Watching the fallout from the Scott Brown decision not to run for the Senate seat, it struck me that there is one thing that the Tea Party seems to know that the Democrats need to learn, and very quickly: Every election is important.
There isn't much I like about the Tea Party. I find their fiscal policies to be too austere, their tax policies too tilted toward rich-people, and their social policies way too religious. And the worst part about them is that they won't compromise. Not one inch on any policy. But they know the basic philosophy that every election is important. It was drove home when almost every political analyst, both on the left and on the right, said that since election this wasn't at the same time as a presidential election, Scott Walker had a tremendous chance of being elected. This in one of the bluest, most Democratic controlled states in the union. How could that be true? Simply, in off-cycle elections, the Tea Party knows that the election is important, and get out as many votes as they can. Now, the Democratic Party knows these are important elections, too. But their percentages of voters during these elections are much lower than the Tea Party. And most independent voters are simply don't see the point of voting. Now look at states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan. These states are in no way red, but their State Assemblies, Senates, and Governors can pass almost any far-right agenda the Tea Party deems fit. Why? Because they were elected during off-cycle elections, and since 2010 was a census year, this has allowed the Tea Party to gerrymander their states. Think the Tea Party didn't realize how important the 2010 election would be?
The Tea Party knows that every election is an important time to get their philosophy in the door at local, state, and national elections. Unless Democrats and Independent voters learn that lesson and act, they will own politics in even more places than they do now. Is that what you want?
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