Tea Party, where will it go?

[jimmy olsen]

We've seen this song and dance before.  This is just the manifestation of the Reform party and the patriot movement in the 1990's.

I disagree, the Reform Party could have actually won the election if Perot hadn't flaked out and dropped out of the race. I see no possibility of that happening with the Tea Party.

Perot was a loon though.  His loonieness would have manifested itself somehow.

Perhaps, but if he'd manage to hold it until November he could have won.

[Razgovory]

Well sure isn't a youth movement.

[Eddie Teach]

Perhaps, but if he'd manage to hold it until November he could have won.

I just don't see that happening. Perot was always a protest vote without a lot of "there" there.

[Razgovory]

Perhaps, but if he'd manage to hold it until November he could have won.

I just don't see that happening. Perot was always a protest vote without a lot of "there" there.

I'm not sure exactly what the reform party wanted either.  Which I suppose makes it very attractive.  People fill it up with their own ideas.

[Caliga]

At least Prin lets him pretend that he is in charge.

No, we both know who wears the pants.  Thing is, we live in a matriarchal society, so that's the way it is with most couples.  Only the Muslims treat women the way they ought to be treated.

[Caliga]

I just don't see that happening. Perot was always a protest vote without a lot of "there" there.

Agree... he'd never have won, he would have just given Clinton more of a landslide.

[Admiral Yi]

I just don't see that happening. Perot was always a protest vote without a lot of "there" there.

There was definitely some there there.  He put deficit reduction on the map.  And while I disagree with the position, his opposition to NAFTA had some there there as well.

[Eddie Teach]

I don't mean Perot the candidate, I mean the motivations of the Perot voter.

[Caliga]

My dad voted for Perot. 

[jimmy olsen]

I just don't see that happening. Perot was always a protest vote without a lot of "there" there.

Agree... he'd never have won, he would have just given Clinton more of a landslide.

He got 18.9% of the vote even after his bizzare behavior. He had a lead with  39 percent, to Bush's 31 percent, and Clinton's 25 percent in June. He definitely could have challenged Roosevelt's mark of 27.4% for a third party candidate. Even if he didn't win outright he could have gotten the election thrown into the House which would have been interesting in it's own right. I know the Dems had more seats, but I'm not sure how they broke down by state.

[Caliga]

Dude, his "lead" was early opinion polling, which doesn't mean shit.  IIRC John Kerry had a sizable lead over Bush in opinion polling at that stage of the 2004 campaign.

[jimmy olsen]

Dude, his "lead" was early opinion polling, which doesn't mean shit.  IIRC John Kerry had a sizable lead over Bush in opinion polling at that stage of the 2004 campaign.

The man got 19% after acting like a loon, you really think he wouldn't have done substantially better if he had never dropped out?

[grumbler]

Dude, his "lead" was early opinion polling, which doesn't mean shit.  IIRC John Kerry had a sizable lead over Bush in opinion polling at that stage of the 2004 campaign.

The man got 19% after acting like a loon, you really think he wouldn't have done substantially better if he had never dropped out?

No, because I think the typical Perot voter wasn't voting for Perot, they were voting against the other two candidates.  Perot being more attractive wouldn't have translated into many more voters, IMO.

[derspiess]

The man got 19% after acting like a loon, you really think he wouldn't have done substantially better if he had never dropped out?

Protest-voters aren't going to magically decide to vote for both mainstream candidates once their guy drops out.  And the man was destined to act like a loon.  He did that many times in fact before people started noticing.

[Gups]

The Peasants Revolt in England was mostly middle class as well.

Yes, the huge C14th English middle class.

They had a bit of help from some disaffected noblemen, but it really was mainly peasants.