The premier bashing point for Politico’s rants is that Michele was “ineffective,” which is the classic Washington put-down, favored above all because it avoids such controversial issues as “right” and “wrong.” And Michele, as Politicopoints out in infinite detail, definitely did not make it to the inner circles of power in the House of Representatives.
But having made that point, Politico goes on to moralize that Bachmann’s career is metaphor for the failure of the Tea Party crowd in general—Jake Sherman and Alex Isenstadt write that
Rock-ribbed, deep-pocketed conservatives who are favorites of the grass roots haven’t fared well of late — Bachmann is just the most recent example.
South Florida voters booted Republican Rep. Allen West out of Congress in 2012, despite his hefty campaign war chest and frequent appearances on television. Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), an embodiment of the tea party movement, declined to run for a Senate seat in 2014. Instead, he’ll stay in the House, where, despite a decade of seniority, he doesn’t wield a single gavel. And even former Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) has struggled to translate his tea party heft to influence at The Heritage Foundation, where he’s had a rocky start. The group’s recent immigration critique wasn’t well received.
The Tea Party has done more, I think, than Jake and Alex will say. The sequestration may serve as their monument. Cutting every government program by X percent is probably the “worst” way to cut spending, but it’s quite likely the only way as well. Of course, we ought to establish priorities, but that means making decisions and making judgments—“My program is more important than your program”—and comparisons, as Dogberry reminds us, are odorous. There are times when the meat axe surpasses the scalpel.
