Palinism's defeat in the 2010 elections
For all the Republican huzzahs this post-election morning, one of the interesting results of Tuesday's balloting is that it showed the natural limits of the politics associated with Sarah Palin and the Tea Party.
Palin is such a vocal self-promoter that it's easy to overlook how many of her pet GOP candidates lost. The most notable failures, based on current vote totals, were the Senate candidates: Sharon Angle in Nevada, Christine O'Donnell in Delaware and (apparently) Joe Miller in Alaska. That Palin couldn't even swing her home state of Alaska suggests that she is not as potent as her media hype.
The Tea Party's influence was strong, but not decisive. Early exit polls showed that only about 21 percent identified themselves as strong Tea Party supporters, with another 20 percent in the "somewhat" supportive category.
People are overwhelmingly concerned about the state of the economy (88 percent say it's in bad shape), but a far smaller number see the Tea Party and its conservative populism as the answer.
Here's the point: This election season showed the energy of Palin and the Tea Party. But it also showed that it has natural limits. This is not a movement that is sweeping the country. We have an angry electorate that is convinced, more than ever, that Washington doesn't get it. But it doesn't yet seemed to have coalesced around a philosophy of change or a new political leader.