Tea Party fells a conservative

One of the more interesting -- and disturbing -- developments on the political scene in recent months has been the manner in which numerous traditional conservatives have been run out of office by the Tea Party movement.

Perhaps the highest-level example was the defeat of Utah Sen. Robert Bennett by a Tea Party crusade against him. Sen. Bennett described the current political atmosphere as "toxic" shortly after his stunning defeat.

Another incumbent Republican Senator, John McCain no less, also faces tough competition from former Congressman J.D. Hayworth, a "take-no-prisoners" type of politician who is now a radio talk show host.

In many ways the most interesting of these types of races came in June in South Carolina, where Congressman Bob Inglis was overwhelmingly defeated in the Republican primary by Tea Party candidate Trey Gowdy.

Inglis had sterling conservative credentials, including favoring the impeachment of Bill Clinton during the South Carolina Congressman's first stint in Washington. After leaving office for six years, he ran again and was seeking re-election after winning three two-year terms. He had a 93 percent approval rating from the American Conservative Union.

Internet videos can be found showing Inglis being harangued during town hall meetings in South Carolina earlier in the year. He made the fatal mistake at one of the meetings of telling those present they would be wise to turn off the Glenn Beck show on the Fox Network. That statement was met with derisive shouts and loud booing from many of those present.

But that reaction was relatively benign compared to the statement made by one participant at another town hall meeting hosted by Inglis. "Keep your government hands off my Medicare," the man said. There actually was a political group in earlier days called the "Know Nothing Party". Is it possible they are making a comeback in the current political scene?

In a column written by David Corn about Inglis' defeat, one of the Congressman's constituents was quoted as asking him -- "Bob, what don't you get? Barack Obama is a socialist, communist, Marxist who wants to destroy the American economy so he can take over as a dictator. Health care is a part of that. And he wants to open up the Mexican border and turn the U.S. into a Muslim nation."

"The guy is no socialist," Inglis says of Obama and he simply couldn't bring himself to fall into lockstep with the Tea Party line simply to insure his re-election.

"He is a liberal fellow," Corn quotes Inglis as saying of Obama. "I'm a conservative. We disagree. But I don't need to call him a socialist, and I hurt the country by doing so. The country has to come together to find a solution to these challenges or else we go over the cliff...it's a dangerous strategy to build conservatism on information and policies that are not credible.

"When we start just delivering rhetoric and more disinformation, we're failing the conservative movement," Inglis said. "We're failing the country."

Inglis also cited the emergence of Sarah Palin as a leader in the Tea Party movement and its aversion to compromise, collaboration and civility. "I think there are people who seem to think that ignorance is strength," he said.

Inglis has just a few months to clear out his office in Washington to make way for the radical element which will replace him.

He compares the current situation to a dog chasing a car, as many responsible conservatives are afraid to speak up against the excesses of the Tea Party movement. "And the Democrats, if you go into the minority, are going to have an enjoyable couple of years watching that dog deal with the car it's caught."