it can find a consistent winning formula against Republican incumbents.
