Tea Party Reaction to the Deficit Commission

Sometimes this blog just writes itself. How do YOU think the Tea Party reacted to the draft of the Deficit Commission report? Sure, it may call for some tax increases (it is still unclear what the net result of the tax increases taken with some tax cuts and spending cuts will be, but in Teabonics a tax increase is a tax increase), but it does offer proposals to "shrink" government, so both the Tea Party and the Republican establishment should be on board, right? WRONG.

...Republicans face intense pressure from their conservative base and the Tea Party movement to reject any deal that includes tax increases, leaving their leaders with little room to maneuver in any negotiation and at risk of being blamed by voters for not doing their part.

And just how will they deal with the heretics that are in office?

Republicans would also be looking over their shoulders at the growing ranks of the Tea Party. Ryan Hecker, from the Houston chapter, said it would be “a big mistake” for Republicans to go along with tax increases. “I think that is something that would not sit well with members of the Tea Party,” he said.

Emboldened by their victories, Tea Party members are mobilizing for 2012 to work against any Republican who shows signs of compromising. Among Republicans who may well face rivals in the 2012 party primaries are Senators Olympia J. Snowe of Maine, Scott Brown of Massachusetts, Richard Lugar of Indiana and Orrin G. Hatch of Utah.

Mr. Lugar, who began his long Senate career as indisputably conservative but is now seen by many as a moderate as the party has turned further right, said the Tea Party was no “irresponsible fringe” in an essay this week for a publication of the Ripon Society, a moderate Republican group. But, he added, Republicans must not reflexively oppose everything Democrats propose.

“Opposing unsound administration policies remains important,” Mr. Lugar wrote, adding, “But simple, unadorned ‘opposition’ is mistaken, from both the policy and political perspectives.”

See ya later, Dick Lugar. We all know what the price to pay is if you are a sensible Republican. Just look in the dictonary next to Bennett, Senator Robert F. and Inglis, Representative Robert Durden.

Full NYT here.