Do Tea Party Congressmen Represent the Interests of their Constituents?

In 2012 race for Congress, rage is out, solutions are in
(By Alex Leary, Tampa Bay Times, October 7, 2012)

This is Rep. Allen West in Washington: aggressive, blunt and partisan — the tea party hero who compares Democrats to communists and Nazis.

This is candidate Allen West on TV in South Florida: even-mannered and surrounded by smiling schoolkids.

It's a shift that his opponent hopes voters don't buy. "Congress shouldn't be a kids' playground," Democrat Patrick Murphy says in an ad, standing to punctuate a point about West's rhetoric. "They're supposed to analyze problems and work together to solve them."

The contest for Florida's 18th District reveals how much the national mood has shifted in two years since West and a wave of Republicans were elected to the U.S. House amid epic battles with Democrats over everything from health care to energy-efficient light bulbs.

The partisanship, helped by a Democratic-controlled Senate, resulted in one of the least productive Congresses and drove public approval to all-time lows.

So candidates in 2012 are responding with messages that play up a familiar "Washington is broken" refrain along with a side order of "let's all get along." Rage is out, solutions are in.

• "We've got to find a way to work together," says Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, in an ad that makes no mention he's an incumbent and ends with an outsider's lament: "Because Washington needs to hear this."

• "If you like name-calling or slick political ads, then flip the channel. But if you're looking for someone who thinks both parties got us in this mess, then hear me out," says Adam Hasner, a Republican running for Congress in South Florida who was once touted as one of the most partisan state lawmakers in Tallahassee.

• "In Congress, I'll work with both parties," says Joe Garcia, a Democrat seeking to dislodge Rep. David Rivera of Miami.

The approach is being replicated in competitive House districts across the country that will decide whether Republicans continue to control the House and Democrats keep the Senate. Promises of reaching across the aisle may be vital to breaking the gridlock — if only politicians mean it.

"Voters love this idea of compromise," said David Wasserman, who analyzes House races for the Cook Political Report. "Unfortunately, it shows up more in ads than in voting records these days."

The reality is there are fewer moderates in both parties in Congress, a reflection in large part of the way districts are drawn to the advantage of more partisan candidates. Elected officials keep the party line.

The softer tone on the airwaves (there are plenty of nasty attacks as well) is a natural extension of a presidential election, said Brad Coker of the nonpartisan Mason-Dixon Polling and Research. Midterm elections draw a smaller pool of die-hard partisan voters, so candidates appeal to those tendencies.

"You get into a presidential election and there are several million people jumping into the pool that weren't part of that so-called rage that occurred in 2010. You have to talk to that audience differently," Coker said.

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Two years ago, Republicans took 63 House seats from Democrats, including two others in Florida besides West and Southerland. The tea party was riding high with strong antigovernment sentiments and the outspoken freshman class pursued a budget-slashing agenda that left few areas untouched.

Now Democrats are trying to use those moves against them, striving to turn the election into a referendum on the tea party. One of the most visible battlegrounds is Florida's 18th district.

Murphy has been attacking West for voting for a budget blueprint authored by Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, who is Mitt Romney's running mate, that would cut trillions from the federal budget and overhaul Medicare into a voucher-type program. Murphy has also been trying to highlight West's rhetoric, casting him as a hothead. West has taken steps to project a softer image — including the ad showing him inside a classroom — and talks about finding solutions, but doesn't go as far as to play up reaching across the aisle.

West says he and Republicans are trying to preserve Medicare for future generations and accuses President Barack Obama of cutting $716 billion out of it as part of the health care law. (The Ryan budget incorporates those same cuts/savings, but Republicans aren't mentioning that.)

The competing messages about Medicare, Social Security and who is responsible for the poor economy make for a muddy picture and explain why the 2012 election will likely not be a so-called wave election in which one party dominates.

"Voters don't know whether to blame Obama's party or the tea party for dysfunction in Washington," said Wasserman of Cook Political Report. "In 2010 it was pretty easy to assign blame because Democrats controlled the White House and Congress. In 2006, it was easy because Republicans controlled the White House and Congress. Now it's as split as can be. You don't have unilateral blame and you don't have unilateral momentum."

Four Congressional races to watch
(By Bruce N. Gyory, TheHill.com, October 9, 2012)

Pundits are understandably focused upon the contentious presidential race. However, let’s peek through our periscopes at which individual congressional races could influence the mindset of next Congress.

This is important because of the looming fiscal cliff regarding the expiration of the Bush tax cuts and the sequestration cuts. Can the voters lead the Congress to step back from the chronic dysfunction and gridlock which marred the work of the 112th Congress?

The 2010 elections brought in a new Republican majority in the House and a stronger GOP influence in the Senate, which saw compromise as craven, preferring to push partisan brinksmanship over the issues revolving around debt, deficit and tax policy. That resolve guided the House Republicans and tied the cloture resistant Senate in knots.

Four races will likely become talismans for determining the mindset as Congress heads toward the cliff: three in the House and one in the Senate.

To be clear, these are not the races that will decide partisan control in either house, but they are the races which could influence the mindset of those in control of those majorities.

Had Richard Mourdock not beaten Dick Lugar based upon a potent Tea Party brew in the GOP primary, this Indiana Senate seat would have already booked in the GOP’s ledger. But Democrat Joe Donnelly has turned the general election into a dog fight.

Mourdock has proved vulnerable because he opposed the auto bailout as state treasurer, despite the fact that Indiana is home to a robust auto parts supply sector for proclaiming, “The time for being collegial is past. It’s time for confrontation.”

If Todd Akin loses in Missouri, it would be interpreted as the residue of a crackpot comment, but a loss by Mourdock could lead more than a few GOP Senators to reevaluate the soundness of the Tea Party’s political currency as they approach the fiscal cliff. No other single race would deal the Senate’s Tea Party contingent led by Jim DeMint, so grievous a blow as a Donnelly victory in Indiana.

Three races loom large in the House. Incumbent Republicans Steve King of Iowa, Joe Walsh of Illinois and Michele Bachmann of Minnesota are all facing tough general expected election battles. Each race could teach a different lesson.

Steve King’s vulnerability in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District is a surprise, lying in a combination of the inability of House Republicans to enact a farm bill and the renewed vitality of a moderate Democrat with statewide name recognition – former Iowa First Lady Christie Vilsack. If the veteran King loses, clearly the House GOP decision to head into November without enacting a farm bill will be blamed, perhaps leading to a re-evaluation of the political cost of gridlock.

First term Republican incumbent Joe Walsh faces a spirited challenge from Tammy Duckworth in Illinois’ 8th Congressional District. Were Walsh to lose, clearly the message after his 2011 you-tube video castigating a female constituent at a town hall meeting and his recent denigration of Duckworth’s combat service, would signal that Tea Party anger did not wear well in Illinois.

Finally, in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, Republican Michelle Bachmann faces a strong challenge from Democrat Jim Graves. Were Bachmann to endure a nail-biter election night, much less a defeat, it would bring to mind a lingering concern: does running for president as a Republican today, pull candidates into the political danger zone?

That would be a mirror image of what befell Democratic candidates for president from 1972 until 1992, when a long string of Senators went on to either lose re-election (e.g., defeats for McGovern in South Dakota, and Birch Bayh in Indiana) or knew they could not seek re-election (e.g., Fred Harris from Oklahoma and Harold Hughes from Iowa chose not to seek re-election) after lurching to the left in presidential primaries.

In the final analysis, these races will not on their own determine who holds congressional majorities in the 113th Congress, but the political fate of Mourdock, King, Walsh and Bachmann could alter the mindset held within the Republican and perhaps even the Democratic congressional conferences post-election day.

Let partisan handicappers search for those races determining the majority, for those interested in governing, keep your eyes peeled on the political fate of Mourdock, King, Walsh and Bachmann on November 6th.

The VP Debate Was Really About Congress
(Arshad Hasan, HuffingtonPost.com, October 13, 2012)

At the vice presidential debate, we witnessed a freshman college republican attempt and fail at debating the experienced tenured professor. While many -- except for Fox News -- will chalk this up as a victory for the VP, the importance of the debate goes beyond the VP slot. As much as Paul Ryan tried to mislead, omit, or obfuscate the positions of the Romney-Ryan ticket, the GOP record in Congress tells all the parts of the story that Ryan didn't. Looking to congressional campaigns to fill in the blanks is relatively easy -- Ryan’s loyal lieutenants running for Congress make no bones about their agenda.

The vice presidential debate made clear to me that we need to look at Congressional races for the rest of the story. Here’s where this comes through most clearly:

1) Reason and Science: I found it interesting Paul Ryan said he came to his decision to be severely “pro-life,” through reason and science. Remember, this is the guy who co-sponsored several anti-choice bills with Mr. Todd “legitimate rape” Akin. In fact, it seems the more Republicans talk about choice, the more it exposes how detached from science they really are. The list of extreme right wingers like Paul Ryan, who abandon science to try and justify their antiquated anti-choice stance, keeps growing. Paul Ryan made it abundantly clear that a Romney-Ryan administration would be severely anti-choice.

What’s more important to note is that this severely anti-choice stance permeates down the ticket. As you may know, Paul Ryan and Todd Akin partnered with 221 other Republicans to introduce H.R. 3, the bill that tries to restrict access to abortion to cases of “forcible” rape. Even incumbents in districts that lean pro-choice, like Mike Fitzpatrick’s 8th Congressional District in Pennsylvania were co-sponsors of this bill. This congress dragged all of the moderates remaining in the GOP on a hard right turn to places where their constituents don’t want them to be. Moderates in the GOP essentially do not exist on this issue, not any more.

2) “We got to grow the economy from the middle out, not the top down": You want Democrats to contrast their economic vision for the country with the Republicans’? Joe delivers, “You probably detected my frustration with their attitude about the American people. My friend says that 30 percent of the American people are takers. Romney points out 47 percent of the people won’t take responsibility. He’s talking about my mother and father. He’s talking about the places I grew up. … He’s talking about the people that built this country.” I am willing to bet there were a lot of people nodding their heads in agreement with that statement.

While Joe Biden showed his passion (and record) for fighting for America’s middle class, Paul Ryan doubled down on the principals laid out in his disastrous House budget. The Ryan budget would not only raise taxes on the middle class while simultaneously lowering them for the wealthiest Americans, but it would gut any investment needed to create a stronger future. We've seen how a trickle-down economy has failed us in the past and it's not going to do the trick this time either. As Joe Biden put it “we have to grow our economy from the middle out, not the top-down.”

These aren’t just points of rhetoric in a debate. During the 112th Congress, House Republicans had not one, but two chances to stand up for the middle class and vote against Paul Ryan’s extreme budget. Both times they overwhelmingly voted to stand with big corporations over the middle class. The budget was too extreme for maverick-y pseudo-libertarian Ron Paul. Not so much for so-called ‘moderates’ like Mary Bono-Mack in California, and Charlie Bass in New Hampshire. In fact, all of the incumbent opponents of our Dean Dozen candidates fell in line and voted for the Ryan budget not once, but twice. I have no doubt they’ll do it again if we give them the opportunity.

3) When we unite with our allies, America is more secure: Paul Ryan doubled down on this ridiculous Republican notion that when we cooperate with our allies and strengthen relationships around the world it makes America weak. Reminiscent of the ‘Bush Doctrine’, this attitude has caused significant damage to our reputation abroad, and it that leaves us less secure. Also, was it just me, or was it abundantly clear that a Romney-Ryan administration would extend the length of the war in Afghanistan?

This was where Paul Ryan truly looked like some college Republican in freshman Intro to Political Science class -- spouting neo-con talking points. From Mitt’s Olympic sized gaffes while in London, to the campaign holding a press conference on Libya before all the information was available, Joe Biden had plenty of fodder, and he nailed this one:

“That’s not presidential leadership…. You know what else isn't presidential leadership? Attacking the Obama Administration for preparedness in Libya, when it was your own House GOP that voted to cut the Department of State’s security budget.”

Once again, every single one of our Dean Dozen opponents voted for this extreme right wing budget and would have left our nations diplomats even more exposed and in harm’s way. It’s time we vote this tea party majority out of Congress.

4) Paul Ryan cooking the books on Medicare: Paul Ryan’s line that the $716 billion in cost savings was taken to pay for Obamacare is an outright lie. This line of attack has been driving me crazy, as it’s simply not true. Those savings keep Medicare solvent through 2024 and, as Joe Biden finally pointed out, a repeal of Obamacare would bankrupt Medicare by 2016 (a.k.a. before the end of Romney’s first term). That’s not all Paul Ryan wants to change in Medicare.

Since the creation of Social Security and Medicare, we have seen the rate of seniors living in poverty plummet. Romney-Ryan plans to 'privatize' each program and turn Medicare into a coupon that would cost seniors an additional $6,350 dollars a year, and once again put millions of seniors in financial jeopardy. That doesn't sound like any sort of coupon I'd want. It’s okay to talk about how expensive these plans are, sure. But if the ‘solution’ is to pass costs along to states and seniors, then Ryan should be clear about that.

Again, this has its origins in Congress, and it will have implications this election. Nearly every Democrat running in a contested race is running against a Republican who voted for this plan. Polls show that voters in swing states oppose this plan by a 3 to 1 margin. Every one of those voters now has an opportunity to vote against the plan by voting against the Republican running for Congress. The Democrats can seize this opportunity if only they do as the vice president has, and call out the lies and deception.

The pundits will initially discuss who won, who lost, and all the different style points in this debate. The real verdict is this: During this election it is essential that we provide support to Democrats down the ballot and vote this Tea Party Majority out. We must continue to work on behalf of strong progressive candidates like Annie Kuster in New Hampshire, and Raul Ruiz in California who will fight to strengthen Medicare and invest to grow jobs from the middle out. This November, from the president all the way down the ticket, it is clear that America has one choice to keep the country moving forward.

Quote:

1) Reason and Science: I found it interesting Paul Ryan said he came to his decision to be severely “pro-life,” through reason and science. Remember, this is the guy who co-sponsored several anti-choice bills with Mr. Todd “legitimate rape” Akin. In fact, it seems the more Republicans talk about choice, the more it exposes how detached from science they really are. The list of extreme right wingers like Paul Ryan, who abandon science to try and justify their antiquated anti-choice stance, keeps growing. Paul Ryan made it abundantly clear that a Romney-Ryan administration would be severely anti-choice.

Democratic group set to boost Graves' campaign
(Larry Bivins, Gannett Washington Bureau, October 16, 2012)

Buoyed by internal polling that shows hotel magnate Jim Graves within striking distance of tea party favorite Michele Bachmann, House Democratic leaders are set to pump resources into the race to help the Democratic-Farmer-Labor candidate knock the three-term incumbent off her perch.

Rep. Steve Israel, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, announced Monday the DCCC has elevated Graves’ campaign to its “Red-to-Blue” program, which targets the most highly competitive challenges to Republican-held seats.

Coming with just three weeks to go to Election Day, the designation means the DCCC believes Graves has a good shot at ousting Bachmann, R-Stillwater, and will commit money, communications, organizing and strategic support to his campaign.

The DCCC said Graves has met the fundraising, organizing and infrastructure goals to earn a spot in the program.

Graves joins Minnesota DFLers Mike Obermueller in the 2nd Congressional District and Rick Nolan in the 8th among the 54 Democrats nationwide on the Red-to-Blue list.

“Jim has proven his commitment to standing up for the middle class and creating good-paying jobs for Minnesotans,” Israel said. “Jim is a successful businessman, builder and problem-solver, who will focus on creating jobs, growing the economy and protecting Medicare, not on partisanship, political games or pandering to the tea party.”

Israel cited internal poll numbers from Graves’ campaign showing he trails Bachmann, a former presidential candidate, by just two percentage points. The poll also shows Bachmann with a 57 percent unfavorable rating and a 20-point swing against her among independent voters.

“Voters are experiencing buyer’s remorse with Congresswoman Bachmann and her relentless desire to put ideology over solutions,” Israel said.

A KSTP-TV poll released Monday suggests Graves still has some ground to make up between now and Nov. 6. The poll conducted Oct. 9-11 of 598 likely voters shows Bachmann up 50 percent to 41 percent, with 9 percent undecided. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percent.

Bachmann’s campaign spokesman said it comes as no surprise the DCCC would be aiming its big guns at the Stillwater Republican, who announced during the weekend she raised $4.5 million during the third quarter of 2012.

“Of course the liberal machine is rushing to the aid of their liberal candidate, big-spending Jim Graves,” Bachmann spokesman Chase Kroll said. “But at the end of the day, Minnesotans know that Michele represents their voice in Washington. That’s why her endorsements include the U.S. Chamber (of Commerce).”

National Republican Congressional Committee spokeswoman Katie Prill suggested Graves would be an ally of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., whom Republicans portray as the leader of the Democratic Party’s liberal wing.

“Minnesotans already know that Jim Graves had no problem trying to deceive voters with a phony resume or trying to cover up the fact that he is a dishonest businessman,” Prill said. “Why should they be shocked that Jim would now promise to be beholden to Nancy Pelosi in Congress?”
Graves’ campaign and Minnesota DFL leaders welcomed the DCCC’s announcement.

“The DCCC’s decision is yet another indication of just how tight this race has become,” said Graves’ campaign manager, Adam Graves. “It reinforces that the people of our district want to see a change. Folks are disturbed by the fact that Rep. Bachmann has used her position to advance her own interests rather than doing the job she’s been paid to do.”

While even a redrawn 6th District favors Bachmann, some experts believe Graves has a shot at pulling off what would be a monumental upset.

“I doubt any Bachmann supporters are going to change their minds, but there are no third-party candidates this time, and Graves comes from this area, has some roots in the area,” said Kay Wolsborn, a political scientist at the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University. “He’s doing OK in terms of campaigning.”

State senate president the right fit for 4th congressional district
(Editorial Board, Boulder Daily Camera, October 17, 2012)

The Camera endorses Brandon Shaffer, a Longmont military veteran, lawyer and state Senate president, for the newly redrawn 4th Congressional District.

Shaffer is well-known as a man who can work with Republicans and Democrats alike. He supports Pell grants for students and says the key to an improving economy is an educated population. He wants the federal government to work with the states on their local control of hydraulic fracturing, but wants to ensure that there is transparency for the practice, including disclosure of what types of chemicals are being used.

Shaffer's got a lot of competition with incumbent Cory Gardner, a Yuma Republican. Gardner was a former state legislature member who was part of the tea-party sweep of freshmen in 2010. He's voted with his party about 95 percent of the time, signed Grover Norquist's pledge to never raise any taxes no matter what. He also voted to ban the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating greenhouse gases. He's part of the wave of Congress members attracting legendary disapproval ratings for putting their party -- and one unelected activist -- above the populace. Most of us back here in Colorado, and all around the country, are looking for a break to the Washington stalemate so that leaders can work together to get things done.

Shaffer is well-poised to be that type of elected representative, with a proven track record of working to avoid what he rightfully calls "manufactured crises" by working on a bipartisan basis.

Simple. NO ******* taxes on the rich so they can create jobs-------in China, Mexico, and India.

House tea party icons face re-election challenges
(By BRIAN BAKST and ALAN FRAM, Associated Press, October 19, 2012)

Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann’s tendency to cause a ruckus on Capitol Hill made her a tea party sensation. Her bulging campaign treasury and conservative district make her a clear favorite to win a fourth House term on Election Day, despite her Democratic rival’s attempts to turn her won’t-budge philosophy into a liability.

Three other high-profile House conservatives, facing opponents insisting that their views are too extreme, have trickier paths to re-election next month. GOP Reps. Allen West of Florida, Steve King of Iowa and Joe Walsh of Illinois are all embroiled in tough and expensive races that are drawing plenty of spending by friends and foes from around the country.

The challenges faced by West, King and Walsh stem in part from this year’s redrawing of congressional districts and a political climate that has cooled for tea party politicians since the 2010 groundswell that swept them into office. They also underscore the risks that frequent television appearances and outspoken views can bring.

“You get more attention, you’ve got better ability to get your message and policy positions out there,” said GOP pollster David Winston. “The challenge is because everybody’s paying such close attention, you have a lot of scrutiny.”

The new political realities of 2012 could explain why Bachmann, whose district grew even more conservative, used a recent campaign stop to draw attention to her collaboration with Democrats like President Barack Obama and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to gain approval for a bridge project back home.

“Everyone was able to set aside their own personal agenda and got a big thing done,” Bachmann told a suburban Minneapolis chamber of commerce gathering.

Bachmann abandoned a short-lived run for the GOP presidential nomination last winter. She has stirred tea party voters by her opposition to Obama’s health care law, resisting an increase in the federal borrowing limit and frowning on spending deals struck by her own party.

Her Democratic opponent, hotel magnate Jim Graves, rips Bachmann in a TV ad as “distracted by her own celebrity.” He suggests his business background makes him capable of untangling Washington gridlock that frustrates voters.

“We need more out of our leaders in Washington. That’s exactly why I’m running for Congress,” he says.

But Graves, waging his first campaign for office, faces a huge financial disparity. Campaign finance reports show Bachmann with $3.6 million cash available entering October, six times what Graves reported.

National Democrats recently added Graves to their list of House candidates whom they are helping raise money. But with outside groups routinely swooping into House districts with ads and other help worth hundreds of thousands or more, neither side has invested much in Bachmann’s race.

“We think we’d be wasting our donors’ money by spending it on somebody who’s not in danger,” said Max Pappas, executive director of the FreedomWorks political committee, a conservative group that has spent nearly $10 million in dozens of House and Senate races.

Though partisans on both sides love to defeat notorious foes, they say that when it comes to spending campaign cash, their calculation is usually a cold assessment of where they can gain congressional seats.

“We don’t go after them necessarily because they have tea party celebrity status,” said Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., who heads House Democrats’ campaign machinery. “We go after them because they’re weak in their own districts.”

West, a freshman, exemplifies a widely recognized conservative who is unafraid of frequent television exposure yet finds himself in a tight re-election battle in a moderate district with many new voters.

A retired Army officer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, West has a reputation for unabashedly stating his mind. This includes charges that scores of congressional Democrats are communists, labeling Florida Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz “vile” and “despicable,” and calling Social Security disability benefits “a form of modern, 21st-century slavery.”

Democrat Patrick Murphy, a political neophyte and construction company executive, has TV spots repeating some of West’s comments. “Bullying and name-calling has no place in the playground or in Congress,” Murphy says in one ad as children play behind him.

Though his recent commercials portray him as a loving father and protector of Medicare — a huge issue for South Florida’s many seniors — West ran a searing ad featuring Murphy’s mug shot from a teenage arrest outside a South Beach club. Murphy responded with a spot describing an incident in which West fired a gun near an Iraqi prisoner’s head and threatened to kill him, after which West was fined and left the Army.

The two have raised more than $18 million combined, making it one of the country’s most expensive House races, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. But with West’s ability to raise money from conservatives nationwide, his contributions have outpaced Murphy’s by 6-1.

Their fight has also drawn $3.4 million in spending from outside groups, putting it in the top 20 among House races.

Included is over $1 million from the House Majority PAC, the campaign committee associated with House Democratic leaders, making West their top target. West has benefited from $990,000 from the Treasure Coast Jobs Coalition, largely financed by a New Jersey man identified by the Palm Beach Post as a drug company executive.

In Iowa, King is in the toughest re-election battle of his decade-long congressional career. His vulnerability comes from a redrawn district that leans less Republican than before and a well-financed challenge from the well-known Democrat Christie Vilsack, who is married to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, a former Iowa governor.

Tea party voters adore King for his opposition to the health care overhaul, advocacy of strict immigration enforcement and opposition to abortion and gay marriage. He’s also known for attention-grabbing statements.

While opposing legislation this summer to make it illegal to watch dog fighting, King said society’s priorities are wrong if it makes dog fighting illegal but condones people fighting. Those remarks were criticized as a defense of dog fighting, and helped prompt the Humane Society to spend nearly $500,000 for an ad criticizing King, saying, “Those aren’t Iowa values.”

King says his words are often twisted by opponents he calls “professional hyperventilators.” He has been aided by the National Federation of Independent Business and the House Republican campaign organization, which ran a spot linking Vilsack to Obama. One of King’s ads shows him in a farm tractor as a man says, “Give me that Iowa straight talker any day.”

In the Chicago area, freshman Walsh is being challenged by Tammy Duckworth, a former Obama administration official who lost both legs and an arm in Iraq while serving as an Army helicopter pilot. Surgeons later reattached the arm.

Walsh was a political newcomer when he eked out his 2010 victory after a rocky campaign. Shortly after taking office, he released a video in which he said, “President Obama, quit lying,” and he’s accused Obama of spending money “like a drunken sailor.” He also generated headlines when his ex-wife accused him of missing $117,000 in child support payments, a dispute Walsh says they resolved.

This year, Walsh blasted Duckworth for being a “failed bureaucrat” and for talking too often about her war experiences. She says that rather than representing his district, Walsh is “there to serve the tea party and that simply is not good enough.”

Unlike fellow conservatives Bachmann, West and King, Walsh has raised significantly less money than his opponent, unusual for an incumbent. Duckworth has another advantage — new district boundaries that include far more Democrats.

The new district is also more racially diverse — a problem for Walsh, who earlier this year said civil rights leader Jesse Jackson would be out of work if blacks “weren’t so dependent upon government.” He also said there are radical Muslims in Chicago’s suburbs “trying to kill Americans every week.”

Amid expectations that Walsh was doomed to defeat, a race that had attracted only modest spending by outside groups was energized recently when the Now or Never PAC injected $1.8 million in TV ads and other assistance for him. The group is financed largely by Americans for Unlimited Government, a conservative organization based in Fairfax, Va.

What Happened to the Tea Party (and the Blue Dogs?)
(By John Parkinson, ABCnews.com, November 7, 2012)

Some of the Republican Party‘s most controversial House members are clinging to narrow leads in races where only a few votes are left to count.

Rep. Michele Bachmann, the chairwoman of the Tea Party Caucus, led by almost 2,300 votes with 84 percent of precincts reporting as of early this morning. That race is still too close to call and shifted back and forth all night long.

Rep. Allen West of Florida, one of the most outspoken Republicans in the House of Representatives, trailed Patrick Murphy by fewer than 3,000 votes with all precincts reporting. The race is still too close to call, according both to ABC News and the Associated Press, but barring surprises, West looks poised to lose.

The Democratic Party of Florida has already released a statement: “We congratulate Congressman-elect Patrick Murphy on defeating tea party crony Allen West,” said Rod Smith, the chair of the Florida Democratic Party. “Tonight, the people of this district rejected divisive, hateful rhetoric in favor a fresh-faced, bipartisan approach centered around the issues important to Florida’s middle class families.”

Most of the other freshmen Republicans from 2010 were able to hold on to their seats. Of 87 Republican freshmen, just nine have lost their bids for a second term at last count. There is a common perception that the freshman class was stocked with tea partyers, but just 19 of 87 GOP freshmen joined the Tea Party Caucus after the 2010 landslide. Two freshmen Democrats, Reps. Mark Critz of Pennsylvania and Kathy Hochul of western New York, also lost.

Of the 60 members of the Tea Party Caucus, 46 have already clinched victory. Four others, including Bachmann and West, remain in races too close to call. Six Tea Party caucus members were defeated at the polls, plus another seven who retired, lost a primary or sought higher office. Both tea party candidates who ran for the Senate, Reps. Denny Rehberg of Montana and Todd Akin of Missouri lost, while Rep. Mike Pence won his bid for governor of Indiana.

Blue Dog Democrats also saw their numbers shrink from 24 to 15, including six members who retired, sought higher office, or were defeated in primaries earlier this year. Reps. Ben Chandler, Larry Kissell, and Leonard Boswell all lost Tuesday.

One Blue Dog, Rep. Jim Matheson of Utah, fended off an intense challenge from Mia Love, a small-town mayor who was running to become the first black woman Republican elected to Congress. With 100 percent of the precincts reporting, Matheson defeated Love by nearly 3,000 votes. She issued a statement offering her congratulations to Matheson early Tuesday morning.

“Congratulations to Jim on a hard fought victory,” Love said. “It was a close race, but ultimately the voters of Utah have spoken.”