The results of Tuesday's primary elections drew attention to a growing division in the Republican Party between Tea Party supporters and more moderate members of the GOP.
The upset victory in Delaware's Senate race for Tea Party candidate Christine O'Donnell, who was endorsed by former Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, highlighted this divide, leading many pundits to predict that the growing strength of the Tea Party may threaten Republicans' chances of winning control of the Senate.
O'Donnell's victory is a clear indicator of a rift in the party that is continuing to widen, a rift that is a direct result of dissatisfaction with the current political climate on both sides of the aisle. The fact that O'Donnell, who has already lost several bids for office in Delaware, was able to defeat moderate Republican Rep. Michael Castle, shows that many Republicans are unhappy with the way things are being run, even within their own party.
However, O'Donnell's success should not necessarily be taken as an indication that the Republicans are poised to take back power. On the contrary, it threatens the Republicans' chances in November, as Tea Party candidates lack the widespread appeal necessary to win a general election.
Furthermore, the low turnouts that are typical of primary elections show that success goes to whichever party is best able to motivate its constituents. It just so happens that in Delaware, O'Donnell was the best at getting people out to the polls.
In some ways, the Tea Party should be admired. Setting their policies and ideologies aside, their willingness to stand up for their beliefs and challenge the existing (and failing) political system is to be commended. However, it is regrettable that people feel the need to turn to such extreme ideologies in a time when the most significant problem with the political system is that it is too polarized.
It is doubtful that the Tea Party will be a hugely influential political movement for a lasting period of time. Their current success is a reaction to public criticisms of the Democratic Party, as it is natural for power to change hands and ideologies to shift when people are dissatisfied with the results they are getting from the government. But in the end, things have to even out. Neither the extreme right nor the extreme left can be expected to hold power for very long. Soon enough, politicians will have to realize what most voters have always known, that more often than not, the best solution lies in the middle.
This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.
