So yeah, the Tea Party hilariously screwed the GOP last night.

[Badger]

The point here isn't that the Dems didn't get their asses handed to them---notwithstanding surprise hang on victories in CO, NV, and the IL statehouse, we certainly did. The point of the thread is the Tea Party kept the GOP from winning even bigger.

This is particularly true in the Senate. But for the Tea Party it would probably be Republican this morning. O'Donnell obviously took the seat from safe R to safe D. Literally ANY of Angle's major primary opponents (even "pay your medical bills with chickens" Lowden), would've sent Harry Reid into retirement last night. Buck's far right views compared to Norton obviously made the difference in a skin close result in CO. That's 3 seats alone; enough to get to 50-50 and one suitably bribed/cajoled Ben Nelson or Joe Lieberman away from "Majority Leader McConnell".

And even that calculus doesn't account for the vast additional $ spent defending Paul's win where Grayson would've likely won close to Ayotte or Portman levels. For that matter, anyone here want to take bets on the final results of Simmons vs. Blumenthal in CT?

Yes, the Dems were slaughtered last night, but at least we did a bit better than expected in the Senate races, primarily due to the tea party. In fact, but for the teabaggers the GOP would likely control both houses now.

[Badger]

I don't even know anything about Michele Bachmann, and now she is running for a GOP leadership position.  I may agree with her on some issues, but I don't like her crudeness and/or approach.  I used to be to the right of the GOP, now I'm to the left, which doesn't give me a warm and fuzzy feeling - it sucks to be in the middle!  I'm too out of touch, been holding on too tight, I've lost the edge.  And I think the disconnect came during the campaign of 2008 when I rejected Palin as a lightweight while the Right feel in love with her.

I grew up watching adult behavior from the likes of former Senator Alan Simpson of Wyoming.  But Bachmann/Miller/Palin run around in public as if they were simply trolling the Atlas forum.  

The GOP better find some statesmen and find them fast!  Otherwise, they're simply gonna mimic Fox News more and more.

Wow. That was actually very...."statesmanesque" of you Jmfcst.