Allen courting tea party for 2012 with mixed success

For his comeback effort, George Allen has undergone a tea-party makeover.

Looking to take back the U.S. Senate seat he narrowly lost to Democrat Jim Webb in 2006, Allen, a Republican, has positioned himself as a reformer running against the Washington establishment he was once a part of, hoping to ride the tea-party movement's momentum to victory.

Since well before he announced his candidacy in January, Allen has been zigzagging across the state, meeting with conservative groups and talking in vitriolic language about slashing spending, reducing the size of government and repealing what he often refers to as the "health-care monstrosity."

Some in the tea-party movement have found in the re-energized Allen a kindred spirit and experienced conservative fighter.

"If you study his record — and I have — I can say with conviction that George Allen was the tea party before there was a tea party," said Daniel Cortez, one of the organizers of Tea Party Patriots for George Allen.

But for others, Allen's re-emergence as a right-wing warrior isn't an easy sell.

"George Allen was a good governor, a poor senator and an even poorer choice for senator this time," said Jeremy Taylor, an executive board member for the Alexandria Tea Party.

"His voting record is clear that he would not represent me in what to do about the deficit spending and the role of government," Taylor said, pointing to Allen's support of measures that added to the deficit, debt ceiling increases and earmarks.

"I don't think he showed any leadership whatsoever or any kind of conscience or restraint; he just went along with the group, and I'm afraid he'll just go along with the group again. I can't trust him."

Allen already faces four opponents for the Republican nomination, a few of whom — like former Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation leader Jamie Radtke — will be all too happy to echo Taylor's sentiments over the next year.

Early polls and fundraising numbers suggest that Allen, with widespread name recognition, might not need massive tea-party support to win the nomination, though he would clearly prefer to emerge from the battle in one piece.

And if a general election — in which many expect the GOP nominee to face former Gov. Timothy M. Kaine — is as close as pundits and polls suggest, the boost from the tea-party base could be crucial come November 2012.

There's also the possibility of a third-party candidate who could siphon critical percentage points from the GOP nominee, said Mark J. Rozell, a professor of public policy at George Mason University.

"So assuming Allen wins the nomination, he has to win graciously and then reach out to his tea-party opponents," he said. "He not only needs to stave off a third-party challenge, but he also will benefit from the energy and enthusiasm of tea-party people."

And fortunately for him, many in the movement seem willing to give the new George Allen a chance.

"Keep in mind that a tremendous number of the tea-party activists who are in place now were never politically active before two years ago," said Suzanne Curran of the Shenandoah Valley Constitutional Conservatives. "They hear George Allen with fresh ears, and he speaks with knowledge and understanding."

And as Rozell noted, "Allen in the past had been one of those rare bilingual Republicans who can speak the different languages of the conservative activists and the party moderates at the same time."

Curran has yet to decide whom to support in 2012, acknowledging that many in the movement favor Radtke for her relative political purity. Others, however, see it simply as inexperience.

Cortez, who helped Radtke organize and promote a well-attended statewide tea-party convention in Richmond last year, said he admires her ideals and tenacity but said she just isn't ready yet.

"She's a marvelous person, but this is a dogfight. We have to support the best person to beat Tim Kaine," Cortez said. "George Allen has walked the walk, and he's talked the talk. Has he been perfect? No, but no one is."

Laura Alcorn, founder of Richmond Patriots, an organization that claims 2,500 members, agreed.

"The race is going to be between (former) Governor Allen and Tim Kaine, and I feel that it's linked at the hip with the presidential campaign," she said. "We need to be able to combat Tim Kaine and Obama with more of a seasoned politician who knows the ropes."

Karen Hurd, founder of the Hampton Roads Tea Party and the Virginia Tea Party Alliance PAC, said the rest of the GOP field should not be written off so early.

She agreed with Taylor that Allen's record as a senator disqualified him from being taken seriously as a fiscal conservative who values constitutional principles.

"He's not on record, at least during his Senate years, of saying, 'This is ridiculous — we can't do this.' And I think, frankly, had he shown that kind of leadership, he wouldn't have lost to Jim Webb to begin with," she said.

Allen's senior adviser, Dan Allen, said they looked forward to clarifying the record on the campaign trail.

"That's the beauty of the tea party — the people involved are there to listen, ask questions and get answers," he said. "George Allen has never been afraid to go out, talk about his record, and talk about his vision, ideas and solutions."

whester@timesdispatch.com

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