Chuck Todd: Tea Party Just Another GOP Constituency

Tea Partiers and liberals each have surprisingly similar hopes and dreams for the hot beverage-inspired movement, namely that its impact on conservative politics will have a game-changing effect in upcoming elections. While the Tea Party hopes to replace Democrats and establishment Republicans with its own candidates, liberals hope they fracture conservative voters, NY 23-style, and sweep piles of Democrats into Congress.

NBC Chief White House Correspondent Chuck Todd rains on both parades. I asked Chuck to read the tea leaves on this movement, and his analysis positions the Tea Party as more of a strong aftertaste in Republican politics.

I think Chuck may be on the right track here, because while the Tea Party movement has a lot of energy going for it, their leadership is too fragmented to succeed as an alternative to the GOP. If that energy can be sustained over the course of several elections, that may change.

As a quick side-note, one of the fun things about these interviews is watching out for other reporters who wander in and out of the briefing room. In this clip, there are guest appearances by Bloomberg’s Hans Nichols (after the credits), and by Politics Daily’s Patricia Murphy, who’s sitting a few rows behind Chuck.

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.

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