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Has the tea party 'sold out' to the mainstream GOP?
CNN ^ | August 26, 2012 | Shannon Travis

Posted on 08/28/2012 5:23:35 PM PDT by upchuck

Is the tea party changing the Republican Party from the inside -- or selling out to the GOP?

As Republicans prepare to officially roll out Mitt Romney as their party's presidential nominee at the Republican National Convention this week, major tea party groups and figures have descended on Tampa, Florida, to schmooze with party bigwigs and rally for Romney.

But Romney's conservative credentials have long been viewed with suspicion by the movement. So it came as a surprise when, before at least one event, tea party organizers committed what some activists would consider heresy: seeking approval from establishment Republicans to rally.

All of it has opened up a once unthinkable charge: the movement that's rabble-roused and rocked the GOP establishment since 2009 is now too cozy with it.

"The top national groups have already sold out," said Judd Saul, a prominent Iowa activist associated with the Cedar Valley Tea Party. "They don't truly represent the grassroots."

"Even before the caucuses, these guys were all pushing for Romney even when the primaries were going on," Saul added.

"It's a pretty widespread (sentiment). A lot of activists have noticed that."

But presidential historian Douglas Brinkley doesn't see this phenomenon as anything new.

"I think it happens all the time in politics," said Brinkley, a political analyst and professor at Rice University. "The grassroots people are the people who are hypermotivated. They are people willing to go to rallies and hold bake sales and ... and they're always later kind of seen as auxiliary players once it gets to the main game when the elections come in the fall."

(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: acornpaidforpost; assclownposting; clownsforobama; conservativeforobama; fff; fraudsforobama; gaybotsforobama; gop4rinoromney; gop4romneycare; gop4romneymarriage; howtolose; idiotspostings; loserpost; moronforobama; moveontroll; obamabots; obamacampaignad; obotsattack; stupidpostersneedzot; teaparty; traitorpost; zotthismoron
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To: formosa

“Perhaps the elite among us should cease acting like democrats.”

There are elite among us? Who knew?


101 posted on 08/28/2012 7:05:12 PM PDT by spel_grammer_an_punct_polise (I wanna start a Seniors' Motor Scooter Gang. Wanna join?)
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To: upchuck

Anyone willing to vote for Romney has sold out the conservative movement even if many don’t realize it.


102 posted on 08/28/2012 7:18:43 PM PDT by Kazan (Support for Romney is disobedience to God!)
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To: upchuck

IF there is anything to it (and I believe it’s just media p*ssing into the pot) remember something: this is still politics and even within a Party, deals will be made, usually to the discontent of the members.


103 posted on 08/28/2012 7:21:06 PM PDT by theDentist (FYBO/FUBO; qwerty ergo typo : i type, therefore i misspelll)
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To: ClearCase_guy

Ditto.


104 posted on 08/28/2012 7:25:15 PM PDT by MotorCityBuck ( Keep the change, you filthy animal! ,)
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To: RitaOK; MNJohnnie; svcw

“Johnny has traded brains for fear. The easily herded win us NOTHING. Ever.”

The people who traded the fear got cheated.


105 posted on 08/28/2012 7:26:41 PM PDT by Psalm 144 ( "I didn't leave the Democratic Party. The party left me." Ronald Wilson Reagan)
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To: svcw

“Romney people are really mean, which is not unexpected since most of them are liberals.”

Culture of death, too.


106 posted on 08/28/2012 7:27:34 PM PDT by Psalm 144 ( "I didn't leave the Democratic Party. The party left me." Ronald Wilson Reagan)
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To: svcw

Patience Grasshopper, “The Master has Awakened”


107 posted on 08/28/2012 7:34:31 PM PDT by ptshredder (Take back the US to it's constituional limits!)
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To: MNJohnnie

“Right CNN is really worried about the future of the Conservative movement.

When are you people going to stop being the willing foot soldiers of the Democrat propaganda machine?

Maybe you people might finally start fighting the enemies of everything you stand for instead of spending ALL your time shooting your allies in the back.

You people are the useful idiots of the Democrat party.”

Exactly! As you said.


108 posted on 08/28/2012 7:34:37 PM PDT by Innovative ("Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing." -- Vince Lombardi)
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To: spel_grammer_an_punct_polise
He, ( meaning Romney ), is a Leftist.  I disagree. I think that he is a totally unprincipled person who has absolutely no values except making money and using power. He simply wets his finger, sticks it in the air, sees which way the wind is blowing then goes with the flow. That’s what he did in MA and with the birth of the Tea Party he saw the swing to the right and he said, “Oops! Gotta change again.”  That is worse than leftism any day.

Well, I see him as a statist.  All too often he sees big government as the solution to problems.  I see that as Leftist.  I also see it as Socialistic.

I'm not in disagreement that he changes his stance on issues at the drop of a hat.  If you want to think of that as more evil than Leftist, I'm not going to give you grief over it.

The guys that are of a Socialist nature have caused much of the world's major problems over time.  I believe Mitt leans in that direction.  I can't dismiss it as not being as bad as something else.  I do believe Mitt is pretty tame by some Socialist/Leftist standards.  I still think he is very problematic.

I appreciate your take on it.  I still think we share a great many more beliefs concerning this guy than we do differences.

Take care.



109 posted on 08/28/2012 7:38:42 PM PDT by DoughtyOne (Americans want what Americans always wanted: Better lives for families; little government authority.)
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To: MNJohnnie

What is it about you and pigs, Johnnie? If that is what you think about the rest of us maybe you should go join a mosque where those types of insults are more acceptable.

There are no good guys in this fight for the presidency. It’s a quick death under Obama or a very slow torturous death at the hands of those who call themselves elite. It’s not really a choice. We must find an alternative if we want to survive as human beings and not as you like to be squealing about pigs.


110 posted on 08/28/2012 7:39:03 PM PDT by formosa
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To: spel_grammer_an_punct_polise

Would have replied sooner but your handle is too dang long. ./

Goats butt things, like tree stumps. Some stumps are tall, some are short. Depending on one’s argument which stump one should butt.

Thank you very much for saying that I make you laugh.

;b. Rita


111 posted on 08/28/2012 7:54:29 PM PDT by RitaOK
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To: upchuck

Our group, the Mansfield North Central Ohio Tea Party threw out 2 people from the Romney campaign out of our meeting last week.

They showed up uninvited and thought we were going to let them waltz right up to the mic and speak.

We made it clear to them that we don’t work for the Romney campaign or the GOP. They asked, “Is this because of your 501 c 3 status?”

I told them we are not a 501 c 3 group and that the reason is because Romney isn’t a Conservative and we ONLY BACK CONSERVATIVES.


112 posted on 08/28/2012 8:03:34 PM PDT by bimboeruption (Clinging to my Bible and my HK.)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

The Communism News Network is in the tank for Obama, i don’t really see much value in reading what they spew except to rebuttle it.


113 posted on 08/28/2012 8:13:27 PM PDT by Monorprise
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To: RitaOK

“Would have replied sooner but your handle is too dang long. ./”

You can always copy/paste it. :-)

Thank you for the laughs. Sheesh! Now I’m laughing again.


114 posted on 08/28/2012 10:40:57 PM PDT by spel_grammer_an_punct_polise (I wanna start a Seniors' Motor Scooter Gang. Wanna join?)
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To: MNJohnnie
totally agree - big bunch of Freepers have formed themselves into a circular firing squad.

It's getting old.

Hard to tell which are just too full of themselves and their ‘conscience’ and which are sleeper trolls

115 posted on 08/28/2012 11:07:02 PM PDT by maine-iac7 (Christian is as Christian does....)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
There are only two teams. Pick one

Sum total!

Primaries are over. WE have a team.

THEY have a team.

Matthew 12:30

116 posted on 08/28/2012 11:11:24 PM PDT by maine-iac7 (Christian is as Christian does....)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet; Spunky

You betcha!


117 posted on 08/28/2012 11:16:32 PM PDT by 1035rep (Obama: "I killed Bin Laden" ...you didn't do that. Somebody else made that happen.)
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To: svcw

I understood him perfectly...


118 posted on 08/29/2012 2:58:17 AM PDT by trebb ("If a man will not work, he should not eat" From 2 Thes 3)
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To: Kazan

I am sick of so called conservatives fighting to re elect Obama..
Vote your conscience..I am voting for Romney and Ryan.


119 posted on 08/29/2012 3:27:11 AM PDT by MEG33 (O Lord, Guide Our Nation)
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To: trebb

How special


120 posted on 08/29/2012 6:00:58 AM PDT by svcw (If one living cell on another planet is life, why isn't it life in the womb?)
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