The midterm election season is in full swing and students are having a much harder time trying to stay politically ignorant. If they watch TV, they see political ads. If they pick up a newspaper, they see political stories. If they walk down the street, they see lawn signs.
The biggest story this year is how the Tea Party movement is taking the conservative vote by storm. Across the country, registered Republicans have decided that very fiscally conservative candidates should be put into office.
After the first two years of the Obama administration, much of the country has become displeased with the direction that some of the enacted policies have taken us. Still others have become displeased with the growing feeling that nothing is being accomplished. It is because of this that the midterm elections are all but gift wrapped for the Republicans.
During the primaries earlier this fall, the country was witness to the real power of the Tea Party movement. The group that had been viewed up to that point as nothing more than passionate rabble-rousers came out in droves to upset many of the more moderate Republicans. The two most well known of these were the nominations of Delaware's Christine O'Donnell and Buffalo's own "cranky" Carl Paladino.
From the very beginning, these nominations came under fire. After O'Donnell upset Mike Castle, Karl Rove blasted her for being an unelectable candidate.
Love him or hate him, Karl Rove is a political genius and a heavyweight in the Republican Party. His anti-endorsement will turn off most of the more moderate voters in the state. This alone would not seal a loss for the Republicans, but as O'Donnell is now more famous for being a witch who hates masturbation than for being a candidate for the Senate, it is unlikely that she will be able to win.
Paladino's road has been very similar. After he upset Rick Lazio in the Republican primary, Paladino was looking at the possibility of having to run against both Democrat Andrew Cuomo as well as the new independent candidate Rick Lazio. This, of course, would have been absolutely unwinnable, so for the sake of the party, Lazio dropped out of the race and put his support behind Paladino.
For a short time, polls showed Paladino gaining on Cuomo. This was until the mad candidate started to show his true self.
His past e-mails became public and his run-in with a reporter started to lure potential voters away from the idea of giving Paladino the chance to take a baseball bat to Albany. In his most recent debacle, he came out as a blatant homophobe and when given the chance to retract his words, he stood by the hateful things he said. It may be going out on a limb, but I do not think Paladino stands a chance.
These are not the only Tea Party candidates. There are some that have legitimate chances of being elected, but as many of these nominees are political neophytes, mistakes and inexperience are weaknesses for their campaigns. This will only hurt their cause.
At the turn of the century, one of the most steadfast names in politics was Ralph Nader. Nader, a man made famous for his consumer advocacy, was a liberal candidate who seemed to always have his name on the ballot for the Green Party.
Those who supported Nader would have called themselves Democrats in any other year. Nader had no chance of actually winning any election he ran in. What he did accomplish, however, was taking much-needed votes away from Democratic candidates. His actions, although made with the best intentions for his cause, were instrumental in the Democrats' failure.
Much like Nader, these candidates have taken it upon themselves to see that their beliefs are represented. Also like Nader, these candidates have no chance of winning. All the Tea Party will do in November is lose races and split votes. The lasting effect of this movement will be nothing more than to save seats that the Democrats should have lost.
E-mail: ccbeyer@buffalo.edu
