Call it "Tea Party blowback." Ron Paul, the libertarian congressman and Tea Party hero, faces challenges in Tuesday's Texas primaries from several Republicans inspired by the conservative movement's small-government ideals. The rival candidates say Paul, who ran a longshot bid for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination, isn't involved enough in his district, and that he's not effective because he doesn't like to work with other lawmakers. Paul's still a heavy favorite, but does the fact that he faces any competition at all mean that nobody's safe from the Tea Partiers' anger? (Watch Sarah Palin suggest the Tea Party get affiliated with a major party)
This is no surprise — the Tea Party hates incumbents: Ron Paul obviously has "solid anti-establishment credentials," says Alex Isenstadt in Politico, but he's also a 10-term incumbent. Even if Tea Partiers embrace many of the same ideals as Paul, it's easy to understand why some of them think Paul "has gone Washington, abandoning his constituents as he pursues his white whale — the presidency."
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