Bucking a national trend in Tuesday's, midterm elections, which saw many moderates lose their seats to extreme candidates who closely associated themselves with the "Tea Party", Massachusetts residents reaffirmed their desire to vote for progressive candidates.
In ALL major elections, the MA electorate voted for the Democratic candidate. As the Boston Globe says, "The GOP Revolution Fades in MA".
Thank you
4 comments:
I noticed all that Tea Party stuff happened in Southern and Midwestern states but those of us on the coasts would have none of it.
It proved that the Tea Party is just the fringe part of the GOP rebranded.
Bravo Massachusetts!
I'm not sure who got to make the decision to label Tea Party members "extreme". Isn't it possible that the majority of Americans consider the liberal left extreme? I don't know what's progressive about more taxes and larger government.
Hello DavidA -
You are correct that "extreme" is a matter of perspective. However, with the majority of Tea Party candidates self-identifying as "conservative" and individuals like Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann speaking on behalf of many in the tea party (as well as actively campaigning for them), its not really a reach to characterize the movement as extreme in my opinion.
My characterization of the parties extreme stances mostly comes from their social views (e.g. same sex marriage, pro-life / pro-choice, views on healthcare and making access to quality care more affordable, etc...)
The views expressed by many in the tea party to get rid of the dept of education or to dismantle the IRS may have appeal to many - it still sounds pretty radical and "extreme" to me. Perhaps in other parts of the country this would be considered mainstream, but if that's the case it is truly an example of how far right the country has shifted.
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