The Tea Party's newest primary challenger: Big business?

The shutdown and debt ceiling fights have ticked off the business community

Justin Amash might want to watch his back.
(Image credit: (AP))

Tea Party renegades can comfortably ignore public opinion over the government shutdown and debt ceiling fight, the thinking goes, because they are ensconced in non-competitive, gerrymandered districts.

Yet as the shutdown dragged on, and a once-unthinkable debt ceiling default became more likely, the Tea Party began to lose the support of a once powerful ally: Big business. It has reached the point where some business interests are openly floating the idea of supporting more reasonable, business-friendly candidates in primary election challenges to Tea Party-aligned lawmakers.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.