Free Republic

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) is taking a pass on the House Tea Party Caucus. The second-ranking House Republican told POLITICO on Tuesday that he's not joining the group started by Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) because he sees it as more of an organic, grass-roots movement rather than a Washington entity. Cantor praised Bachmann for providing “another avenue for people to have their voices heard" but said he thinks the tea party is better left outside Washington. “I met with several of groups that operated under that moniker in Virginia; they’re not all uniform,” Cantor said in his third-floor...

A House committee has approved Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann's proposal to create an official House Tea Party Caucus. Bachmann announced via Twitter that the Committee on House Administration approved her request. The new caucus, Bachmann announced last week, will focus on "fiscal responsibility, adherence to the Constitution, and limited government."She said in a statement: "This caucus will espouse the timeless principles of our founding, principles that all Members of Congress have sworn to uphold. The American people are doing their part and making their voices heard and this caucus will prove that there are some here in Washington willing to...