CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS
Sept. 22, 2009 – 12:03 a.m.
Squeeze From The Right For House Republicans
By Alan K. Ota, CQ Staff
The passions of conservative activists could be reshaping the Republican Party and complicating some 2010 re-election campaigns.
Indiana’s Mark Souder is among four House Republicans likely to face primary opponents drawing strength from the “tea party” movement and its fervent opposition to anything that might trigger higher taxes or bigger government.
Souder, first elected in the Republican wave of 1994, usually lines up with his party’s right wing. But he has angered some conservatives by endorsing earmarks for his district and by backing both the 2008 financial industry bailout (PL 110-343) and the expansion of the program to help recreational vehicle makers.
Rachel Grubb, a self-described “blue-collar mom,” is challenging Souder in the May primary, running on promises that she would strictly adhere to the Constitution and pay attention to those in the electorate “who say those in power have been there far too long.”
The eight-term lawmaker said he expects other conservative candidates to join the field, as well.
Souder said the prospect of several possible primary rivals makes it difficult for incumbents like him to embrace bipartisan deals on high-profile issues.
“On the big issues, I don’t think you’re going to see much bipartisanship because our right wing has dug in so hard,” Souder said. “And there’s, quite frankly, panic among Democrats.”
As a result, Republican lawmakers are increasingly reluctant to work with Democrats on health care (
In The Same Boat
Other Republicans facing primary challenges from energized activists are Reps. Todd Akin of Missouri, Lee Terry of Nebraska and Bob Inglis of South Carolina.
Akin is facing a GOP challenge from Liz Lauber, a former communications consultant who once worked as an aide to former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R‑Texas (1985-2003).
Armey heads FreedomWorks, the conservative activist group that has helped organize the tea party protests.
“It’s a fairly spontaneous movement. . . . It could bounce both ways,” said Akin, raising concern that activists’ protests could alienate swing voters vital to Republican electoral victories.
Inglis also faces challengers, particularly because he pushed a carbon tax on fossil fuels (
“I’ve got four primary challengers and all of them hope to capitalize on the tea parties,” Inglis said.
And in Kentucky’s open-seat Senate race, Rand Paul, an eye surgeon and son of libertarian-leaning Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, is a dark-horse challenger to the GOP primary favorite — Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson.
Texas Rep. Pete Sessions , chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, the group that helps elect House Republicans, and Texas Sen. John Cornyn , chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the Senate counterpart, have been talking to incumbents about how to stay out of trouble with conservative activists and avoid drawing primary opponents.
Cornyn said has advised GOP senators to spend a lot of time in their states to connect with voters and better counter attacks from challengers on the right.
“And also, don’t vote for a bunch of wasteful Washington spending. That’s probably a pretty good plan,” he said.
Republican pollster Whit Ayres said the “tea party movement” has given Republicans in Congress new reasons to stick to their guns as the opposition party.
“It’s helping to create an atmosphere where all the incentives for Republican members of Congress are to oppose Obama,” agreed Eric Schickler, a political scientist at the University of California at Berkeley.
Former Rep. Bill Frenzel, R-Minn. (1971-91), a Brookings Institution scholar, says the tea parties remind him of the third-party presidential campaigns of Ross Perot in 1992 and 1996.
“It is a two-edged sword,” he said. “Democrats have a greater exposure. But Republicans are likely not to come out of this unscathed.”
CQ Politics rates the seats of Souder, Akin and Inglis as “Safe Republican” in the general election; Terry, “Leans Republican”; and the Kentucky Senate contest as as toss-up.
To see how all the 2010 congressional races are shaping up, check out the CQ Politics House and Senate campaign maps.
Comments
Rand Paul is behind 7 to 11 points in the last poll. How does that make him a "dark horse" against the "favorite"? The "favorite" has been in national media exactly 0 times since announcing, compare that to Paul who has been in the news regularly, there is obviously an appetite for something other than a Republican in Name Only and career politician in his opponent.
I remember when G.H.W.Bush said,-Read my Lips, no new taxes, and the republicans said nothing when it turned out false, and his son lied about Iraq, changed laws, drew up a doctrine to please him, and the republicans said nothing. So it seems that whatever a republican does is overlooked, but a democrat is crucfied.
Dr. Rand Paul is definitely not a dark horse candidate. Dark horse candidates do not raise $700,000 in one day and don't forget Peter Schiff in Connecticut as a libertarian Republican running against a machine Republican and if Arlen Spector wouldn't have swtiched parties you would probably refer to Pat Toomey as a tea bag republican too.
We need to change how the Republicans run the Presidential primary election. With today's technology we should hold the Presidential primary election in all the states at the same time, stop letting a few states select who will be the Republican candidate. If no one gets 50% have another election of the top two. If the 2008 primary were held this way we would have had a different candidate and we would have had a better chance of winning.
The hard right is clearly putting the Republicans into a lose-lose situtation. GOP federal representatives are a conservative bunch, driving them farther to the right to win prmaries will lessen their appeal to less dogmatic conservatives and lose the moderates. The shrinkage of the GOP will continue as the hard right continues to deprive American voters of a choice in making their political decisions.
I have a question. Who is funding these extremist republicans? They seem to have unlimited access to the media.. There demands seem to be don't allow the congress to pass anything stop the government from funtioning. This is terrorisn they need to be investigated...
@Robert Chapman Politics is not single axis, right-left. The Republican party is being driven DOWN, not Right, from Authoritarian (Bush and Obama) toward Libertarian. There is an awful lot of room between those two extremes right now and a lot of typically moderate voters sick of the whole crowd at the top.
Evought, interesting concepts. I hope to hear a lot more from you in the future. RC
All this hooey aside, the republicans will trot out their tired old lines about fiscal conservatism and leadership. The memory of the last 8 years hasn't faded enough for thinking people to believe it. Anytime a republican mentions his fiscally conservative bend, he should either be laughed at or thrown out. They have proven to be inept and dishonest at what they call their core principles - fiscal conservatism, national security. It's obvious it's all just talk, they failed miserably at leadership. We're still living the effects of their horrendous failures.
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