3/29/10 Deb Medina on Front Page of print-version of Wall Street Journal

[Cowlesy]

Headline: "Tea-Party Candidates Face Hard Reality of Campaigns"

I haven't read it yet nor have time to track it down online, but I was stunned to walk into my office this morning and see her face on the freakin' Front Page.

[bobbyw24]

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/P1-AU490A_teapa_D_20100328203119.jpg
Debra Medina finished third in the Texas GOP primary for governor.

By NEIL KING JR. And DOUGLAS BELKIN

Jason Meade of New Franklin, Ohio, is among hundreds of political hopefuls looking to ride the "tea party" wave to Washington this year. Like most, he's finding it a tough go.

Mr. Meade is running in the Republican primary in Ohio's 13th Congressional District against five candidates while juggling a 50-hour workweek at a plastics plant. His headquarters "is in the second-floor living room in the corner where the computer is," he says. His campaign has $3,000 to its name.


Mr. Meade's experience goes to the heart of a debate roiling the nascent movement: Should it back fervent long shots who hew to its antigovernment views, or should it rally around more traditional candidates, even if they don't perfectly reflect the movement's distaste for incumbents, taxes and spending?

The question is being asked as homegrown candidates confront brute realities of politics: reluctant donors, limited party support, inexperienced staffers and the uphill fight against incumbents

Grassroots support remains vigorous, as evidenced by the thousands of tea-party activists who gathered Saturday in Searchlight, Nev., to protest the health-care law and urge the ouster of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Yet despite thronging primary races across the U.S., true tea-party candidates have stumbled at the polls. In the March 2 Texas primary, 18 incumbent Republican House members faced multiple challengers, including a flock of tea-party faithful. The incumbents won handily, with only one garnering below 60% of the vote.
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Nor has a surge in Republican candidates translated into higher contributions. On average, Republican primary challengers have raised 37% less than Democratic counterparts, Federal Election Commission records show. Republican candidates for Congress have raised $294 million through 2009, nearly $30 million less than the Democrats, even though twice as many Republicans are running.

"The problem with the tea-party movement is it has inspired too many candidates," says Patrick Hughes, a candidate with tea-party backing who was trounced by Rep. Mark Kirk in the crowded Illinois Republican Senate primary. "The movement will fail if it can't coalesce behind candidates who can win."

Organizers hope public anger over President Barack Obama's health-care overhaul will help tea-party candidates who fiercely opposed the plan. Many are now promising to help repeal the law if they win, and are using the bill to try to drum up support from donors.

The movement began last year as a backlash against the growth of the government, federal bailouts and the national debt. The next big test comes in May, when 10 states hold primaries, including the tea-party hotbeds of Indiana and Ohio. The Republican establishment is watching to see if tea-party voters fall in line behind the national party's candidates.

Handicappers are predicting heavy Democratic losses in November. Democrats hope the tea-party surge will soften that blow by diluting Republican campaign coffers and pulling mainstream conservatives to the right, imperiling their chances in the general election.

"This is great news for us," says Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen, who chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The DCCC has launched a Web site to highlight divisions in the GOP primaries.

Republicans say the movement has fired up the party's base, a trend that has Democrats worried about a widening enthusiasm gap. The weekend protest in Nevada, with a crowd estimated at about 7,000, is a sign of the movement's ability to rally its troops.

Thousands more are expected at a nationwide series of rallies culminating in a tax-day protest April 15 on the National Mall in Washington.

read on

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704734304575120362014554880.html?m od=WSJ_hpp_LEFTTopStories

[Cowlesy]

Wow.


Ms. Medina lost momentum when she told an interviewer that the U.S. Government may have had a hand in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

LIEEEES!

[Live_Free_Or_Die]

nt

[torchbearer]

Is it really a lie though? Whether any momentum lost was fabricated or real it was an undeniable event in the campaign.

she never even hinted that she thought the US government did it.

[SWATH]

"Ms. Medina lost momentum when an interviewer told his audience that she said the U.S. Government may have had a hand in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks."

[haaaylee]

"ms. Medina lost momentum when an interviewer told his audience that she said the u.s. Government may have had a hand in the sept. 11 terrorist attacks."


truthhhh

[Matt Collins]

Who owns WSJ? That should tell you all you need to know! :)


.

[Anti Federalist]

Wow.



LIEEEES!

And they all wonder why they are going bankrupt.

Big media is too big to fail.

Look for a bailout soon. :mad:

[Cowlesy]

"Ms. Medina lost momentum when an interviewer told his audience that she said the U.S. Government may have had a hand in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks."

yep pretty much

[Romulus]

Ohmygosh you guys are all paranoid. No one would ever want to hurt Debra's campaign. /sarcasm

[TheBlackPeterSchiff]

Who owns WSJ? That should tell you all you need to know! :)


.

True, sad thing is the WSJ, NYT, WaPo, etc are considered "record" ....so when they say it....it is "truth" unfortunately.


We need our young libertarians to enter into Journalism and start infiltrating these mass media conglomerates or liberty wont stand a chance.

[fuzzybekool]

Republicans say the movement has fired up the party's base, a trend that has Democrats worried about a widening enthusiasm gap. The weekend protest in Nevada, with a crowd estimated at about 7,000, is a sign of the movement's ability to rally its troops.

I drove to that weekend protest in Searchlight Nevada, and it was closer to 15,000 people. And I was the only one wearing a Ron Paul sweatshirt, which I found strange. Most people were older than I expected, but a few of the younger folk commented they liked my shirt.


http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?pid=5502741&id=697536194http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?pid=5502741&id=697536194

[dannno]

Wow.



LIEEEES!

I would say "may have had a hand" is an accurate statement considering her response to the initial question..

I mean, it's a little bit of a stretch from saying, "I don't have all the information on that, there are good arguments on both sides.."

but ultimately to me that says she thought there is a chance they may have had a hand in it :confused:

[devil21]

I didn't read the whole article but the spin sounds like a subtle admonishment to the sheep not to "waste their vote" on Tea Party candidates because that will lose. IOW, more reinforcement of the "pick the establishment GOP lesser of two evils candidate".