Election Reaction: Tea Party Costs Republicans?

In the wake of last night's election, there is big debate over whether Tea Party wins in primaries cost Republicans victories in the general election. There seems to have been mixed results as Rubio and Paul won out while Angle and O'Donnell failed to defeat their Democratic opponents. Many argue that had Mike Castle beaten O'Donnell in the Delaware primary, the Republicans would now control that Senate seat. The same is argued for a primary victory by Sue Lowden in Nevada. Either of these situations could very well have happened, but there is no way to know for sure. In any case, the problematic part of this debate is that it ignores the very reason that these Tea Party candidates won the primaries in the first place: the Republicans were no longer seen as conservatives by their party base.

To a conservative voter the question of whether or not the Tea Party candidates cost the Republican party is irrelevant. This election was about voting for a conservative, not a Republican. This fixation on the party is exactly why the Tea Party came about in the first place. Too many Republicans forgot what the party used to stand for: lower taxes and smaller government. The bailout bill was too much for some to take and they realized that their Republican representatives no longer shared their views. So they mobilized and put forth truly conservative candidates in the primaries and managed to oust establishment candidates.

From the beginning there were grumblings from the GOP that such conservatives were unable to win in the general election or that they were too far to the right for the average voter. But that wasn't the point. Conservative voters were sick of sending moderates to Washington who abandoned their principles in the name of "party unity" or "bipartisan compromise". In particular, Mike Castle was very unpalatable to conservatives and was considered one of, if not the most liberal Republican in the House. In the mind of voters, it was better to take a chance on someone who actually shared their views rather than be guaranteed to have someone who only pretended to.

In the end, Angle and O'Donnell failed to win and Democrats retained a majority in the Senate. However, the important message has been sent, particularly in Nevada where the election was rather close. Conservative voters want a conservative, not a Republican. If the Republican is a conservative, great. But if it comes down to principles or the party, principles might finally start to win out.