Thetea party has lost some momentum in Congress. The government shutdown was a reminder
that confrontation can backfire and that Americans actually like a certain
level of government service.
Still, the tea party faction retains considerable influence. Is it responsible for GOP problems in devising a positive agenda? Not exclusively --tea partiers are only part of the
story. Different issues involve different constituencies and different
ideological perspectives within the party.
With
unemployment insurance, the tea party faction makes common cause with deficit
hawks such as Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL).
With
immigration reform, there is widespread opposition within the GOP, and not just
among self-identified tea party folks. The GOP grassroots grew skeptical
of liberalized immigration laws long before the tea party started in
2009. A big part of the story was the perceived failure of
Simpson-Mazzoli.
ENDA
faces opposition from the religious right, which is separate and distinct from the tea party. See:
As
for the “Paycheck Fairness” bill, opposition comes from all wings of the
party: business interests, traditional conservatives, tea party folks,
the religious right. With business, obviously, self-interest is involved,
but most Republicans just think that it’s very bad policy. Indeed, opposition to such ideas goes back decades: Reagan economic adviser William Niskanen called "comparable worth" -- Paycheck Fairness 1.0 -- "truly crazy."
