The Big Question: Should Republicans join Tea Party caucus?

Some of the nation's top political commentators, legislators and intellectuals offer insight into the biggest question burning up the blogosphere today.

Today's question:

Would it be a good political move for House Republicans to join the new Tea Party caucus? Why or why not?

Bernie Quigley, Pundits Blog Contributor, said:
No. As one who had a hand in the origins of Tea Party sensibilities in New Hampshire, I would say there should no longer be a Tea Party. It has done its job, and it did a good job. It opened a door, and it will not be closed. Tea Party guys, Rand Paul in particular, are largely Libertarian purists in their true nature. They tend to gather in small autonomous groups to practice the Old Time Religion in its purity. Today, we have Judge Andrew Napolitano bringing to millions via Fox the same ideas that a few hundred shared on Libertarian websites five years ago. It would be better that the thinking behind Tea Party — especially Hayek and state sovereignty — metabolize into the mainstream where the Judge brings it rather than lock itself into a box. Politicians such as South Carolina’s Nikki Haley, who is the Republican candidate for governor, Sarah Palin and Rick Perry, governor of Texas, bring the complexity of Tea Party issues to the mainstream.  As an organic model of organization, one could look to the Newport Folk Festival that brought Bob Dylan and Joan Baez to the mainstream. Had they remained loyal to their folk roots in the provincial world of folk music their generation would never had awakened.


Bruce E. Gronbeck, professor of Political Communication at the University of Iowa, said:
That would be a backward move. Pushing indoor politics into the out-of-doors and expecting leadership and discipline is courting disaster. Just think about the '68 Democratic convention in Chicago. The Democrats didn't recover until the Watergate scandal. And even then, the party didn't get fully reorganized until the early '90s. The GOP has to do its work the other way around, courting Tea Party members as voters, maybe even giving some a place on the RNC and on some campaign staffs.


John F. McManus, president of The John Birch Society, said:
House Republicans don't need to join the Tea Party Caucus. They already have the support of practically all Tea Party members.
 
House Republicans (and Senate Republicans, too) should be careful not to upset Tea Party partisans by adopting positions that are too liberal, or too neoconservative (socialist and internationalist). While Tea Party support can be assured for most Republicans, it should not be taken for granted.
 
Of course, every voter should be aware that campaign oratory is not always matched by performance once someone gets elected. There is no substitute for an informed electorate, and this includes keeping watch over any elected official and letting one's voice be heard once the election is over. 

Source:
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/politics/109799-the-big-question-should-house-republicans-join-the-tea-party-caucus