GOP FIGHT - THE GLOVES ARE OFF.

For the Republican establishment the merits of the tactic of holding the Government to ransom over ideological issues has been resolved. They followed the Tea Party approach in the recent fiscal battle and the result was a disaster. They reason the Tea Party approach has failed and the Establishment is going to go ahead with the traditional approach of the Republican Party - business centered free market enterprise with decreased regulation and unbridled capitalism. 

However, this assumption is based on the premise that the Tea Party is “fighting fair” and will allow themselves to be subject to Party Discipline and allow the Republican Party to send a clear focussed message.  The Tea Party does not accept the basic value system that Washington operates under. (Blog: Washington’s Fiscal Chaos Explained, October 16, 2013 ). The Tea Party will be more focussed in consolidating its take over of the Republican Party then sending a unified message in the fight against the Democrats. 

TEA PARTY DECLARE VICTORY

The Tea Party deny that the shut down, that cost at least 24 billion dollars, has shaken the faith in world markets about American financial leadership and stability and brought the Republican Party ratings to a record low of 25%, was an unmitigated calamity. They believe that their shutdown was a screaming success and that the Republican establishment abandoned them.  In addition they fail to realize that an opportunity was lost over those three weeks to attack the launching of Obamacare that was ridden with glitches.

In yet another unprecedented harangue, on the Senate floor, Ted Cruz attacked his fellow Republicans for selling out. “Just think how this might have ended if the Senate Republicans had stood behind their House colleagues”. Cruz maintained that Washington once again had failed to listen to the American People.

The Tea Party is in this for the long haul. Their supporters are ecstatic over Cruz who now has national recognition. The Tea Party supporters represent close on half the Republicans that vote in the Primaries and the demoralized establishment are in no state to take them on. They also have large financial resources behind them.

Ted Cruz has to be the Tea Party frontrunner for the Republican Presidential nomination and as things stand at the moment it is very difficult not to see him as the Republican nominee.

It is fair to say that the Tea Party’s assessment of the value of creating financial chaos as a political weapon differs markedly form the Republican establishment.

ESTABLISHMENT REPUBLICAN WAKE UP TO REALITY

The Republican establishment went to the brink in attempting to appease their Tea Party faction. Now in this “take no prisoners” fight the Tea Party is still going to mount Primary challenges to all those who, after 16 days of wilting attack, finally voted to open the Government. Mitch McConnell, Republican leader in the Senate, who has filibustered over 400 times to prove his right wing metal, already faces a Primary challenge. Sarah Palin has rejoined the fray and has reinforced the threat to mount destructive Primary challenges.

Possible establishment Republican contenders to be the Presidential candidate have distanced themselves from the latest confrontation. Chris Christie, who has to be the establishment’s only hope, has more than intimated that the behavior of his Tea Party Republican colleagues is unacceptable. Jed Bush was even less subtle in his criticism; they follow veteran establishment figures such as Bob Dole who stated that Nixon and Reagan would not get the Republican nomination in today’s Republican Party.

Senator McCain has led the current establishment opposition to his Tea Party colleagues. He stated that the Senate and the American people had been subjected to the most shameful and agonizing odyssey by this fiscal showdown.

Some of those unelected institutions that control the GOP are having second thoughts about the Tea Party. Grover Norquist’s of the Americans for Tax Reform that makes every Republican legislator sign a pledge that they will not increase taxes stated that Cruz “slashed and burned and dragged Republicans across broken glass for no purpose”. 

The traditional business institutions, which support the Republicans, such as the Chamber of Commerce are wringing their hands in horror. The Tea party is not remotely geared to their interests. - In fact far less so than the Democratic Party.

The Republican Party always played the game according to the Washington rules and stuck to their ideology of supporting big business over “the workers”.  For decades the give and take between them and the Democrats allowed America to prosper and generally provide the highest standard of living in the world. This is no longer. The Tea Party has complicated the issue even more as all they support is “little” government that at the end of the day will help nobody.

So the Republicans and all their supporting institutions have to stop pandering to the right otherwise the Tea Party takeover will become total.

WHAT NOW?

Rapprochement between the different factions of the Republican Party seems out of the question. Ted Cruz announced that he does not work for the “Washington Party Bosses – he works for 26 million Texans”. This statement is barely accurate as his bosses are now the unelected institutions such as the Heritage Foundation and their unelected megalomaniac bosses like Joe DeMint.

The Primaries for the 2014 mid term elections assume a major importance for the Republicans. Also the behavior in Congress of the Republican establishment and leadership is pivotal. Jay H. Ell does not rate the establishment’s chances highly. In fact on June 18, 2013 he blogged, “The Republican Party is Dead”.

The Democrats have a chance to win the House of Representatives against all original expectations, as they have to get several million more votes than the Republicans to do so. It now seems possible.

If the Obama administration does not sort out their glitches in the launching of Obamacare that just might ameliorate the Republican pain and minimize the damage that the Republicans have inflicted on themselves.

Obama is less and less likely to be challenged by the Democratic Party left who are not at all happy with his middle of the road policies. The party is united, as they smell blood.

One piece of gratuitous advice for the Establishment Republicans – stop fighting Obamacare – it is a done deal. Concentrate on trying to at least being a strong presence in your Party so that when the diehards finally tire of the "do nothing" Tea Party shibboleths and smears they have something to return to.