It's Easy to Organize Your Base When the Opposition Helps

Jon Bernstein, I think, is spending way too much time on the details in trying to figure out what's different with today's tea baggers and yesterday's anti-Clinton crowd.

Bernstein appears to want to agree that both groups are Republican-based (which no doubt they are) but that they differ in their organized nature, thus making today's tea baggers a little different fundamentally.  I totally disagree with that.

It's true they might be better organized now than in the 90s but what's important to remember is that calling them tea baggers allows them to shed the Republican label, which is an extremely unpopular political party in America.  You'll recall in 2006 many Republican incumbents refused to have the word Republican anywhere on their websites, campaign literature or media buys.  They tried to runaway from the label.  The same was true but to an even greater extent in 2008.

By 2010 Republicans came up with a new label, Tea Party.  This allowed them to legally run as Republicans but hide behind this fresh new freedom fighting label.  This has been my argument all along about referring to them as something other than Republican.  It allows Republicans to not claim the label but still the mantle.  When a tea bagger wins a House seat the GOP picks up the seat, not the Tea Party.  It also, and probably most importantly, allows the GOP to disown its crazies.

We are letting the GOP rebrand itself, which Democrats shouldn't be in the business of doing.  The only thing that has changed since the 90s is Republicans have come up with a new catchphrase, which has contributed greatly to their organizing.  If you don't believe me, ask yourself this.  In 2010, would the GOP been as successful if the term tea bagger or Tea Party wasn't around and they were forced to run as Republicans?