A GROUP of two dozen house republicans, led by Michele Bachmann, officially launched the congressional Tea Party Caucus yesterday, strongly defending the conservative movement as a positive force in US politics and insisting it does not have racist motives.
Many congressional republicans have long associated themselves with the tea party activists who emerged during last year’s stimulus and health care debates and sharply oppose president Barack Obama’s agenda, but Ms Bachmann’s move to create this caucus formalises their relationship with the GOP.
Ms Bachmann and her allies say the caucus will invite activists to Capitol Hill, solicit their ideas and perhaps turn them into policies.
The Tea Party Caucus’s creation creates a choice for some republicans who want to capture the energy of the tea party but not defend its more controversial elements. – (Bloomberg)