Splitting Up the "Tea Party Vote"

I think…I’m not sure…but I think, I just saw Mitt Romney do a Tiger-Woods-style-fist-pump celebration.  Word is that Sarah Palin will launch a presidential campaign by the end of September.  And the most direct beneficiary of that news has to be Mitt Romney.

As it stands right now, the “Tea Party vote” is already split between three – maybe four – candidates.  Michelle Bachmann, Rick Perry and to a lesser extent Herman Cain are competing for somewhat similar voters.  Even Ron Paul lays claim to some of the “Tea Party vote”.

Sarah Palin, at one time the star of the Tea Party movement, would further split the vote five-to-six ways.  This benefits Romney, right?

Right now Romney’s only competition for the center-right vote is Huntsman. (Perry might pull some of this vote.) And to see his competitors further split up the vote has to make him very happy.

Footnote – The issue here is that no one can really define what the Tea Party represents. Is it constitutionalism? Is it debt reduction? Is it low taxes? Is it social conservatism? Is it all of the above? But there does seem to be a group of candidates welcomed under the umbrella of the Tea Party (Bachmann, Perry, Paul, Cain) and those who aren’t (Romney, Huntsman).