Theres still hope for political moderates in both major parties who believe that compromise and cooperation are the best way to conduct Americas business. The Tea Party, which rode a wave of popular discontent to seize 87 congressional seats starting with the 2010 election, is seeing its fortunes rapidly wane.
We suspect American voters are tired of harrumphing, angry politicians who think the only way to fix whats wrong in Washington is to say no at every turn. The Tea Party caucus was responsible for the budget impasse that shut down the government in 2013. Today, only half of the politicians who rode the Tea Party wave into congressional office remain there. Only three dozen are seeking re-election, The Associated Press reports.
The lessons are simple: No is not a plan. No is not leadership. No is a simplistic way to thwart progress without offering a better way forward. It might have felt good at the time for anti-taxation conservative voters to support Tea Party candidates, but when it came to paying off the soaring federal debt and making the uncomfortable choices that kept our country afloat after the Great Recession, those politicians came up short on solutions.
