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Didn't Newt promise to defund government endowments like NPR, CPB, NEA, etc. in the Contract for America? Yes, he did and, despite many years of a Republican president and Republican majorities in House and Senate, the Republicans accomplished nothing in limiting the scope of government. Instead, we got vast expansions in Medicare, NCLB, a bloated and ineffective Homeland Security Department, bridges to nowhere, and numerous other expansions of national government.

The Republican party elite despise the tea party movement just as much as the Dems. The only difference is that the Republican elite think they can exploit the tea partiers for political advantage.

The sad thing is that they will probably succeed. As contemptuous as the Dems are in their ridicule of the tea party movement, at least they don't pretend to identify with its proclamation of individual liberty, free markets, and limited government.