Much has been written and spoken lately about the reaction that the GOP establishment has had toward the surprise nomination of Christine O’Donnell in the GOP Senate primary, as well as the victories of Sharon Angle in Nevada, Rand Paul in Kentucky, and Joe Miller in Alaska. In fact, I recently wrote a post that my good friend Cynewulf assures me was “restaurant quality” that took a look at the issue. So it may seem strange to see back to back posts here that deal with the same issue, but I assure you that this post is going to be a bit different from the first.

As I was reading a book of historical essays last week, one of the writers made a point that I think clearly explains just why both the Democratic and Republican establishments are reacting to the rise of O’Donnell, Miller, et al in the manner that they are.

Now, we expect the Democrats to attack anyone to the right of George McGovern as a “far-right extremist”, and we have heard that particular formulation thrown around so much that it has lost its sting. When people like John McCain, Bob Dole, and Lindsey Graham are being excoriated by the leftist media and the Democrats, we can see just how little that really means. I mean, the next principled conservative stand, not necessitated by political expediency that John McCain takes will likely be his first…but the media continues to treat him as if he is some “arch-conservative.”

Sadly, the GOP has taken a similar tack on conservatives in recent memory. The GOP has rarely had the guts to stand by any real conservatives in races across the country, because they have bought into the notion that strong conservatives cannot win in states that have a “moderate” on the ballot, so we have seen the establishment attempt to foist upon the voters candidates like Dede Scozzafava, Mike Castle, and Charlie Crist. These people were sold to us on the premise that they, and not a more conservative candidate, were the only electable Republicans on the ticket, so they had to be supported regardless of their records. And when these candidates failed, how did the establishment react?

Both the Democratic and Republican establishments acted in the same way, attacking the conservative winners as ‘extreme’, ‘kooky’, ‘unqualified’, or ‘unelectable’. Furthermore, the level of vitriol directed at these conservative candidates has been just as intense from the GOP establishment as it has been from the expected environs of the Democrats!

Search the memory banks quickly and tell me how many times you heard that Marco Rubio in Florida would be irreparably damaged by an independent campaign by Charlie Crist; remember the many instances of ‘conservative’ pundits telling us that Rand Paul was the wrong candidate in Kentucky; recall the many people on the right attacking Sharon Angle as a kook with no chance to beat Harry Reid; and now listen to the increasingly personal attacks leveled against Christine O’Donnell for having been a “two time loser” in Delaware, even though one of those losses was when the Delaware GOP nominated her to challenge Joe Biden for the Senate seat he had held for most of my life, until becoming Vice President.

Looking at this, and thinking about it we probably have the same question that my all-time favorite professional wrestler, “Nature Boy” Ric Flair once famously asked in a promo: What’s causing all this?!

The answer to that question came to me as I was reading, when in one passage the historian pointed out the difference between conventional partisan politics and movement politics. The writer explained that in conventional politics, in this case represented by the two established political parties, those involved seek to identify mutually acceptable middle ground on issues via compromise. We see this every day in the calls for bipartisan agreement and compromise on the major issues of the day, from the economy to defense concerns to immigration law. Neither side seems willing to stake out a principled position, plant their feet, and say “This is where I stand, come what may.”

In contrast, movement politics is described as people staking out a principled position on issues and instead of seeking to compromise those positions, attempting to draw the more conventional politicians to their causes. As all who are looking at this honestly can tell you, this fits what the Tea Party Movement (TPM) is doing to a T. The TPM has staked out positions primarily on tax and government spending issues and are working to reward those politicians who embrace those ideals with their support, and to punish those who have spent their political careers selling out the principles of the voters who put them in office.

Removing the Democratic establishment from the equation, as they are naturally antagonistic towards anyone opposes the expansion of government spending, etc let us consider just what the rise of the TPM and its status as a “movement politics” means in relation to the GOP establishment. Just what is it that this movement has done to the GOP elite that causes them to shower the TPM candidates with so much anger and fills them with so much consternation?

The major reasons for the GOP Establishment’s near hysterical reaction to the rise of the TPM and the nomination of TPM candidates across the country are firmly rooted in the unbreakable bonds the Establishment has to conventional partisan politics.

We understand, and we have seen much evidence to back this claim, that much of what is wrong in Washington is that national politics has become an insiders club, and partisan politics helps perpetuate that system. What too many members of the GOP Establishment in Washington want more than anything are power and influence, and partisan politics is the way that those things are kept “in house” for the elites. They want to be the “ranking member” of this or that committee; they want to cosponsor bipartisan legislation that raises their stature in the eyes of the press, which in turn raises their level of influence in the Congress. But rarely do these displays of bipartisanship result in legislation that is good for We The People.

The most instructive example of this type of attitude and activity is the last Republican presidential nominee, John McCain. Mr. McCain has spent nearly his entire political career, especially since joining the Senate, worshipping at the altar of bipartisanship, while pretending to be loyal to the conservative principles that have so long been the foundation of the GOP. While he spent his time making common cause with the Democrats he so enthusiastically worked with in the Senate, he also tried to make us believe that he was somehow a guardian of freedom and liberty. However, his record bears out my broader points about the quest for personal prestige and passage of disastrous legislation that comes from the processes of conventional partisan politics. John McCain became a media star and was turned into a political power broker in DC as he betrayed the GOP and the country by co-authoring the McCain –Feingold bill that infringed upon political free speech and the McCain-Kennedy amnesty bill that mercifully was voted down in Congress. But both of those efforts were celebrated within the confines of the political Establishment as fine examples of how the political system was supposed to operate. Yet, that is only true if the political system of this country was set up to be run by and established political elite, who feel it is their prerogative to rule instead of govern.

What the rapid rise of the TPM has done in these last few years is to upset the political applecart in a manner that is most disturbing to the Republican Establishment. The Establishment is wedded to the partisan model, because it is from that model that they derive their power and prestige. The movement model, as embodied in the TPM is a most serious threat to the Establishment because it forces the Establishment into a corner. The TPM has forced the Establishment into a situation where they are being challenged by their constituents to prove that they are what they so loudly claim to be…namely conservatives. The Establishment politicians are being challenged on their records, on their votes, and on their actions and many of them are failing to live up to the lofty conservative rhetoric they used to get themselves elected. Further, when the people have started to call their bluffs and peruse their records, the members of the Establishment have often been found wanting…and the people have moved them aside. That is what happened to Bob Bennett in Utah; Lisa Murkowski in Alaska; Trey Grayson in Kentucky; and most recently Mike Castle in Delaware. And it is that reclaiming of the political process by the people from the political professionals that has the Establishment in such a rage.

You see, what was exhibited by Karl Rove in his now infamous rant against Christine O’Donnell on Hannity was not just about that race, it was the unleashing of the fears and anger of the Establishment as it sees its power beginning to erode. Christine O’Donnell has been the avatar that has been attacked and smeared by both the Republican and Democratic operatives, but make no mistake it is not just her that is being attacked.

By attacking Christine O’Donnell the establishment is attacking every voter in every state who has rejected their status quo candidates. They are attacking every member of Town Hall’s own SCDS members who refused to hold their noses and vote for McCain on 2008; they are attacking every conservative in Florida who rejected Charlie Crist in favor of Marco Rubio; they are assaulting the voters of Kentucky and Nevada who refused to accept the usual go-along-to-get-along Republicans in their states. And I so doing they are showing us who they really are and why they can never be trusted with the levers of power again.

I don’t know what the future holds for the TPM, it may be long lasting or it may peter out after November. But I do believe that the rise of the TPM movement has made more and more of us realize that our voices will be heard when raised loudly, purposefully, and in a sustained manner. We have served notice that We The People Will not be ruled, and that We The People will only be governed by those We choose, not those selected for us by those who consider themselves political doyens.

We The People are back in the saddle!