Some in the Tea Party are already working toward 2014 given the losses in 2012.
“The people spoke and we have the results of the election and it stands,” Tea Party Express’ chair Amy Kremer said on Jansing & Co. Tuesday. “It’s time to regroup and look at what we need to do going forward.”
Back in 2010 the Tea Party stunned Washington by sweeping the House of Representatives, mostly by running against the president’s health care law and a bad economy. But this time around, it was their time to be stunned after some of their once promising stars like Rep. Allen West (R-FL) , Richard Mourdock and Todd Akin lost the election.
“There’s plenty of blame to go around,” said Kremer. “The Republican Party has a branding problem. The party needs to do a better job at reaching out to the minorities and the youth.”
But she asserted the core principles of the Tea Party haven’t changed.
“The movement is about fiscal responsibility, limited government, free markets and if people would stick to those issues like in 2010,” she said. “That’s why we were so victorious back then.”
But moving forward is not always easy. An idea floated by an Idaho state senator has become essential reading on Tea Party blogs. He’s calling for states that supported Mitt Romney to refuse to participate in the Electoral College vote in January.
While most Tea Party groups supported Romney this election cycle, many are trying to distinguish themselves from the Republican brand. Kremer is very clear about her group’s vision: “We’re not an arm of the Republican Party.”
“We want constitutional conservatives who are willing to live by the Tea Party principles,” she said. “If we have somebody who’s a Republican-in-name-only (a RINO)and they vote with the Democrats more than they do with the Republican Party, of course there’s a chance they’ll be primaried out.”
Aparna Zalani