Most interesting tidbit:
When the Tea Party first arrived on the scene in 2009, I was given the un-glorious task of identifying exactly what the Tea Party was, who they were, what they wanted and then devising a recommended plan of action on the best way to handle the new group.I was told, and rightly so, that political leaders in other states and in D.C. were watching Ohio in particular to see how the GOP was handling this new group.I put together a nice report outlining who the group was, what they wanted and then made recommendations on the best way to handle the Tea Party.Many party leaders, and consequently then members of the media, wanted to incorrectly label the movement as just born-again members of the John Birch Society, or a vast uprising of only social conservatives, or the born-again version of the Know-Nothings, or paid puppets of Dick Armey.I tried to explain that there was no reference point in history that could be used to define the Tea Party – it was a unique mix of solidly principled people that consisted of not just Republicans, but Democrats and Independents as well.My advice was to make them feel as though they had a seat at the table, make them feel welcomed and that they had a voice that was not only listened to, but considered and sometimes acted upon.I advised against the eventual tactic, which was to not only defeat the Republican Tea Partiers, but utterly destroy any future hopes of political success by absolutely crushing them in the 2010 primaries.The term used by people on the inside to describe the eventual plan was ‘scorched-earth tactics’
The last sentence was emphasized by me because it is just that important.
Read the whole thing to find out what happened next because this guy called it...just as I did.
