Ziggae_6
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Michele Bachmann's Congressional Tea Party
— By Suzy Khimm
| Wed Jul. 21, 2010 10:46 AM PDT
— Wikimedia/Creative Commons
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and 20-some other House Republicans launched their newly formed Tea Party Caucus with a meeting Wednesday morning in the House Armed Services Committee hearing room—a seemingly appropriate nod to the movement's hopes for political insurrection. The Tea Party Caucus has now turned the anti-government uprising into part of the Washington apparatus itself, becoming the latest litmus test for whether House Republicans have opened their arms to the activists. But it's still unclear what the caucus will actually do for the movement, because members insist that the group will not represent or speak for tea partiers—merely listen to their concerns.
At the press conference that followed the caucus' first session, Bachmann spent more time explaining what the group wasn't, that what it was. "We are not the mouthpiece of the tea party," Bachmann told reporters. "We are not taking the tea party and controlling it from Washington, DC. I am not the head of the tea party. We are also not here to vouch for the tea party, or to vouch for any tea party organizations… we are here to listen and to be a receptacle." When a reporter pointed out that she was, in fact, the titular head of a caucus named after the movement, Bachmann simply added: "This is a listening post...I'm the chairwoman of the listening ear, I'm not speaking on behalf of the tea party."
Michele Bachmann's Congressional Tea Party | Mother Jones
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They haven't quite finalized their roster yet, but supposively there are approximately 20-25 GOP members that want to be part of this. Are they eventually going to separate from the GOP and form their own group?
So could Bachmann be the Tea Party's Presidential candidate? Or is the whole thing a big fake to get Tea Party votes?
— By Suzy Khimm
| Wed Jul. 21, 2010 10:46 AM PDT
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and 20-some other House Republicans launched their newly formed Tea Party Caucus with a meeting Wednesday morning in the House Armed Services Committee hearing room—a seemingly appropriate nod to the movement's hopes for political insurrection. The Tea Party Caucus has now turned the anti-government uprising into part of the Washington apparatus itself, becoming the latest litmus test for whether House Republicans have opened their arms to the activists. But it's still unclear what the caucus will actually do for the movement, because members insist that the group will not represent or speak for tea partiers—merely listen to their concerns.
At the press conference that followed the caucus' first session, Bachmann spent more time explaining what the group wasn't, that what it was. "We are not the mouthpiece of the tea party," Bachmann told reporters. "We are not taking the tea party and controlling it from Washington, DC. I am not the head of the tea party. We are also not here to vouch for the tea party, or to vouch for any tea party organizations… we are here to listen and to be a receptacle." When a reporter pointed out that she was, in fact, the titular head of a caucus named after the movement, Bachmann simply added: "This is a listening post...I'm the chairwoman of the listening ear, I'm not speaking on behalf of the tea party."
Michele Bachmann's Congressional Tea Party | Mother Jones
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
They haven't quite finalized their roster yet, but supposively there are approximately 20-25 GOP members that want to be part of this. Are they eventually going to separate from the GOP and form their own group?
So could Bachmann be the Tea Party's Presidential candidate? Or is the whole thing a big fake to get Tea Party votes?