One of the continuing stories/themes these days is just what effect, short-term and long-term, the Tea Party movement will have on American politics in general, and the Republican Party specifically. Mock it all you want (please, mock it…it’s fun!), but the Tea Party is a real force right now. For proof, look no farther (further?) than the great state of Maine. I don’t mean to needle the Pine Tree State, but what’s going on with their Republican Party? Monday night, the Maine Republican Party voted overwhelmingly to adopt their new platform:
An overwhelming majority of delegates to the Maine Republican convention tonight voted to scrap the the proposed party platform and replace it with a document created by a group of Tea Party activists.
The official platform for the Republican Party of Maine is now a mix of right-wing fringe policies, libertarian buzzwords and outright conspiracy theories.
The document calls for the elimination of the Department of Education and the Federal Reserve, demands an investigation of “collusion between government and industry in the global warming myth,” suggests the adoption of “Austrian Economics,” declares that “‘Freedom of Religion’ does not mean ‘freedom from religion'” (which I guess makes atheism illegal), insists that “healthcare is not a right,” calls for the abrogation of the “UN Treaty on Rights of the Child” and the “Law Of The Sea Treaty” and declares that we must resist “efforts to create a one world government.”
If you want to read the whole thing in all its Teapublican goodness, the link is here. I really do suggest that you read it — it’s quite amusing. The bolded section is not at all an exaggeration, either. It truly is just a mishmash of fringe ideas, paranoid rantings, and meaningless buzzwords. In other words, exactly what you would expect from a Tea Party document. However, this Tea Party document is now the official platform of the Republican Party of Maine.
This wouldn’t surprise me as much if we were talking about Virginia, Texas, Georgia, or any of the other states of the Confederatea. But Maine is a state where Democrats have a solid majority, not to mention being the home of two of the most (only?) moderate Republicans in the Senate. As Jonathan Chait points out, “Obviously it would be pure suicide for Maine Republicans to challenge Snowe in a primary in 2012. Are they that crazy? I doubt it, but at this point nothing can be ruled out.” Indeed. I think “at this point nothing can be ruled out” is becoming the new GOP motto.