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Thursday, April 8, 2010 – Daily News – 3B Candidates viewing tea party support as double-edged sword WASHINGTON (MCT) — If Kentucky Republican Senate hopeful Rand Paul, a darling of the tea party movement, sails to victory in Kentucky's May 18 GOP prima- ry, his victory could prove a harbinger of things to come during this November's mid- term elections. A Paul win over the Republican estab- lishment's favored candidate — Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson — would help measure the tea party's clout as a grass- roots insurgency powered by disgruntled conservatives who bemoan what they see as an unprecedented expansion in federal gov- ernment. "I think they're ready for a lot of people to come home — that includes incum- bents," said Paul, the son of 2008 presiden- tial candidate Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas. "There's a tea party tidal wave coming, and when it comes it's going to sweep a lot of people out." But a lot of that may depend on whether Paul, a 47-year-old eye surgeon from the south central Kentucky city of Bowling Green, can avoid some potential land mines that have also drawn attention nationally. Last month, tea party-affiliated health care bill protesters gathered outside the U.S. Capitol shouted racial epithets at Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia congressman and civil rights icon, and spat on Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., who is also African-Amer- ican. The protesters also used a slur as they confronted Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., an openly gay member of Congress. During protests last summer, demonstra- tors displayed a poster depicting Obama as an African witch doctor complete with headdress, above the words "OBA- MACARE coming to a clinic near you." Paul, who has been a fixture at tea party events since the movement's infancy, says he does not condone such actions. He points out that the group's rallies are a "sort of open mike night" where the actions of a few have led to "a lot of misconception nationally about the Tea Party movement." His Web site coyly asks whether he's a "tea party poster child?" and his stump speeches utilize anti-big government tea party buzzwords like "Obamacare." But he stops short of acknowledging outright membership. Nate Hodson, Grayson's spokesman, says it's disingenuous for Paul to assert that he's a maverick grass-roots champion when he's raised hundreds of thousands in cam- paign cash from his dad's list of out-of-state donors. "Rand Paul's ties to Washington are much closer than he's letting on to Kentuck- ians," Hodson said. "Rand Paul is a member of a longtime Washington family and he's running as the heir apparent to the family business." The amorphous nature of the tea party movement makes it easier for a hopeful to sail under its banner. Anybody who oppos- MCT file photo U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul pledges his platform at the 129th Fancy Farm Picnic in Lexington, Ky. es the expansion of government and is against the Obama administration's plat- form is invited, said Ross Baker, a political science professor at Rutgers University. "Politicians are very opportunistic. Unless they are being endorsed by some disreputable organization, they will general- ly accept support," Baker said. "But the nightmare of every politician is you're pho- tographed with your arm around the nation- al president of the man-boy love associa- tion. "You accept whatever dividends you get and you keep your fingers crossed that your supporters don't go crazy." Tea party-backed candidates are making similar gambits in Arizona in the closely watched race that pits former TV personal- ity-turned-congressman-turned-conserva- tive radio talk host J.D. Hayworth against the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain. In the Florida race for the U.S. Senate, tea party backing is helping former state House speaker Marco Rubio mount a surprisingly competitive challenge to Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican Party favorite son and rising star. Rubio won the endorsement of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani on Monday. The tea party vs. the Republican estab- lishment theme is also playing out in races in California and Utah. In the Kentucky race, Paul was endorsed by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, which in tea party circles is akin to being named to Oprah's favorite things list. Former Vice President Dick Cheney endorsed Grayson, calling him "the real conservative in this race," and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has long lent Grayson both his blessing and his support. Paul leveraged his tea party support and his father's donor network to pull in $2 mil- lion, more than the $1.7 million Grayson pulled in with the help of GOP heavy hit- ters. Paul is also ahead in several polls, including a SurveyUSA poll from early March that showed Paul garnering the sup- port of 42 percent of likely Republican vot- ers, compared with Grayson's 27 percent. "It's the perfect storm. It's me being in the right place, with the right ideas, at the right time. This wouldn't have happened six years ago," Paul said. "It dawned on me at last year's April 15th rally in Bowling Green. I walked up to the square thinking there would only be about 20 or 30 people and there were several hundred people there. I thought, 'Huh, we might be on to something.' " According to a recent Quinnipiac Uni- versity national poll, 74 percent of tea party adherents are either registered Republicans or independents who lean Republican. Republican strategists worry that con- tentious primary battles, like the one in Kentucky, could exhaust campaign coffers and, in races where tea party-backed candi- dates emerge victorious, could make the party vulnerable to big losses in the fall's general election. Democrats are seizing on this and are doubling efforts to take a strong and critical position against the tea party movement. This week the Democratic Senatorial Cam- paign Committee issued a statement calling on Paul to say whether he stands with his "out-of-state tea party backers or with Ken- tucky senior citizens, by taking a position on the proposal to abolish Social Security put forth by tea party leaders recently on 'Larry King Live.' " "For a Republican to win they have to not only get regular Republicans and the tea party Republicans, they have to make sure they keep all the people who may be offended by these tactics for the general elections," said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics. Rand and other candidates can accom- plish this by trying to find "mainstream positions supported by the tea party. There aren't a lot of people endorsing increasing mainstream debt. And you avoid extreme positions. Most of the tea party affiliates don't identify with the fringe." Tehama County’s Personal/Professional Service Directory Runs every Advertisement Attorney Tuesday - Thursday - Saturday Bankruptcy Clock Repair Local Bankruptcy Attorney Jocelyn C. Olander 530-824-0288 Free Consultation Payment Plans Available Web: www.jcoattyatlaw.com email: mail@jcoatty atlaw.com Advertisement If this was your Service Directory ad customers would be reading it right now!! 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