WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Victories by Tea Party-backed Republicans yesterday made certain the conservative movement will have a front-row seat in Washington to do battle for cuts in government spending and deficits.
But at the same time, their presence may make it harder for Republicans and Democrats to find middle ground on the main issues of the day and would likely lead to more gridlock.
Waving the Tea Party banner were Republicans Marco Rubio of Florida and Rand Paul of K
entucky as they rolled to victory in their Senate races.
Others were not able to make it, such as Republican Christine O’Donnell, backed by Tea Party champion Sarah Palin. O’Donnell defeated moderate Republican Mike Castle to win her party’s nomination but lost the Delaware Senate race to Democrat Chris Coons.
The Tea Party is a new phenomenon in American politics, a loose-knit group of people outraged by government spending, rising debt and deficits, and President Barack Obama’s healthcare overhaul.
Democrats have tried to portray them as political extremists, pointing to their calls to privatise Social Security and to Paul’s complaints that the Federal Reserve Board has too much power over the U.S. economy.
Paul has been a strong critic of the power of the Fed and his election could herald a push by on the right flank of the Republican party to tighten Fed oversight.
Republicans have largely welcomed the Tea Party representatives, feeling they were pressing the same issues and fretting that to do otherwise risked splitting the Republican Party right down the middle.
“We know they’re focused on the same things that we are — reducing wasteful spending, reducing debt, repealing or replacing healthcare,” said Don Stewart, spokesman for Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. “We’re all pointed in the same direction on that front.”
