We continue to hear rumblings about the creation of a Texas Tea Party to compete with Republicans and Democrats. If the teabaggers were more than insignificant shills for Rick Perry, they would have already taken steps. We’re about to find out if they have the courage of their convictions.
A theoretical Tea Party out-polled Republicans and Democrats in a survey published last week. The NBC/Wall Street Journal Poll found 41 percent favored the Tea Party, 35 percent favored Democrats and 28 percent favored Republicans. Republican leaders, of course, created tea baggers, and now face a situation where many Texans see the Republicans as full of teabagging crazies, and the teabagging crazies see Republicans as weak sisters. Couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch.
Time is running out on the creation of a Tea Party in Texas. Under state law, the deadline for filing papers with the Secretary of State to create a new party (and name a party chairman) is January 2. That’s a Saturday, so the real deadline is December 31. Note that this falls before the January 4th candidate filing deadline. New Tea Party candidates have the same deadline as the new party. By law, it’s Saturday, Jan. 2. Consequently, the real deadline is New Years Eve,
They’ve got other minor hoops to jump through. If the Tea Party plans to field district-level candidates, the Party needs to file a list of county chairs in those counties in which district-level candidates will run. Since there would not be a primary, there is no filing fee. But the party will have to collect about 50,000 signatures after the Democratic and Republican primaries.
I think the teabaggers have hurt Repbulicans already. Few Texans want to belong to such a crazy club. Teabaggers are the Right’s Weather Underground. Few wanted to join that crazy bunch, either, and it hurt Democrats, despite the fact that no Democrats wanted any part of that 60s/70s fringe group. Nixonian Republicans painted all Democrats as disturbers of the peace. By embracing tea baggers, Perry and others have signaled Texans that they are just fine with secession talk and polarizing extremism.
It’d be more accurate to call teabaggers “Tea Baggage.”
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About Glenn W. Smith
Glenn W. Smith has spent the past 30 years in journalism and politics, where he’s made a name for himself as a writer, campaign manager, activist, think tank analyst and, as Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas says, a “legendary political consultant and all-around good guy.” “There’s no one like him,” says author George Lakoff. CNN commentator Paul Begala says, “He has unmatched experience, a graceful pen (or pixel nowadays) and deep insight into the best and worst of us.” Novelist Sarah Bird speaks of his “lucid and lyrical” prose. And, she says, he’s fun. Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington says Glenn writes with “grace and abundant humor” and “uses his colorful experiences in Texas to enlighten us all.”
Smith led Ann Richards’ successful 1990 campaign for Governor of Texas. He worked for former Texas Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby and U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen. Earlier, Smith was a political reporter for the Houston Chronicle and the Houston Post. He’s coordinated national campaigns for groups such as MoveOn.org. In 2004, he authored the highly acclaimed book, The Politics of Deceit: Saving Freedom and Democracy from Extinction. He also wrote Unfit Commander, a book that detailed George W. Bush’s mysterious disappearance from military service.
In 2004, Smith was featured in the film, Bush’s Brain, a documentary about Karl Rove. Smith provided commentary on Rove’s role as then-President Bush’s senior advisor. He has made numerous media appearances with Chris Mathews on Hardball, Joe Scarborough, Brit Hume, and many others. He writes a regularly for top national web sites, including FireDogLake and Huffington Post.
As a senior fellow at George Lakoff’s prestigious Rockridge Institute in Berkeley he studied, wrote and taught on the power of metaphor and narrative in political communications. He also lectured on religion and politics at the Starr King School for Ministry in Berkeley. As a sponsor and organizer, he has pulled together numerous national events with progressive religious leaders. He also organized a celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King at Riverside Church in New York City as well as “Freedom and Faith” bus tours, which was a nationwide campaign for social justice and progressive values.
Smith’s play, Double Play, which explored American Western myths and legends, was held over to sold-out audiences. He’s even written and performed songs in the Americana tradition, such as his best-known song, “Helping Marty Robbins,” a tribute to his hometown, Houston.
Most recently, Smith is the creator of DogCanyon, a political and cultural web site covering state, national and global issues from a Texas perspective. DogCanyon is an exhilarating and unique site that gets the connections between politics and culture and explores both the personal side of politics and the ups, down, craziness and beauty of “life its ownself,” as humorist Dan Jenkins would say. DogCanyon offers heartfelt personal essays, hard-hitting political analysis, and, most importantly, laughs.
As Paul Begala said, Smith writes in “the finest, firmest, fearless tradition of Texas essayists like Molly Ivins.”
Okay, that’s just funny “Tea Baggage.” As well as conveying an accurate reality. Way to go, Glenn
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