The Rise of the Tea Party

The GOP is being pulled in two directions, the Tea Party direction, where irrational hate and fear thrive, and the progressive direction, where reasonable republicans want to be more inclusive and find a way to update the party.

I'd say the Tea Party is the minority within the GOP, but it is the most vocal and active. The Tea Party hates government and they have a visceral hate of Obama because he's the polar opposite of what these people stand for. Tea Party members are largely uninformed. You can plainly see that if you check out any of the tea party videos.

They despise the republican party because they believe republicans have sold out their values.

I would also say the Tea Party attracts racists and bigots, who hate gay people, who hate liberals, who hate immigrants, who hate anyone who isn't like them. These are people who largely hate out of fear. I'd bet 100% call themselves Christians, ironically.

They are the same people we saw come out in droves to Sarah Palin's rallies during the campaign.

Not everyone who attended a tea party has those persuasions but I'm convinced that the essence of the rising Tea Party is fear and hate. 
Politico touches on the GOP rebellion today:

But outside Washington, the reality is very different. Rank-and-file Republicans remain, by all indications, staunchly conservative, and they appear to have no desire to moderate their views. GOP activists and operatives say they hear intense anger at the White House and at the party’s own leaders on familiar issues – taxes, homosexuality, and immigration. Within the party, conservative groups have grown stronger absent the emergence of any organized moderate faction.

There is little appetite for compromise on what many see as core issues, and the road to the presidential nomination lies – as always – through a series of states where the conservative base holds sway, and where the anger appears to be, if anything, particularly intense.

"There is a sense of rebellion brewing," said Katon Dawson, the outgoing South Carolina Republican Party chairman, who cited unexpectedly high attendance at anti-tax “tea parties” last week. 

Who are the Tea Partiers? Remember these people:

Michael Steele New RNC Chair

Michael Steele is the first black man to head the RNC. Republicans get an A+ for recognizing that you can't be diverse if you're not diverse. Steele grew up in a house of democrats and credits Reagan (there's that name again) for turning him into a republican. He's got a lot of work to do. Maybe he can shut down the Rush types. I'd be happy if the republican party could do that. Of course, the Rush types will be spending the next few weeks sucking up. 
See a video on what he says about Obama.
Read more here.
10 things you didn't know about Steele
Here is Steele's "blueprint for tomorrow:"
Blueprint - Grassroots

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Here is Steele's acceptance speech:

Just for fun, check out the republicans on Twitter here. Republicans talk guns and tweets:
At a recent debate, the candidates to become chairman of the Republican National Committee were asked -- after rattling off how many guns they own -- whether they have any "followers" on Twitter, the popular online social network for short messages.

They didn't miss a beat.

"Yes, the number is growing last time I checked -- 300 to 400," replied candidate Michael Steele, a former lieutenant governor of Maryland. Users of the site keep track of posts, or "tweets," from other users by becoming their followers.

Another candidate, Katon Dawson, chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party, said he would be Twittering away at that very moment if it weren't for the debate rules. "I'm just not doing it today because you told us we couldn't," he said.

Then Ken Blackwell, a former secretary of state of Ohio, trumped them both. "I do Twitter, but let me just say I have 4,000 friends on Facebook, which is probably more than these two guys put together, but who's counting?" Read more at the WSJ.

RNC Candidates Debate How To Attract More Minorities

Attention RNC, here's how: You come to the realization that America is becoming more brown and black than it is white. You face up to prejudice within your party. You recognize and quickly denounce discrimination within your party. Hello Chip. Hello Radio Talk Show Hosts. You pick leaders who are black and brown. You work to meet the needs of minorities. Then, you lead.

TP: Today, the candidates debated the future of the Party at the National Press Club and all agreed that the GOP needs to bring in more minorities. But in an interview with ThinkProgress after the debate, Steele said that Saltsman is detracting from this effort. He strongly criticized Saltsman’s decision to send out the “Magic Negro” song, saying “it doesn’t help at all” the GOP’s effort to bring in minorities to the party: read the rest/see video

Who's in the running to head the republican national committee:

The Hill: South Carolina GOP chief Katon Dawson, Former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, Michigan Republican Party chairman Saul Anuzis and current chairman Robert M. "Mike" Duncan all have the backing of a majority of delegates from three states, the threshold for appearing on the ballot.

Two other candidates have yet to release enough names to guarantee a spot on the ballot. Former Maryland Lieutenant Gov. Michael Steele and former Tennessee GOP party chairman Chip Saltsman, who was criticized by Duncan and Anuzis for circulating a CD to RNC members that included the parody song "Barack the Magic Negro," are also running for the position.