The Democrats are going to try to expose the rift between Tea party conservatives and GOP moderates. Read below from Politico:
Democrats are looking for someone to blame for their electoral woes — and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Robert Menendez is working hard to make sure it’s not him.
Showing that they’ve learned the lesson of Massachusetts, Menendez and his staff will distribute a memo Tuesday advising Democratic campaign managers to frame their opponents early — and to drive a wedge between moderate voters and tea-party-style conservatives.
“Given the pressure Republican candidates feel from the extreme right in their party, there is a critical — yet time-sensitive — opportunity for Democratic candidates,” the DSCC writes. “We have a finite window when Republicans candidates will feel susceptible to the extremists in their party. Given the urgent nature of this dynamic, we suggest an aggressive effort to get your opponents on the record.”
The memo urges Democratic candidates to force their opponents to answer a series of questions on health care, taxes and some of the favorite causes of the far right:
“Do you believe that Barack Obama is a U.S. citizen? Do you think the 10th Amendment bars Congress from issuing regulations like minimum health care coverage standards? Do you think programs like Social Security and Medicare represent socialism and should never have been created in the first place? Do you think President Obama is a socialist? Do you think America should return to a gold standard?”
If a Republican candidate says no to any of the questions, the memo says Democrats should “make their primary opponent or conservative activists know it. This will cause them to take heat from their primary opponents and could likely provoke a flip-flop, as it already has several times with Mark Kirk in Illinois.”
This strategy seems to be a good one on the surface for Democrats because it could indeed split Republicans along ideological lines. However, in this process the Democrats may be giving the Tea Party activists more of a platform. Democrats may think that's a good thing but be careful what you wish for. These Tea Party folks are mobilizing faster and bigger everyday. Unintentionally, the Democrats may be playing right into their hands by giving them even more credibility in an environment where the message of the tea partiers is clearly resonating. So will it cause a divide with moderates? Sure. The tent may not grow as large because of it but has anyone ever thought about the possibility that the Tea Party tent can expand as well?