Posted on 01/29/2010 9:47:40 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Former vice presidential candidate and current Fox News contributor Sarah Palin said last night that the Republican Party should merge with tea partiers.
Fox's Greta Van Susteren asked if tea party candidates would end up siphoning votes from GOP nominees, or if the movement will "merge with the Republican Party."
"They need to merge," Palin said. "Definitely, they need to merge. I think those who are wanting the divisions and the divisiveness and the controversy -- those are the ones who don't believe in the message. And they're the ones, I think, stirring it up."
As we've reported at TPMmuckraker, the tea party movement has been increasingly divided. Much of the friction has been over the national tea party convention to be held in Nashville. Critics say the convention, with its expensive tickets and for-profit organizer, doesn't jive with true tea party values. Yesterday, we reported that Reps. Michele Bachmann and Martha Blackburn have dropped out.
Palin, whose speaking fees are rumored to be around $100,000, told Van Susteren she is still on for the convention. "You betcha," she said.
On the divisiveness, she continued, "We need to ignore that and we need to forge ahead with a cohesive message. It's a common sense message. It, again, is, Government, limit yourself so that the private sector, our families, free individuals can grow and thrive and prosper and enjoy America's freedom!"
As for whether the tea partiers want to merge with Republicans, that's a different story.
Really, Sarah?
Merge with the likes of Graham, Murkowski, and McCain, the RINOs your PAC is supporting, i.e., let the RINOs co-opt the Tea Parties?
NO!
I'm beginning to wonder if Palin is naught but a Judas goat for the GOP establishment!
I say merge them and give the Tea Partiers the power while the GOP keeps the suits and the nice hair.
May I ask why her speaking fee has anything to with this story? And she’s right, the Tea Party must work within the GOP..but that wing must prevail.
What do you foresee happening..won’t be a third party..so the tea parties must have influence over the Republican Party and bring them back to Conservatism. That was the plan all along.
NO SARAH ... how about the TEA PARTY ....TAKE OVER the GOP.. and send McLame Grahamnesty, etc to the DEMS!!!!
The GOP has lost my faith and my trust. It will take time and effort on their behalf to win them back again.
Until then, “I think we should just be friends”, if you know what I mean.
Actually, she probably means....merge...then the Tea Party will TAKE OVER! Can’t y’all read between the lines? The RNC has to HATE what she’s said!
We need to get conservatives to run in the primary against RINOS and defeat them there. The problem with 3rd party will be the dividing of votes. The Dem would end up winning when he wouldn’t with only one person running against him.
I foresee a lot of establishment types sticking their fingers in the wind and pretending to be conservative until the angry mob quiets down and forgets about the establishment's record of perfidy.
Too tired to be playing EFFING games... GOP needs to be SMACKED DOWN with a RIGHTWING STICK.. I don’t speak diplomat.. and I Don’t do much PC either.
I know it is blasphemy to say this on Freep, but I sort of wish Palin would go away for awhile.
I’ve been trying to enjoy Fox News coverage of the Dems meltdown the past two weeks and it seems like every 10 minutes they pull in Sarah for her “perspective”. And we get a bunch of basic sloganeering from her with no real insight. I think it is hurting her rather than helping her being on so much.
Frankly I’d much rather they just have Rove, Krauthammer, etc on. And if you want the female perspective, Laura Ingraham has also been on fire the past two weeks on many issues.
Tea party brings in conservatives, supports them at the ground level, then gives the smackdown in the primaries.
Only Primary/General Election victories will snap the GOP leadership out of their stooper.
Who cares what TPMmuckraker thinks?
Let’s take over the GOP and kick out the RINOs and JUANnabies.
Sure doesn’t help when SARAH is Playing FOOTSIE with COnservative Enemy #1 .. the RINO McLAME!!! Play, show, or some GRAND CONSPIRACY... the work we need to do does not include GAMES.
Exactly. Like what Rush said this morning: the ‘old’ GOP are RINOS, while the Tea Party is the real GOP.
I dont mind the merger: as long as the Tea Party kicks out Steele and the RINOs.
IMHO, Keep ‘GOP’ moniker, but call it the Liberty Party.
Or. The Lincoln Party.
In Pasco County (just north of Tampa) we Tea bag people are the Republican Party. Go to my politics page and scroll down to March 26, 2009 and you will see our Party chairman dressed like a Minute Man! Also a lot of Marco Rubio speaking as far back as May 15th, 2009.
http://ourtownfla.com/Politics
The TEA Party movement should not only merge with, but take over the gop. The movement is much closer to what the gop should be, hopefully, Palin, Bachman, and others will be able to engineer that over the next few years.
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