Jim DeMint calls for Unity in Rabid Mad Dog Right Wing World

[marmar]

from thinkprogress:



DeMint: ‘We need to stop looking at the tea parties as separate from the Republican party.’

As the tea party movement got off the ground, organizers put considerable effort into arguing that “the movement is not tied to the Republican Party.” Even Republican members of Congress who embraced the movement early on, like Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), insisted that “it’s not about Republican or Democrat.” But the rhetorical firewall between the activists and the establishment is breaking down. In an interview with National Review today, DeMint said that the tea parties should no longer be thought of as “separate” from the Republican Party:

“The GOP leadership needs to stand up for mainstream American principles,” says DeMint. The best way to do that, he says, is to “look to the great candidates we can support like Marco Rubio, Pat Toomey, Chuck DeVore, and now Michael Williams. They’re exciting, principled candidates who have all stood up to the Republican party.”

“We need to stop looking at the tea parties as separate from the Republican party,” adds DeMint. “If we do that, we can stand up and create the biggest tent of all.”

It’s not surprising that DeMint is trying to formally weld the tea parties with the GOP. A Rasmussen poll released Monday found that on a three-way generic ballot, a tea party candidate would attract more votes than a Republican.


http://thinkprogress.org/2009/12/10/demint-tea-party-gop/

[Vincardog]

1. That is why FAILIN Pailin is going to try and split the Talibornagain off from the Repugs and run as

the Tea Party candidate.
That will open the R nomination up for Mittens and his magic underpants.
The Right will either split between those two and guarantee their demise or try to infiltrate the Democratic party.
Watch them come here and lecture us on not trying to enforce the "purity test" such as demanding that Democratic elected officials not obstruct Democratic party policy.

[dgibby]

2. And, surprise, surprise, surprise,

DeMint is being touted in some teabagger circles as a good canditate for Prez. I've been saying for some time that I thought DeMint was positioning himself for a run now that Sanford is out of the picture. I think the source of the tea party info was from an interview on Tweety's program the other night,but it was definitely either MSNBC or CNN.

If he does run, he could be a real problem. He'll definitely appeal to the radical right and would probably pass the new conservative litmus test for the GOP, as well. He is one scary dude. I sure do hope he doesn't gain any traction.