Say It Ain't So Already

Tea Party Candidates Discover Hard Realities of Campaigns

March 30, 2010 at 2:54 PM 1 comment

Here’s a fascinating article about the dilemma faced by the Tea Partiers — and by many of us who are of a different political persuasion but who agree that “Washington is broken” — in terms of backing a traditional candidate from one of the two parties, or trying to run one of their own (and facing the extraordinary time and money commitment that entails):

Jason Meade of New Franklin, Ohio, is among hundreds of political hopefuls looking to ride the “tea party” wave to Washington this year. Like most, he’s finding it a tough go.

Mr. Meade is running in the Republican primary in Ohio’s 13th Congressional District against five candidates while juggling a 50-hour workweek at a plastics plant. His headquarters “is in the second-floor living room in the corner where the computer is,” he says. His campaign has $3,000 to its name.

Mr. Meade’s experience goes to the heart of a debate roiling the nascent movement: Should it back fervent long shots who hew to its antigovernment views, or should it rally around more traditional candidates, even if they don’t perfectly reflect the movement’s distaste for incumbents, taxes and spending?

The question is being asked as homegrown candidates confront brute realities of politics: reluctant donors, limited party support, inexperienced staffers and the uphill fight against incumbents.

At the root of a fix for this (and so much else) is the need for campaign finance reform which would be such a wonderful thing for our country but, sadly, I don’t think will ever happen.

Entry filed under: 2010 Election. Tags: .