Word: gop
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...political career that has spanned 45 years, he has regularly sidestepped doom. Specter's most celebrated swerve came last April, when he switched parties to avoid a Republican primary against a conservative challenger he had barely beaten in 2004. He acknowledged he could never win the GOP nomination for a sixth term after voting for Barack Obama's economic stimulus package - a move that was one heresy too many for the shrinking Pennsylvania Republican Party. (See pictures from the Pennsylvania Senate race...
...time, Specter's switch was hailed as a heady affirmation that Barack Obama had ushered the nation into a new, post-partisan era. With the defection of one of its last Senate moderates, what was left of the GOP appeared to be careering rightward, to a hard-core base that was beginning to resemble a cult as much as a political party. (See 10 elections that changed America...
Perriello's policies are one reason five unknown Republicans have jumped into the race. Another is the belief that the GOP front runner, state senator Robert Hurt, is insufficiently conservative. Though Hurt has amassed $293,000 in campaign funds, he's been dogged by a 2004 vote for higher taxes. His six rivals were quick to paint him as part of the despised Washington establishment. "I'd like to see 435 different members in the House. Within a year, we'd fix this country," says McKelvey, who attended Tea Party meetings before being inspired by Glenn Beck's 9.12 project...
...there to protect the people. It's only there to provide security. And now it's usurping more and more duties," says Israel Jackson, a Liberty University student volunteering on Campbell County businessman Ron Ferrin's campaign. A former Obama supporter, Jackson dissected both parties' platforms and decided the GOP was the one hewing to the framers' principles. "It's almost a group-therapy thing," Lloyd says of the passion coursing through Tea Party events. "For years, they've felt isolated. If they spoke their true feelings, they'd be vilified. If there's been anything rewarding...
This enthusiasm on display in Lynchburg is not without risks for the GOP. "In the beginning, maybe these activists wanted to push the Republican Party in a more conservative direction, and they were willing to do whatever it took," says Isaac Wood, a political analyst at the University of Virginia. "Now that they're getting involved in the political process, they may realize that Goal No. 1 is unseating Perriello, and nominating as conservative a person as possible is No. 2." The fervor could end up hurting them, Wood adds, if one of the Tea Party hopefuls decides...