Can the GOP Harness Tea Party Power?
The Tea Party’s recent surge in power has both Republicans and Democrats scrambling to readjust this week. The latest Tea candidate to catch the GOP by surprise was Delaware’s Christine O’Donnell. Her race and others have stunned the establishment, setting up a GOP realignment that Democrats hope they will be able to use to their advantage. According to the latest ABC News-Washington Post poll, the Tea Party makes up a whopping 44 percent of the Republican primary electorate. “The Tea Party is the Republican Party,” Democratic strategist James Carville said. “This is not a fringe element of the Republican Party.” But while Democrats like Carville acknowledge the movement’s strength, some establishment Republicans like former Bush political adviser Karl Rove are trying to take it down a notch. “Why did she (O’Donnell) mislead voters about her college education?” former Bush political adviser Kark Rove asked in a recent Fox News interview. “How come it took nearly two decades to pay her
