Losing an election to a so called "establishment republican" brings out the worst and that is what happened when U.S. republican Senator Thad Cochran beat tea party challenger Chris McDaniel in Tuesday's run off election in Mississippi.
McDaniel would not concede the election, railed against the open primary (even though he was familiar with it) was angry that black democratic voters contributed to Cochran's win and spoke about a third party in the future. McDaniel had the support of Sarah Palin and out side tea party groups that poured in millions of campaign dollars. He won the initial primary vote but the run off primary was his to lose and that he did.
The tea party candidate saw the so called "republican establishment" as main street conservatives willing to compromise. That does not really describe the republican party in congress. If that was so, the "establishment republicans" especially John Boehner and Mitch McConnell would have crushed the tea party's obstruction within the U.S. House and Senate. Those two republican leaders went along with the tea party's demands, that is why the federal government was shut down not very long ago.
Palin and many other tea party leaders are now hinting at starting a third party movement since very few of their candidates have done well in recent elections. They hate Washington, or so they say but want to serve there. They like to invoke the names of our country's fore fathers but our fore fathers if living today would have nothing to do with their phony ideology. They are not serious public servants who want to serve their country to make things better. That can only be done by compromise. No party or individual has all the answers even though tea party people think they do.
When one stops to think about it, it is amazing that President Obama has had some accomplishments in moving the country and its people forward. The so called "established republicans" vowed from day one not to help him and then they let the tea party people in congress intimidate them to not take up bills passed by the U.S. Senate and prohibited other important issues to be voted on.
And all the while our country and its people are paying a price for their childish and extreme ideology.
This commentary written by John Lucia
