Michelle Bachmann: "This is the five-alarm fire. So I'm counting on you! Will you be
there?" This kind of passionate fever from this Tea
Party rally and other such rallies nationwide helped boost Christine O'Donnell to an upset
victory in Delaware's Republican Senate primary - And what political pundits have long suspected
has become blatantly obvious. Mark Buesgens: "My colleague, my friend, and
gubernatorial candidate, Tom Emmer!" The right-wing Tea Party, and its focus on
eliminating government, and including Christian doctrine in Washington, is hurting the greater
Republican Party's chances of appealing to swing voters and winning back the House of
Representatives in November's midterm elections. The story of a growing rift within the Republican
Party - between Tea Party extremists, and moderates who are driven more by fiscal policies
than by bedroom politics - is now playing out all over the country.
Here in Minnesota, we have a three-way race to see who will be the next governor, between
DFL candidate Mark Dayton, Republican Tom Emmer, and Independent Party candidate Tom
Horner. Horner is a former Republican who has taken this Third Way because he believes
the Republicans and Democrats have become too extreme.
Former Republican Governor Arne Carlson shook up the GOP establishment on Monday when he
stood on the steps of the State Capitol and endorsed Horner - and not Emmer - to be Minnesota's
next governor. Arne Carlson: And I applaud Tom Horner for
coming forth with his candidacy. But as I'm telling Minnesotans, this is not about Tom
Horner, it's about us. It's about what is in our best interest. And believe me, his
election is in our best interest. During his tenure in office from 1991-1999,
Carlson was considered a moderate, and popular governor. He captured 63 percent of the vote
to win reelection in 1994. Since then, he and his moderate wing feel
they've been forced out of the Grand Old Party. Arne Carlson: The moderates have long left
the Republican Party. That's not a new thing, it's just a matter of degrees. Now the old
conservative wing is under attack. John McCain: We will win the state of Minnesota,
and we will win ... Arne Carlson: John McCain was under attack
in Arizona. He was just the standard bearer for the party a couple years ago. Likewise,
Senator Bennett in Utah, one of the most conservative members of the Senate. He was ousted from
the Republican party on the grounds that he collaborated with Democrats. I mean, that's
astounding. Barry Goldwater: I've never seen so many frustrated
people as I have around Washington. Arne Carlson: Uh, Barry Goldwater, who was
the conservative standard bearer in 1964, but the great spokesman for the conservative
movement of the Republican party and the godfather of Ronald Reagan, was no longer welcome in
the Republican party. Voiceover from Goldwater video: Soon it's
back to the campaign, where Barry Goldwater is calling for courage and integrity in meeting
problems. He's calling for an end to do-nothing policies, for progress based on the dynamic
principles of the republic. He's calling for a rebirth of individual freedom.
Arne Carlson: So as you go more to the right, and get more ideological, you start slicing
off. Now Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is under fire.
Clip of Obama speaking: Thank you, thank you! The former governor endorsed Barack Obama
for President in 2008, and he suffered plenty of abuse from the Minnesota Republican Party
for endorsing an Independent candidate - in particular, from Republican Party chair Tony
Sutton. Arne Carlson: It's a bit hypocritical for
the official party to say, 'gee, you're a traitor'. No, my belief system, my core belief
system is the same. Their core believe system has changed. They've gone much more into the
bedroom and away from the budget, and that's one of the reasons you don't see balanced
budgets any more. They used to be very good. You could always count on a Republican to
be fiscally conservative and that meant a balanced budget. Now you can't.
I was at a fundraiser last night in Edina, and it read like the who's who of the old
Republican Party. I mean, who would have thought that the Pillsburys would be outside? Well,
they're outside now too. Emmer, himself, refused to comment on Carlson's
perceived snub of the party they share, but he has watched as Horner has risen in the
polls - no doubt with the support of many traditional Republican voters.
My question: Representative Emmer, was Carlson's endorsement of Tom Horner yesterday: did it
say more about him or about the Republican Party?
Silence from Emmer. But he has watched as Tom Horner has risen
in the polls, no doubt with the support of many traditional Republican voters.
Even former President Bill Clinton weighed in this week on what's become of the Republican
Party. While attending a fundraiser Tuesday night for Mark Dayton, he said: "It used to
be that Republicans were evidence-based, not dogma-based. They have thrown all that overboard.
This is about dogma and big special interest under the guise of the tea party." Of Tom
Emmer, whom Clinton didn't refer to by name: "Near as I can tell, he wants to get rid of
government." Last week I asked former Michigan governor
Bill Milliken about the Tea Party's influence on the Republican Party. Like Carlson, Milliken
was a popular and moderate force within his state's Republican Party, and like Carlson,
Milliken laments what has become of their Grand Old Party.
Here's what Milliken told me: "Unlike the kind of approach that's being used by the
Tea Party people and others, who feel that we have too much government, ... I feel that
a party like the Republican Party can be a moderate, progressive influence in the lives
of people." Following his recent debate against Minnesota
Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, Republican challenger Dan Severson was asked by The UpTake's
Mike McIntee about his thoughts on the Tea Party, and whether he supported the movement.
Dan Severson: That is what you're seeing is the Tea Party and the people who are really
about getting back to the Constitution. Like many Republicans, Severson tried to dodge
the question, realizing that criticizing the Tea Party could mean criticizing his voting
base. Mike McIntee: Do you identify with those people?
Do you encourage them to support you? Do you see that group possibly being dissatisfied
with the Republican Party, and that's what's happening here?
Dan Severson: I think rightfully so. I have spoken at a number of Tea Parties, speaking
to the constitutional issue. Are they pushing back on the Republican Party? I think, probably
a little bit. And I don't think that's bad. If we didn't reconsider where the Republican
Party was and was constantly migrating, we lose our moorings, and that's why it's so
important that we go back and say 'what they're saying probably has merit'.
Following O'Donnell's surprise victory in Delaware this week, many Republicans have
spoken out on the dangers of nominating a candidate who, they fully admit, is probably
too extreme to win Vice President Joe Biden's former Senate seat in a progressive East Coast
state. Even Karl Rove - "Bush's Brain" lamented O'Donnell's
rise within the GOP. "There's just a lot of nutty things (O'Donnell has) been saying that
just simply don't add up," the Republican strategist told Fox News. "I'm for the Republican,
but I've got to tell you, we were looking at eight to nine seats in the Senate. We're
now looking at seven to eight. In my opinion, this is not a race we're going to be able
to win." I asked Arne Carlson what will happen to the
Republican Party, going forward, if the Tea Party maintains its stranglehold on the GOP.
Arne Carlson: It truly may have to play out. Because at some point they truly have to identify
what they're for. I think the electronic media, through this whole subsystem of the Internet,
has allowed a lot of recklessness with accuracy and truth to occur. We've seen more demonization
of people than we've ever seen before. But let's say Republicans take control of the
House of Representatives in Congress, all of a sudden they're going to have to start
talking about what they are for. That would be an interesting development.