I think the Tea Parties are going to have more of an effect on the GOP than they will on the outcome of many general elections in November. Fox News claims that the Tea Party participants are among the highest percentage of those who registered and voted in 2006 and 2008, which means that they are not a new constituency. If they don't distance themselves from yellers of racial epithets, disrespectful spitters and screamers in town hall meetings, they will soon lose their credibility and the novelty will wear off. Sarah Palin's inability to put together a coherent speech with substance, and her screechy voiced recitation of dim-witted political cliches that are wearing thin won't help much in the long run, especially in light of the fact that Obama double digit leads her in potential presidential matchup polls. Essentially, from what I have seen here in Texas, they are mostly Ron Paul-ites and he seems to be their natural leader. Some Texas Republican congressmen are working hard to distance themselves from the movement. So is, ironically, the new Massachussetts Senator Brown.
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