A big loss for the T-SPLOST was a big win for the Georgia tea party, whose leaders didn't shy away Tuesday night from claiming giant-slayer status.
"We took on the governor, the lieutenant governor, the mayor, big business and slick political consultants. We emerged victorious," crowed tea party leader Debbie Dooley, celebrating with other T-SPLOST opponents at Hudson Grille in Midtown.
Looking ahead, some pundits read the T-SPLOST leaves as foretelling increased tea party clout on other state and local issues; others said the loosely knit group still lacks the muscle — and the money — to achieve sustained influence.
Many agreed, though, that the tea party, more than anyone else, placed its stamp upon the effort to tear down the $7.2 billion transportation referendum. With Tuesday's resounding victory, the group made liars of critics who had months ago written it off as as a passing fad whose power had peaked.
"It does show we have absolutely not lost clout," Dooley said.
That lesson was not lost on national political observers, with several major news outlets spotlighting the vote as a test of tea party power with significance beyond the borders of Georgia.
"This means they're players. It reminds everybody they're around and they can defeat your grand plans," said Bob Grafstein, assistant dean of the University of Georgia's school of public and international affairs.
On the other hand, Grafstein said, the state Republican Party, exemplified by Gov. Nathan Deal, is already largely conservative and entrenched — not necessarily vulnerable to tea party strong-arming.
State Sen. Renee Unterman, R-Buford, said she expects the tea party to see its political influence grow under the Gold Dome, but not by a lot. The reason, she said, is simple: The tea party does not donate a lot of money to political campaigns.
"If you don't invest money, you're not a true player," Unterman said. "Money is what makes the world go around there."
The tea party and other T-SPLOST opponents didn't need much money, though, to defeat the one-penny sales tax. According to the most recent campaign finance reports, they had raised only about $15,000. That was a pittance compared to the $8 million in the hands of the proponents, which included Deal, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and the Metro Atlanta Chamber.
But the opponents made their punches count. As supporters hit the airwaves with TV commercials, opponents hit the roadways, relying on carloads of volunteers to plant yard signs, distribute fliers, make phone calls and, in the days leading up to the vote, stand on street corners hawking their message.
Grafstein said those local neighborhoods are where the tea party may see its greatest impact. Already, many members have been watchdogging city and county commissions and school boards.
"Officials on the local level are more likely to be more fearful of the threats the tea party can make," he said. "They have lower-turnout elections."
Tuesday night's results, he said, "make [the tea party] look like people protecting the average citizen from the rapacious government."
Tuesday's outcome, Dooley said, also shot down many misconceptions about the group. Opposing Deal and the business establishment showed that the tea party is not just a wing of the Republican Party; forming alliances with the NAACP and Sierra Club showed a willingness to work across ideological lines; and winning showed that it's not out on some fringe, she said.
In fact, the tea party scored a double victory Tuesday with the overwhelming popularity of a measure to restrict lobbyists' gifts to state lawmakers. It was a cause the tea party championed during the last legislative session, and it positioned the group to push it with even greater vigor in the one to come.
Analysts said the tea party chose its battles wisely, tapping into voters' strong anti-tax sentiments and doubts that public officials can manage big-ticket projects.
Indeed, some said the fall of the transportation plan had less to do with the tea party than with people's general discontent over government and the economy. They predicted that the T-SPLOST vote will accomplish little to move the needle for the tea party.
"It's taking credit that they're not in a position to take," said Jeff Dickerson, a political consultant who served as a spokesman in favor of the T-SPLOST. He said many factors and factions contributed to the defeat, including the tea party, the NAACP, the Sierra Club and "the person who didn't get a transit line to Stonecrest Mall."
Staff writer Paige Cornwell contributed to this article.
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