I totally agree with your post. Bachmann was doing this to give the Tea Party and actual voice in the hall of Congress.
The Tea Party already has plenty of conservative voices in the House of Representatives if they choose to use them. What is NOT needed is a Republican Party bloc caucusing in the halls and in the cloakrooms of Congress on behalf of the Tea Party movement which wants to remain non-partisan for strategic reasons.
One of the most consistent conservative-voting members in the House, Eric Cantor, is smart enough to see this.....and gets immediately attacked by the knee-jerkers here.
Leni