The tea party was in finger-pointing mode Wednesday, and the digits weren’t aimed at President Barack Obama.
Tea partiers placed the blame of the “epic election failure of 2012″ squarely on Mitt Romney and the Republican establishment during a press conference at the National Press Club.
“What we got was a weak, moderate candidate hand-picked by the Beltway elites and country club establishment wing of the Republican Party,” Tea Party Patriots national coordinator Jenny Beth Martin said. ”The presidential loss is unequivocally on them.”
Romney’s flaws? The list went on and on. Martin said that if candidates don’t start playing the game Constitution-style, it won’t be pretty for the GOP.
Martin and representatives from the Susan B. Anthony List, Americans for Tax Reform and The Paul Revere Project, among others, warned future Republican presidential and congressional hopefuls will be doomed if they don’t stick to traditional conservative values and small-government ideals.
Even if the former Massachusetts governor was conservative enough for tea partiers, his Etch-a-Sketch moves to appease both the religious right in the primary and independents in the general election ultimately cost him the presidency, speakers said.
But congressional candidates backed by the party didn’t enjoy the wave of success that gave the movement momentum in 2010.
Newly elected Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, was the tea party poster child. He emerged victorious from the primary and glided to an easy win Tuesday.
Iowa Rep. Steve King also was reelected for his sixth term, but there’s where the good news ended.
Failed presidential hopeful Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., barely scraped 51 percent of the vote for a victory against Democrat Jim Graves.
And several other candidates with Tea Party support were defeated..
Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock both lost Senate seats they had been favored to win before their comments on rape garnered national criticism. Reps. Joe Walsh, R-Ill.; Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md.; and Francisco “Quico” Canseco, R-Texas, all lost their House seats. So did Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., who was trying to step up to the Senate. Allen West, R-Fla., is trailing in his House district but refuses to concede and called for a recount.
“The tea party’s flag drooped pretty severely in Senate contests around the country — everywhere except Texas,” Rice University political scientist Paul Brace said. “The question is whether Cruz still finds it useful to carry the tea party banner as he moves forward.”
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List — a political action committee dedicated to electing pro-life women to Congress — vowed to spend more time coaching candidates on sensitivity and message before giving them official endorsement. They’re not changing their views to appeal to minorities, but they do plan to listen more to what is important to groups like Latinos and African Americans to find common ground on social issues, Media Research Center President Brent Bozell said.
And they insist, despite the rough start, that someday the tea party will be the savior of the GOP.
“The battle to take over the Republican Party begins today,” ConservativeHQ.com chairman Richard Viguerie said. “Mitt Romney’s loss was the death rattle of the establishment of the Republican Party.”
Can money really buy power? Looking at this year’s congressional campaigns, it sure didn’t hurt.
Millions of dollars are poured into tight Congressional campaigns in the hopes that more money, and in turn more advertising, will help candidates win elections.
Out of the 10 top Senate campaigns nationwide, the top spenders in eight won reelection, according to a Hearst analysis of the top most expensive Congressional elections nationwide. That goes down to six in the House.
Here’s a breakdown of the most expensive campaigns and the top Senate and House spenders who won, or didn’t.
Senate:
1. Massachusetts at $70,535,860
Big spender: Democrat Elizabeth Warren with $35,694,573
Winner: Warren
2. Connecticut at $52,483,032
Big spender: Republican Linda McMahon with $36,072,245
Winner: Democrat Chris Murphy, who only spent $8,611,343
3. Texas at $50,105,888
Big spender: Republican Ted Cruz with $10,949,578
Winner: Cruz
4. Missouri at $32,912,609
Big spender: Democrat Claire McCaskill with $17,443,642
Winner: McCaskill
5. Ohio at$32,483,713
Big spender: Democrat Sherrod Brown with $19,530,017
Winner: Brown
6. Virginia at $31,685,776
Big spender: Democrat Tim Kaine with $18,624,299
Winner: Kaine
7. Pennsylvania at $30,522,844
Big spender: Republican Tom Smith with $17,377,924
Winner: Democratic Sen. Bob Casey who spent $10,711,395
8. Wisconsin at $28,028,723
Big spender: Democrat Tammy Baldwin with $11,681,969
Winner: Baldwin
9. Florida at $23,501,053
Big spender: Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson with $12,492,376
Winner: Nelson
10. Michigan at $19,755,340
Big spender: Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow with $12,076,286
Winner: Stabenow
House
1. Minnesota District 06: $20,819,409
Big spender: Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann $19,290,861
Winner: Bachmann
2. Ohio District 08: $20,001,287
Big spender: House Speaker Rep. John Boehner with $19,992,465
Winner: Boehner. (He also ran with no major party opposition.)
3. Florida District 18: $17,299,333*
Big spender: Republican Rep. Allen West with $13,772,741
Winner: Democrat Patrick Murphy who spent $3,432,203
4. Connecticut District 05: $11,846,055
Big spender: Former state Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-Conn., with $2,753,460
Winner: Esty
5. California District 30: $10,338,894
Big spender: Democratic Rep. Howard Berman with $5,364,071
Winner: Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman with $4,928,158
6. Texas District 33: $8,115,551
Big spender: Democrat Marc Veasey with $1,007,382
Winner: Veasey
7. California District 33: $7,817,931
Big spender: Independent Bill Bloomfield with $5,654,105
Winner: Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman with $1,761,263
8. New York District 27: $7,524,128
Big spender: Democratic incumbent Rep. Kathy Hochul with $3,651,659
Winner: Republican Chris Collins who spent $982,093
9. Virginia District 07: $7,226,255
Big spender: Majority leader Rep. Eric Cantor with $6,608,256
Winner: Cantor
10. Washington District 01: $6,915,275
Big spender: Democrat Suzan DelBene with $4,118,983
The former Texas solicitor general came out of nowhere to defeat a wealthy, well-known Republican rival, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, in the GOP Senate runoff. Among the factors behind Cruz’s win: effective use of social media, an ability to build a grassroots organization, a clear message of liberty and fiscal responsibility, and some help from Tea Party loyalists. All in all, Cruz received more bang for his political bucks than any other candidate in the nation this year.
2. Mazie Hirono, Democrat, U.S. Senate, Hawaii
Ten years ago, Republican Linda Lingle narrowly defeated Hawaii Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono in a battle to become the first female governor in Hawaii’s history. Their rematch took a decade, but this time Hirono is leading Lingle by double digits. Hirono, now a congresswoman, raised a lot of money all over the country (she was the top out-of-state recipient of Texas Democratic contributions) and spent it wisely. It doesn’t hurt that native son Barack Obama is leading Mitt Romney by more than 30 percentage points here.
3. Sen. Orrin Hatch, Republican, U.S. Senate, Utah
Utah’s senior senator watched in horror two years ago when his conservative partner in Washington, Utah Sen. Bob Bennett, was beaten by two Tea Party challengers in his bid for renomination. Hatch made sure it didn’t happen again. He underscored his conservative positions, worked tirelessly to communicate with conservative Republicans, and spent a boatload of money. The result: a landslide renomination victory and a general election landslide.
4. Denny Rehberg, Republican, U.S. Senate, Montana
Republicans figured that they could reclaim the Montana Senate seat they lost six years ago if they just didn’t make any mistakes. Rep. Denny Rehberg, the GOP nominee, hasn’t. His disciplined campaign, aided by conservative Super PAC spending, has made an effective argument for change.
5. Sen. Jon Tester, Democrat, U.S. Senate, Montana
The incumbent Democrat would be running well behind if he weren’t running such a good campaign. Montana is a solid Romney state, but freshman Tester remains well-liked. And nobody will outwork him.
6. Linda McMahon, Republican, U.S. Senate, Connecticut
McMahon’s 2010 Senate candidacy fell far short against a well-known Connecticut political veteran, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. This year, McMahon’s millions made her the better-known nominee against Democratic congressman Patrick Murphy. McMahon’s message is clearer and her campaign has been sharp and disciplined. But Connecticut is a Democratic state, so she’s still the underdog.
7. Mia Love, Republican, U.S. House, Utah
Mia Love is poised to make history. If she maintains her lead over incumbent Democrat Jim Matheson, she would become the first Utah woman and the first African American Mormon elected to Congress. Charismatic and consistently conservative, the small-town mayor emerged as a national star during the Republican National Convention, where she delivered a powerful speech to cheering delegates. It doesn’t hurt that Romney could carry Utah by more than 40 percentage points.
8. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Democrat, U.S. Senate, New York
Hillary Clinton’s replacement in the Senate never stopped running after her 2010 special election win. She had money and organization — and now name-recognition and a record. She ran such a good campaign that she’s been able to spend time working for other Democratic women seeking Senate seats.
9. Sen. Sherrod Brown, Democrat, U.S. Senate, Ohio
Outside groups have spent more money to defeat Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown than any other congressional incumbent. For good reason: The populist lawmaker has been an articulate critic of Big Business, Wall Street and corporate outlaws. But Brown has effectively turned the tables on his expensive enemies, portraying himself as the fighter for average Ohioans against entrenched interests.
10. Heidi Heitkamp, Democrat, U.S. Senate, North Dakota
This race wasn’t supposed to be close. Republicans were expected to easily win the seat being surrendered by retiring Democratic Sen. Byron Dorgan. But North Dakota’s former attorney general — who is as comfortable as a cowgirl as a courtroom lawyer — has stressed her independence from Obama, who is very unpopular in this Republican-leaning state. Republican Rick Berg has opened up a lead in recent weeks, but it’s taken an exceptional campaign to make it this competitive.
Worst campaigns
worst campaigns 2012
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1. Rick Perry, Republican, President
The Texas governor entered the race atop the presidential polls. He was a well-funded, hard-charging conservative who — it was thought — could unite the GOP’s social conservative and establishment wings. Three months later, his campaign had collapsed amid bad debate performances and staff in-fighting. Some longtime pundits declared it was the worst major presidential campaign they’d ever seen.
2. Michele Bachmann, Republican, President
The Minnesota congresswoman was a presidential frontrunner … for about a week. But her campaign went downhill quickly after she claimed that a woman told her that an anti-cancer vaccine had caused brain damage. She soon became the butt of late-night comics’ jokes following a string of factual errors including the time she confused movie he-man John Wayne with mass murderer John Wayne Gacy. By the time Herman Cain got his 15 minutes of fame, Bachmann was toast.
3. Mark Clayton, Democrat, U.S. Senate, Tennessee
The Washington Post said of the conspiracy theorist who ended up the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Tennessee, “This may be America’s worst candidate.” He proudly is running as a loner — “Jesus did not have a campaign staff,” Mark Clayton has said — and he’s even been disavowed by his own party. It’s good that he has flooring installation skills. He sure won’t end up in the Senate.
4. Richard Mourdock, Republican, U.S. Senate, Indiana
A few months ago, this perennial candidate was the toast of the Tea Party, having knocked off veteran Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar in the Republican primary. But a funny thing happened on the way to the Senate. The more Mourdock talked, the closer his race against Democrat Joe Donnelly became. After he said in a debate that pregnancies resulting from rape are “something God intended to happen,” he cratered in the polls. A likely victory has become an unmitigated disaster.
5. Todd Akin, Republican, U.S. Senate, Missouri
At the beginning of the year, Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill was billed as the most endangered Democratic incumbent in the nation. That was before far-right congressman Todd Akin won the Republican nomination over two mainstream conservatives and uttered his now-infamous “legitimate rape” comment. Mitt Romney asked him to withdraw from the race, and top congressional Republicans distanced themselves from their Missouri nominee. But polls show Akin still has a fighting chance to topple McCaskill.
6. Rep. Joe Walsh, Republican, U.S. House, Illinois
This Tea Party freshman from suburban Chicago is a human gaffe machine, some with racial overtones. He said Democrats “want Hispanics to be dependent upon government, just like they got African-Americans dependent upon government.” He says his opponent, Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq war veteran and double amputee, uses her military service as “a political ploy.” He suggested that pregnancies caused by rape could not jeopardize the life of the woman. And that’s just the beginning. Only a massive cash infusion by conservative Super PACs might be able to rescue the miscue-prone incumbent.
7. Sen. Bob Casey, Democrat, U.S. Senate, Pennsylvania
After Republicans nominated a political unknown named Smith, the Pundit Elite declared the Pennsylvania Senate election over. But Mr. Smith might end up coming to Washington. Tom Smith, a rich Republican businessman from coal country, has spent millions of his personal fortune on TV ads. Caught by surprise, freshman Sen. Bob Casey had to scramble. Even if he manages to rebound, it won’t be anything like his 20-point trouncing of Republican incumbent Rick Santorum six years ago.
8. Wendy Long, Republican, U.S. Senate, New York
Can you name the Republican Party’s nominee for the U.S. Senate in New York? If you can’t, you’re in the majority. The election is upon us and Wendy Long, the conservative activist who is challenging Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, remains largely unknown, severely underfunded and completely out of the news. Where have you gone Al D’Amato?
9. Rep. Pete Stark, Democrat, U.S. House, California
California congressman Pete Stark seems to be doing everything humanly possible to lose the seat he has held for 39 years. The 81-year-old ultraliberal represents a solidly Democratic district, but his opponent in California’s new multiparty primary system is a fellow Democrat, Eric Swalwell, a local city council member who has been alive for fewer years (31) than Stark has served in Washington. Stark had not responded well to the pressure. As our San Francisco Chronicle colleague Carla Marinucci wrote recently:
In the latest episode raising questions about the erratic behavior of California’s longest standing Congressman, a former California State Assembly Majority leader said Tuesday that East Bay Democratic Rep. Pete Stark erupted in an angry tirade — questioning his sanity, threatening his livelihood and even vowing to call social workers to check on his kids — after he informed Stark he would endorse his opponent in the November general election.
Voters in the district have a stark choice on Tuesday.
10. Pete Hoekstra, Republican, U.S. Senate, Michigan
Former congressman Pete Hoekstra, who lost the 2010 Republican primary for governor, got off to a bad start in his 2012 Senate race when he purchased a TV ad on Super Bowl Sunday that was roundly condemned for its racist content. In the commercial, an Asian-American actress biked alongside rice paddies and then, in broken English, thanked Michigan’s Democratic senator, Debbie Stabenow, whom she called “Debbie Spend It Now,” for borrowing money from “us” (China) to finance the U.S. national debt. After a national backlash, actress Lisa Chan apologized. Hoekstra did not. He dropped in the polls and, despite a late-in-the-race tightening, fell out of contention.
Here’s the controversial ad:
And here’s one of the many parodies that went viral:
Manhattan Mini Storage might be a local New York company, but its ads poking fun at various presidential candidates though out the 2012 election cycle have gone viral thanks to social media.
The latest in the line of these ads is one targeting Paul Ryan, asking New Yorkers (and anyone within the reach of a “share” click): “Doesn’t Paul Ryan remind you of every frat guy you regret sleeping with?”
Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann have been ridiculed by the company for claiming that God spoke to them, while Mitt Romney was targeted for his ‘binders full of women’ comment. The company has also taken on issues such as the recent soda ban, gun control and gay marriage.
Manhattan Mini Storage ads appear on buses, trains and even billboards throughout New York.
