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Published: Sunday, 5/4/2014 TUESDAYS BALLOT

BY TOM TROY BLADE POLITICS WRITER

The modern-day Tea Party rebellion is fueling much of the political combat on the primary election ballot Tuesday for Ohios Statehouse and congressional seats including several here in northwest Ohio.

After fielding no candidates in 2012, the statewide Tea Party group Ohio Citizens PAC says it is taking the direct route to political power after seeing what it contends is a drift toward big-government spending by the current Ohio GOP.

For five years, we carried their water. The Tea Party elected [Republican Gov.] John Kasich. Well, they forgot that real quick. When are they going to wake up and realize they need to work for us? asked Tom Zawistowski, president of the group, which is based in Portage County in the Akron area. He feels the conservative Republican voters are taken for granted.

The Tea Party tried unsuccessfully last year to take over the chairmanship of the Republican Party out of outrage over Governor Kasichs embrace of expanding Medicaid in Ohio, as allowed under the Affordable Care Act.

Last December we kind of like said, What the heck do we try to do next? We came to the conclusion that were never going to get the governance we seek until we put people who believe as we do in the chairs voting, Mr. Zawistowski said.

The PAC raised only $11,000 for this outburst of electoral activity against what it says is a $4 million budget from the Ohio Republican Party. Ohio Citizens PAC has endorsed 68 candidates around the state, including in House and Senate districts in this part of the state.

However, the Ohio Republican Party doesnt expect any of its endorsed candidates to fall to Tea Party-backed candidates.

We expect to win all of the races, said a confident Ohio GOP spokesman Chris Schrimpf. Our incumbents have very strong conservative records. They have the support of the party. Were confident were going to win these races.

Originally posted here:
Tea Party brings fierce challenge to GOP side

After more than two years of trying to accommodate arch conservative lawmakers and organizations in Washington, House Speaker John Boehner appears to have declared his independence.

As he faces a challenge Tuesday from tea party conservatives in the Republican primary, Boehner, R-West Chester Twp., seems to delight in aiming a barb here and a blast there at those who constantly talk about trying to depose him after the November election.

Just last month in a speech in Middletown, Boehner referred to the conservative pressure on House GOP lawmakers to oppose an overhaul of the nations immigration system. Declaring that we get elected to make choices, Boehner complained in a mocking tone that many Republicans are saying, Ohhh, dont make me do this.

Last year as he attempted to nudge House Republicans toward a budget compromise that would cut the deficit by $23 billion, Boehner assailed as ridiculous complaints from independent conservative groups such as Heritage Action and Freedom Works before the deal had been made public.

The barbs have hit their mark. Tea party groups have launched multiple Fire Boehner websites and one of Boehners primary opponents J.D. Winteregg of Troy has the backing of the Tea Party Leadership Fund PAC, which has spent more than $300,000 either on pro-Winteregg or anti-Boehner advertisements.

You cant swing a dead cat without reading a story about some conservative saying they want to take Boehner out, said former Republican congressman Steve LaTourette of Bainbridge Twp.

Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Genoa Twp. and a Boehner ally, said Boehner has been much more outspoken over the last six months in telling what he thinks to anyone who would listen about these conservative groups in Washington who he believes are using the American people to pad their own pockets. Its not about the members of our conference or the tea party people in Middletown.

In addition, those close to Boehner say his speeches have less been about taking a swing at conservative groups and more about going to go back to being John Boehner, said LaTourette.

I think his thought was he could always bring this group along, theyd still believe the way they do but in the constructive framework of actually crafting legislation and doing things to move the country forward, he said. And after trying for two years, hes said, Look, this old dog is not learning new tricks. I should say whats on my mind and let it go at that.

But its that sort of candor that enrages tea party leaders like Tom Zawistowski of the Ohio Citizens PAC, a tea party-affiliated political action committee. He said tea party leaders sent membership a message last year: Just put your name on the ballot. Now, there are more than 60 candidates in Ohio everything from central committee to Congress with tea party backing.

Original post:
Boehner facing tea party challenge

WASHINGTON The tea party movement, staggered by dwindling popularity and strong challenges from the Republican establishment, faces a series of crucial primary election tests over the next month and its prospects look grim.

From Tuesday to June 3, Republican primaries in North Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Idaho and Mississippi will provide clues as to whether the grass-roots movement can regain the momentum that made it a major national force at the start of the decade.

This uncertain outlook is new territory for the tea party, a loose confederation of confident activists determined to drive down the federal debt and reduce the size and mission of government. It was credited with helping to elect 87 Republican freshmen in 2010, enough to give the party control of the House of Representatives, and its been responsible for helping reshape the image of the Republican Party.

Recently, the movement has struggled to match its early success. Its embrace of Senate candidates who proved too extreme for the general electorate arguably cost Republicans the five seats they needed in 2010 and 2012 to pull even with Democrats.

By the end of last year, about 1 in 5 people told Gallup they supported the movement, down from about 1 in 3 in 2010. The Republican establishment noticed, embracing some tea party views but also pouring money and resources into candidates facing insurgent challenges.

"In 2010 the establishment ignored the tea party. In 2012 they tried to get along. In 2014 theyre fighting back," said Jennifer Duffy, Senate analyst for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.

Are they ever. Kentucky features a bruising Senate primary May 20 between one of insider Washingtons most towering figures, Senate Republican leader and 29-year incumbent Mitch McConnell, versus Louisville businessman Matt Bevin.

The same day, Georgia stages its own Republican Senate slugfest, a free-for-all in which five candidates, including tea party favorite Rep. Paul Broun, are given a decent shot of winning. In Idaho the same day, Rep. Mike Simpson, another Republican member of Congress with deep ties to official Washington, faces Idaho Falls lawyer Bryan Smith. The first clues about the tea partys fate will come Tuesday in North Carolina. State House Speaker Thom Tillis faces Greg Brannon, who has strong tea party backing, and the Rev. Mark Harris, a Charlotte Baptist pastor.

The fiercest fight might come at the end of this cycle, June 3 in Mississippi. Thirty-five year Senate veteran Thad Cochran, who stands to head the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee if Republicans win control of the chamber next fall, first has to defeat state Sen. Chris McDaniel.

Gauging the tea partys influence is difficult. Its become more politically sophisticated, setting up political action committees and getting help from a strong conservative fundraising network.

Read the rest here:
GOP races testing tea party's viability

Leading national tea party groups and figures have gone all in for Republican Ben Sasse in the Nebraska Senate race, a high-stakes gambit that could either blunt or bolster their momentum heading into the heart of the 2014 primary season.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ben Sasse, left, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Sharon Lee and Utah Sen. Mike Lee, stand together on the platform at Buffalo Bill State Historical Park in North Platte, Neb., at an April 25 rally for Sasse's campaign. (Job Vigil, The Telegraph/AP)

With less than two weeks to go until the Republican primary, Sasse has appeared to have moved to the head of a multi-candidate pack featuring two other major hopefuls. There's a lot resting on the next 10 days not only for Sasse, but also for the likes of the Club for Growth, Senate Conservatives Fund, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and Sarah Palin, who have all joined Sasse in one of the most intense primary campaigns of 2014.

Sasse, the president of Midland University, may represent the best chance for the national tea party movement to claim victory in a contested Senate primary this year. While Republican senators have been swarmed by primary challengers, most have fizzled amid intense scrutiny and a robust attempt by the establishment to define them early as outside the mainstream candidates. The open race in Nebraska presents an opportunity for the tea party to claim an early win against that backdrop.

Sasse is trying to get past former treasurer Shane Osborn (R), a more establishment-friendly figure who has been bludgeoned by Sasse's tea party allies on the airwaves, clearing the way for Sasse to run a positive air campaign. The two are also competing against Sid Dinsdale, a wealthy bank executive who has emerged as a threat to both candidates down the stretch.

The momentum Sasse has picked up is reflected in the well-heeled advertising push he has planned for the final week. Sasse has reserved approximately $111,000 for television ads on broadcast and cable -- more than double what Osborn, who has been flailing, has thrown down for the final leg.

But Dinsdale, who has been outspent on the airwaves so far, plans to make a big final push, too. Dinsdale campaign manager Beth Kramer said in an interview that the campaign will spend nearly $200,000 for the final week -- a sizable sum that could propel him ahead.

There are shades of the 2012 Nebraska Senate primary in this year's competition. In that race, Republicans Jon Bruning and Don Stenberg battered each other with attacks, clearing the way for now-Sen. Deb Fischer (R) to make a late surge. Fischer was boosted by a Palin endorsement and support from billionaire Joe Ricketts.

"Negativecampaigningdoesn'twork in thiselectionit didn't work in Deb Fischer's race," said Kramer.

But the Dinsdale-as-Fischer comparison doesn't work so neatly.Palin is on Sasse's side. So is tea party hero Cruz and his close ally, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah). The three stumped for Sasse last week.

Here is the original post:
Why Nebraska is a make-or-break Senate race for the tea party

The Tea Party Tax Increase is Coming
Richard Eskow, Campaign for America #39;s Future joins Thom Hartmann. Tonight - led by the Tea Partiers in the Republican Party - the House of Representatives is expected to vote down a 2-month...

By: Finance 8th

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The Tea Party Tax Increase is Coming - Video