Is the War Over?

Dave Weigel certainly thinks so. I disagree. I think the War will continue with battle lines currently being drawn. Just wait until the freshman actually take their seats and start voting on things. Thats where all the campaign slogans in the world and pie-in-the-sky promises actually hit the sausage maker that is the US Congress. Decisions will have to be made.

A few points:

Weigel wrote a piece this morning on Slate about how there is no "civil war" in the Republican party. As evidence he says:

"The incoming Republican majority in the House and the Tea-stained Republican caucus in the Senate are being portrayed as large and unwieldy, ready to be split by debates over foreign policy and social issues. It's an irresistible story. It's just not true yet. Not even the people who spark the debates think they're setting off a massive intraconservative battle." 

Well, first of all these Representative-Elects have not been seated yet, therefore they have not yet been asked to vote on anything and/or make any hard decisions which may require compromise. As I have said before, one thing that I think will define the Tea Party Congress is their lack of ability to compromise because they are "true believers", not just in a religious sense (which they are) but also in a dogmatic sense. They are fundamentalists and one thing that is true about fundamentalists of all stripes is that they know the truth, they are right and you are wrong so there is no middle ground. That is what is going to happen when the Tea Party comes to Congress.

Weigel also goes on to claim that the Tea Party Congress will not focus on social issues. This is the biggest bunch of malarkey I think I have ever read. There is no way this is true. Tea Party is just the rebranding of the conservative wing of the party. They may claim that social issues will not be a big deal, but don't you think social issues are a big deal to the voters who put the Tea Party in power? The Republican establishment may want to gloss over the social stuff, but I think the activists on the Right are going to push social issues hard, just like they always have. Even Weigel quotes the granddady of the Tea Party, Senatory DeMint, as saying "[Y]ou can't be a fiscal conservative and not a social conservative". And he doesn't think this will be used as ammunition to the legions of activists DeMint helped recruit?

Now, I may be reading Weigel too closely. Subsequently, I saw this tweet from him:

In March, Olympia Snowe voted against an earmark ban. Today, she voted for it. Tea Party FTW. http://slate.me/hI48JD

To which I responded:

@daveweigel no civil war, re: snowe and earmarks? or has one side (tea party) already won?

And his follow-up:

@Poster_Nutbag Yep, the Tea Party won already.

Now, that could be sarcasm from Weigel, but I don't think so. It does, however, contradict his article from earlier in the day about how there is no civil war and there never was, that both sides of the Republican Party are and will be getting along splendidly. I think Snowe's flip-flow is proof positive that is not true. And you will see more and more of this as the Tea Party takes control, but don't believe for a moment that there will be no pushback from the establishment who realize that governing, policy, and winning elections are more than Tea Party slogans and insane platforms.

Weigel on Slate here. You can also follow him on Twitter @daveweigel.