The move to find a strong Anti-Romney — let alone a strong anti-Obama — has moved into full gear in the Republican Party: a Tea Party group has strongly suggested Rep. Michele Bachmann to drop out of the Presidential race:
A tea party group has a surprising and harsh urging for long-time tea party favorite Michele Bachmann: Quit the presidential race.
“It’s time for Michelle [sic] Bachmann to go,” reads the first line of a statement from American Majority President Ned Ryun. His group operates in seven states, trains thousands of tea party supporters and is “liked” by over 371,000 people on Facebook.
That definitely is not a study in “nuance.”
“Bachmann, the leader of the so-called tea party caucus in the House and the most vocal about her affiliation with the Tea Party than any other Presidential candidate, has consistently presented herself as a champion of the movement and its values,” Ryun’s statement continued.
It’s interesting how a few months ago she was not referred to as lead of the “so-called” tea party caucus. Ahh, but how times and tastes change. Bachmann didn’t bring the (political health) benefits some hoped and she became bland next to a new flavor heavy in Cain sugar.
“Bachmann has ridden her tea party credentials from obscurity to a national platform like no other.”
Bachmann campaign manager Keith Nahigian responded in a statement.
“The strength of the Tea Party is all individual’s opinions are valued but the no single leader speaks for it. Mr. Ryun, who supports Texas Gov. Rick Perry, is entitled to his own opinion. And that’s exactly what he is expressing. Michele Bachmann enjoys strong support from Americans across party lines and that certainly includes the Tea Party. She will continue to be a strong advocate for the values and principles reflected by the Tea Party as works toward a victory in the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses as she seeks to win the Republican nomination.”
Ryun denies he supports Perry, telling CNN: “I liked his plan that he came out with earlier in the week. And I said as much in a blog post. But I have not, and neither has American Majority endorsed anybody.”
To be sure, who could even think that Tea Party members or talk shows like Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh would ever let personal political preferences color their analysis or political assertions?
American Majority’s rebuke of Bachmann marks the first time a well-known tea party group has turned on one of its own in the presidential race – a candidate who so frequently pushes tea party values it’s become a key underpinning of her White House bid.
The group explained its reasons why it’s grown incensed with Bachmann.
“I think it’s pretty obvious that Michele Bachmann is about Michele Bachmann,” American Majority Executive Director Matt Robbins said.
But isn’t Perry about Perry? Cain about Cain? Obama about Obama? Isn’t that what our politics now is all about?
“Anyone who knows the congresswoman, and knows her record, we appreciate a national figure standing up for the tea party types,” Robbins added.Robbins said the statement is not about the group favoring one candidate over Bachmann.
“We are equal opportunity hecklers.” Robbins said.
The reality: Romney continues to do well in polls, but his problem is he can’t go much beyond what he already has. Those who distrust or detest Romney due to his previous incarnation as a moderate Republican or his profuse talent for flip-flopping are looking for someone to strongly challenge him. Bachmann is clearly not going to be the one but she can drain votes away from a stronger anti-Romney.
Meanwhile, a Democrat who falls into the anti-Romney camp must be smiling in the White House.
UPDATE: Ryun’s post on this actually has more “nuance” than media reports and blog posts on this suggest. Here’s part of it and you can go to the link and read the rest:
It’s time for Michele Bachmann to go. For the last two years, I’ve been cautioning about the dangers of individuals or organizations trying to present themselves as leaders of the Tea Party movement. An individual personality or organization purporting to be a “leader” of what is truly a grassroots movement can hurt the tea party brand by creating false impressions about its core beliefs. Bachmann, the leader of the so-called tea party caucus in the House and the most vocal about her affiliation with the Tea Party than any other Presidential candidate, has consistently presented herself as a champion of the movement and its values. Bachmann has ridden her tea party credentials from obscurity to a national platform like no other.
Since her meteoric rise this summer and win in the Iowa Straw poll, her campaign has been plagued by losses of top staff, lackluster fundraising and a seeming lack of direction. Bachmann’s resulting plunge in the polls is troubling for the tea party, not because “one of their own” is losing her footing, but because the longer Bachmann stays in the race, the more likely we will see her shift to the right. This rightward shift will come as the campaign works to hold on to its more conservative base of support in advance of the release of Bachmann’s new book next month.
There is nothing wrong with addressing your base during a campaign. However, I suspect that we will hear more from her about social issues and religion to accomplish that goal. As an evangelical who is deeply pro-life, I can say that while many inside the tea party movement are socially conservative, social issues are not what drive the Tea Party. The Tea Party as a whole was founded on the principle that the American people are being enslaved by their government’s unquenchable appetite for spending, debt and the taxation that limits our freedom, and that the future of this great nation has been endangered by our leaders’ reckless behavior. The message of limited government, fiscal responsibility and accountability from our elected officials has broad appeal and is responsible for the massive political shifts we have seen in this country since mid-2009. It is the reason Barack Obama is in a fight for his political life. Those fiscal issues which attract Republicans, independents, and conservative Democrats alike must continue to be the focus of the majority of America’s grassroots, led with courage by the Tea Party.
So he’s actually arguing for the Tea Party to be a bigger tent, arguing that there is a danger she will narrow it even more. I do suspect personal preference for Perry may be in play here — but it’s not the motivating reason. If you read it in full, his argument is not what you’re getting in most press reports and blog commentaries.
And he is correct: if you recall, Bachmann jumped to the forefront of the Tea Party, one of several including Sarah Palin who did so. And the Republican Party largely co-oped a movement that started out as being highly critical of the Bush administration, not just Barack Obama and the Democrats. The Tea Party, correctly or not, is now perceived by many as a vehicle for the GOP and partially driven by people such as Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, popular to be sure with GOPers but a turn off for many Americans who are sick of partisans playing defense lawyer for their side and prosecuting attorney for the other like clockwork.
Read his post in full.
Bachmann’s associates, in fact, could be correct in saying no one speaks for the Tea Party since the current Tea Party is not what first burst on the scene.
The Democrats are clearly hoping they can do to Occupy Wall Street with the Republicans did with the Tea Party: co-opt it.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.