Conservative Senator Slams Tea Party Groups For Hurting GOP Establishment

Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., speaks at the Republican party of Wisconsin State Convention Saturday, May 3, 2014, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)
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Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) on Saturday railed against Tea Party groups for hurting establishment candidates and incumbents just to fundraise.

“That is a fact. It is not a conjecture, and so many of these groups it is basically donor capture. They are there to perpetuate themselves,” he said at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans, La., as recorded by The Daily Beast.

Johnson explained that he feels that some Tea Party groups don’t actually represent the grassroots Tea Party movement, with which he identifies.

“I value the membership of the Tea Party movement. I am right there with them ideologically, I mean, ‘Taxed Enough Already.’ But the groups don’t necessarily represent all of the individuals in the movement. I think the individuals are now realizing they may have been led astray by an individual group or two and they really do understand that they have to win elections,” he said. “My guess is the Tea Party grassroots are maybe a little more flexible.”

The senator stressed that the party needs to be more reasonable in order to win general elections.

“I think the conservative movement may just be maturing a little bit. You can be very doctrinaire, you can demand purity, but in the end if you want to advance policy that you want enacted you have to win elections,” Johnson said. “If you start out bombastic, if you start out with conspiracies, they aren’t going to listen to you.”

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Notable Replies

  1. Hah. Teabagger Senator now trying to distance himself from the teabagger brigade that got him elected. Can’t have it both ways asshole. You created this monster. He wouldn’t be seated as a US Senator if it weren’t for the idiots he’s now going after rhetorically …and now that the Tea Party is seen as a destructive force in American politics all the way around, he wants to pretend he’s some kind of establishment GOoPer politician…Laughable.

  2. so many of these groups it is basically donor capture. They are there to perpetuate themselves

    Kind of like, oh… I dunno. Cancer?

    Your party created them, coddled them, welcomed them, and hell… face it dude, they belong to you.

  3. Avatar for pine pine says:

    GOOD !!! Couldn’t happen to a better bunch of folks.

  4. I am almost brought to TEARS when conservatives can’t raise the money they need to get elected. Crocodile tears, big juicy ones. My heart goes out to them, and I’m ready to play my violin in the background as they plead for the Tea Party idiots to stop robbing them of campaign cash!

  5. The senator stressed that the party needs to be more reasonable in order to win general elections.

    If the party were only slightly more “reasonable” the party would look almost identical to the current RIGHT OF CENTER Democratic Party. I’m so sick of ALL politicians protecting big business and the rich while they deny unemployment benefits, Food Stamps, and health care to millions of poor Americans.

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