More senators need to join this caucus if they know what’s good for them. The problem is the establishment GOPers that want to be liked by the media and have been in Washington too long.That’s okay because there’s always another election cycle to take out the trash and elect people not afraid to stand for conservatism.
The Politico reporta that the three founding members of the Senate Tea Party Caucus told a crowd of 120 activists at their first meeting Thursday that their efforts will outsize their short roster.
In all, four Republican senators have joined the caucus, including one freshman, Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran, who signed on during the opening meeting. Republicans took 13 new seats last fall, many riding in on tea party momentum. “I don’t care if this group consists of three senators or one hundred,” Utah Sen. Mike Lee shouted to the crowd. “We’ve invited them all. I hope they all join us. If they don’t, we’re happy to hear your concerns. We’ll listen to you. And we’ll do everything we can to fight on your behalf to restore constitutionally limited government.”
At Thursday’s event, which felt part caucus meeting, part pep rally, Lee and his caucus-founding colleagues, Sens. Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Rand Paul of Kentucky were joined by prominent tea party figures, including American for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist, FreedomWorks President and CEO Matt Kibbe and Jamie Radtke, an activist and U.S. Senate candidate in Virginia.
The boisterous audience was filled with tea party supporters. Dozens of members of the media lined the perimeter of the room. The senators were grilled and praised by attendees. Some demanded more action from their elected officials, others just wanted an autograph.
“Will you sign my Constitution?” Judith MacNeill, a tea party activist from Virginia Beach, asked Lee, who happily gave her his autograph.
Spending took the policy spotlight, an area the Tea Party Caucus says it has already impacted.
“The interesting thing is that I think we’ve already co-opted Washington,’” said Paul. “Now are they going to co-opt us? I went to my first State of the Union the other day, and guess who now is against earmarks? The president of the United States has been co-opted by the tea party. I don’t think he’s necessarily happy about it.”
More details here
Memeorandum
