Oomph going out of Tea Party balloon
In Iowa and Beyond, Redrawn Districts Test Favorites of Tea Party
By JENNIFER STEINHAUER, NYT
ORANGE CITY, Iowa — Representative Steve King tapped his fingers impatiently against the lectern as his Democratic debate opponent, Christie Vilsack, lit into him about the House’s failure to take up a farm bill. “I have just one question for Congressman King,” Mrs. Vilsack said, as the Republican looked on with irritation. “Where is the farm bill?”
It was an uncommon moment for Mr. King, the Tea Party firebrand who for the last decade has threshed his opponents like a combine through corn. This time around, he is in the unfamiliar and highly uncomfortable position of defending his House seat against an aggressive, well-known Democrat with a lot of outside money supporting her bid.
Mr. King’s troubles underscore the liability of a national profile built largely on Tea Party credentials and incendiary statements — his have included comparing illegal immigrants to domestic pets, defending dog fighting and likening Capitol Hill maintenance workers to “Stasi troops” after they were ordered to install new light bulbs — as candidates in newly drawn districts face an electorate tired of empty political talk and stalemate.
Like Mr. King, Tea Party candidates across the country in districts with a mix of voters are finding a far less hospitable environment this time, especially in swing states. Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota is in a tight race with a deep-pocketed Democrat, though officials in both parties put her chances of returning to Washington as better than Mr. King’s. Representative Mike Coffman of Colorado and Representative Allen West of Florida are also facing head winds.
(More here.)
ORANGE CITY, Iowa — Representative Steve King tapped his fingers impatiently against the lectern as his Democratic debate opponent, Christie Vilsack, lit into him about the House’s failure to take up a farm bill. “I have just one question for Congressman King,” Mrs. Vilsack said, as the Republican looked on with irritation. “Where is the farm bill?”
It was an uncommon moment for Mr. King, the Tea Party firebrand who for the last decade has threshed his opponents like a combine through corn. This time around, he is in the unfamiliar and highly uncomfortable position of defending his House seat against an aggressive, well-known Democrat with a lot of outside money supporting her bid.
Mr. King’s troubles underscore the liability of a national profile built largely on Tea Party credentials and incendiary statements — his have included comparing illegal immigrants to domestic pets, defending dog fighting and likening Capitol Hill maintenance workers to “Stasi troops” after they were ordered to install new light bulbs — as candidates in newly drawn districts face an electorate tired of empty political talk and stalemate.
Like Mr. King, Tea Party candidates across the country in districts with a mix of voters are finding a far less hospitable environment this time, especially in swing states. Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota is in a tight race with a deep-pocketed Democrat, though officials in both parties put her chances of returning to Washington as better than Mr. King’s. Representative Mike Coffman of Colorado and Representative Allen West of Florida are also facing head winds.
(More here.)
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