Abouhalkah: Palin right, Rove wrong on what Tea Party movement should do

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Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist Yael Abouhalkah, noting that Sarah Palin and Karl Rove have voiced very different opinions on what the Tea Party movement should do next, says that Gov. Palin's position is the one he agrees with. She said quite recently that the Tea Partiers will have to choose whether they want to side with the Republicans or the Democrats, while Rove says they should not let their movement become an appendage of either party:

The problem with Rove's reasoning -- and the political simplicity of Palin's -- is that the Tea Party very likely won't be an effective third party in the nation's two-party system.

And, unlike the abortion and gun-rights movements, Tea Party backers are more than just single-issue followers.

They really want to affect a huge amount of spending in Washington, D.C. They really want to get rid of thousands of federal employees and slash federally funded programs.

So Tea Party believers likely will have to pick from supporting Democratic or Republican candidates in the future.

- JP