Will Collier emails:
Ted Cruz wasn’t the only Tea Party victory yesterday. The entire political establishment of Georgia (including the Republican governor and legislative leadership, plus the Democratic mayor of Atlanta and his machine), just got its collective ass royally kicked by the Tea Party. “TSPLOST,” a sales tax hike that would have funded a multi-billion dollar slush fund for transit boondoggles and taxpayer-funded development bootstrapping was supported by $10 million in relentless advertising. Tea Party groups spent all of $15,000 in paid opposition.
Result: 69-31, against. And that was in the Atlanta metro region.
Here’s how the AJC reported it:
A big loss for the T-SPLOST was a big win for the Georgia tea party, whose leaders didn’t shy away Tuesday night from claiming giant-slayer status.
“We took on the governor, the lieutenant governor, the mayor, big business and slick political consultants. We emerged victorious,” crowed tea party leader Debbie Dooley, celebrating with other T-SPLOST opponents at Hudson Grille in Midtown.
Looking ahead, some pundits read the T-SPLOST leaves as foretelling increased tea party clout on other state and local issues; others said the loosely knit group still lacks the muscle — and the money — to achieve sustained influence.
How many 2-1 victories-on-the-cheap do you need before your influence is considered “sustained?”
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