Mark Meckler, founder of the Tea Party Patriots, the nation’s largest Tea Party coalition, also says the Tea Party isn’t playing a role in picking the nominee. But that is by choice, not by accident, he says.Of course local or state-wide tea parties could endorse a candidate and I am suspicious of the ideological purity argument.
“The real Tea Party movement is not a political party, it’s a movement,” he says. “How can a movement endorse anybody? It really can’t.”
One possible reason for the lack of consensus: Romney, Gingrich, and Santorum have each committed what most in the movement consider original sins against constitutional freedom or fiscal sanity. Gingrich and Romney both supported the TARP bank bailout in 2008, as well as individual mandates in health insurance years earlier. Santorum, the most socially conservative of the three, voted for the “Bridge to Nowhere,” among other massive earmarks, during his time in the Senate.
“No candidate is perfect,” Meckler says. “Candidates will make mistakes. I don’t want to see the movement associated with those kinds of mistakes. I support ideas, not people.”
Monday, February 06, 2012
I CAN'T TELL IF THIS EXPLANATION IS CORRECT
Mark Meckler of the Tea Party Patriots admits that the Baggers have had much influence in the GOP primaries and gives this explanation:
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2 comments:
The Rand Paul organizer who told me that 20% of the rank and file were on the ball was probably right, give or take a few percentage points. They were those who supported the only across-the-board small government guy, Ron Paul. Since Ron Paul did not endorse McCain I don't believe he will or should endorse Romney and if he does it is will be seen merely as an attempt to leverage his son.
BTW, a few weeks ago,Mark "Foamer" Levin threatened to attack Rand on the air if Ron didn't back off something or othyer.
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