The election of
Tea Party conservatives like Rand Paul indicated the end of K Street's stronghold...
How did the
Republican Party become so splintered and so infused with hard-line
conservatives? Don't
blame redistricting. Don't chalk it up to anti-Obama fervor. Republicans have become an unruly bunch of
scorched-earth conservatives because the Tea Party
smashed the business lobby's monopoly on GOP
fundraising…..Back in 2006, I asked a couple of conservative
Republican congressmen to give blurbs for my book on corporate welfare. “My
boss loves the book,” one of their top aides said, “but we’re not going to put
his name on it." Why not, I asked. "Who do you think funds his
campaigns?" she whispered. "It’s not the Family Research Council.”
In short, the
conservative congressman was happy to fight the good fight, but he wasn’t
willing to upset Big Business because that’s where the checks came from — and
no checks meant no re-election.
Having two sources
of money changes the party…..“I don't think there's a way for Wall Street to
punish the 25 to 50 hardcore House Republicans,” one Wall Street lobbyist told Politico in the first couple
days of the shutdown. Referring to an anti-establishment libertarian freshman
congressman, the lobbyist said, “I don't think Justin Amash cares if Bank
of America gives to him or not.” A Republican who
doesn’t care about Bank of America checks wasn’t possible before the Tea Party.
……To Read More….
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