I was recently having a conversation with two friends about our shared dread over the upcoming election cycle. In the midst of this conversation, I came back to a familiar epiphany that has sustained me through the ugliness of getting involved in politics. If we conservatives can reject several major political trends of the past eight years and return to Tea Party principles, we may just win more policy battles and elections, and possibly save our republic.
The conversation went like this. One person made the statement that she thought Donald Trump was the best president in a very long time, maybe her lifetime. The other replied, “Trump was very good. But the results since 2016 suggest America has soured on him. So if he loses the general, what does it matter how good he’d have been if he’d have won? Going back to the Tea Party, the GOP has often acted like they’d rather lose with their first choice than win with their second choice.”
I understand the frustration of losing winnable races but take issue with the instinct to blame the Tea Party. Perhaps I’m sensitive, having been at the forefront of Tea Party organizing and strategizing in Oregon since its emergence.
The 2010 Tea Party wave gave us Mike Lee, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, a historic midterm wave in the House, seven Senate seats, and about 1,000 state legislative seats. Republican leadership then took that momentum and scuttled the ship rather than training its artillery on the
