For the record, Nevada tea party activist Karel Smith has my point regarding Sharron Angle and the 2010 GOP primary exactly right:
“I repeat that Sharron Angle was not THE tea party candidate; she was A candidate endorsed by one or two tea party groups and she was supported by some people who consider themselves to be tea party activists. But there was never a consensus and there was never just ONE tea party candidate.”
Exactly. Angle was “a” tea party candidate in the primary. She became “the” tea party candidate in the general after winning the primary.
The point is that had Tea Party Express not come into Nevada and dumped hundreds of thousands of dollars of independent expenditures into her campaign, Angle wouldn’t have won the primary. She simply did not have the unified support of the NEVADA tea party groups who were divided among the field of candidates.
Yes, there were tea party folks who supported Angle. But there were also a lot of tea party folks who supported Lowden, Tarkanian, Chachas, Chistensen and Parsons, as well.
But that’s all water under the dam. The question now is this: Is Sharron Angle THE tea party candidate for CD2 (not including Tea Party Express)? Or are tea party activists in NEVADA again split?
I suggest that again the tea party folks are split.
Sharron is very polarizing. She both attracts and repels. And while she might be the Republican candidate with the best chance of winning the special election, she might also be the one Republican who could cause that seat to go to the Democrats. If NEVADA tea partiers don’t want to see Calamity Kate Marshall representing Barbara Vucanovich’s district, they better get their stuff together and unite behind ONE candidate.
I have a modest, somewhat self-serving suggestion in that regard. If any tea party leaders are interested, please give me a shout: chuck@chuckmuth.com
