July 28, 2010 2:00 PM

Democrats: Republican Party = Tea Party Movement

By
Brian Montopoli
Topics
Republicans ,
Democrats ,
Congress ,
Tea Party

Tea Party caucus leader Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., center, speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington Wednesday, July 21, 2010.

(Credit: Alex Brandon)

The Democratic National Committee today unveiled a new initiative to brand the Republican Party as synonymous with the Tea Party movement.

A DNC document laid out what it says are the plans of the "Republican Tea Party," among them repealing the health care bill, privatizing Social Security, ending Medicare in its current form, extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and abolishing the Departments of Education and Energy. They call the ten-point platform the "Republican Tea Party Contract on America."

(Most Republicans do support repealing health care and extending the Bush tax cuts, though the other positions here have far more limited support within the party.)

DNC Chair Tim Kaine pushed the initiative at a press conference today, saying "the Republican Party agenda has become the tea party agenda, and vice versa." Democrats hope that by linking the Tea Party to the GOP they will convince moderate voters who might have considered voting Republican that the party is too extreme.

Republican National Committee spokesperson Katie Wright responded to the DNC effort with a statement saying Democrats have an "arrogant agenda" and arguing that their "strategy for this summer appears be attacking voters as opposed to listening to them."

The Democratic initiative is designed to help blunt expected GOP gains in the November midterm elections. The name of their document, the "Republican Tea Party Contract on America," is meant to evoke memories of Republicans' 1994 "Contract With America" that helped the GOP win control of Congress. Republicans are planning a new version of that document before the November elections. 

Minnesota Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann recently started a Tea Party Caucus in the House, which attracted 28 Republicans. Some members of the GOP appear to be wary of being linked too closely to the movement, though they hope to harness Tea Party enthusiasm in the midterms.

A DNC official told Politico that "We are going to use this from now until the election as a pre-emptive strike against GOP's August rebranding effort, and as a response to the new contract we expect them to come out with this fall."


Add a Comment See all 21 Comments
by cldthetprtybstupider April 24, 2011 1:03 AM EDT
ITS ALL ABOUT PERCEPTION MANAGEMENT FOR THE IGNORANT. CREATE FEAR AND THE LIE THEN SELL IT TO THE INNOCENT. STAND BY IT NO MATTER WHAT, SCREW THE TRUTH, REPEAT THE LIE AND REPEAT IT...THEN REPEAT AGAIN., THEN STEAL KILL AND DESTROY. (satans motto)

DONT BE MAD JUST BECAUSE WE THE REPUBLICANS AND THE TEA PARTY HAVE BECOME THE EQUIVELENT OF THE PHARACEES AND SCRIBES IN THE BIBLE, HYPOCRACY AT IT'S BEST. JUST LIKE FRANKLIN GRAHAM, THE NEW MESSANGER FROM god, FOR THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, SAID," THE SEED OF THE FATHER IS PASSED DOWN TO THE SON". AND THAT SEED OF HATE AND GREED ALL IN THE NAME OF GOD HAS DEFINITELY BEEN PASSED DOWN. HECK I BETTHE FAMILIES OF SOME OF THE REPUBLICAN SENATORS STILL IN OFFICE TODAY AND DEFINITELY SOME IN THE HOUSE OWNED SLAVES. BEAT THEM, HUNG EM' FROM A TREE TILL THEY DIED, ALL RIGHT AFTER LEAVING CHURCH. SO HONESTLY WHY ARE WE BEING SO SUPRISED AT THIS..
HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT THAT THIS IS THE KIND OF FREEDOMS THEY ARE FIGHTING FOR....JUST A DIFFERNT FORM OF SLAVERY.

TALK ABOUT GOVERNMENT SPOUTING SOCIALISM. JUST WAIT TILL THE TOP 2 PERCENT OF THE WEALTHY GAIN CONTROL OVER WHAT YOU HEAR, SEE AND READ AND EVEN EAT, NOT JUST YOUR MONEY....OH WAIT THAT'S ALREADY HAPPENED. YOU GO RUPERT MURRDOCH! YEAH DIRECT TV, YEAH WALL STREET JOURNAL, YEAH WAL-MART!
Reply to this comment
by drmarcuswrose September 3, 2010 8:33 PM EDT
I think these are valid points. However, I think the Tea Party needs more validity and having a few people win in the upcoming November elections as "tea party" representatives will go a long way. I'm sure it will happen. Then there's also some other things that can be done. Like sending Congress a message like this in the mail from a few million people: I think there's a problem with people not giving others the credit they are due.

think the book would be an appropriate follow-up to Janet Porter's "Pink Slip" campaign from this past Winter. I hope you agree!

Here is a direct link to the sample I put together for your viewing: http://******.com/jhn4y
Reply to this comment
by abbe91 July 29, 2010 8:31 AM EDT
The tea party is just an offspring of the right wing of the GOB. No grassroots there, just astroturf.
Reply to this comment
by abbe91 July 29, 2010 8:32 AM EDT
meant GOP
by Johnepaul July 29, 2010 7:30 AM EDT
The fact is that the Republican Party would love to claim the Tea Party Movement, so they do not dispute the assertion be the DNC. However, the Tea Party Movement would not have started had the republicans or democrats not lost sight of the Constitution, fiscal accountability, and concern for those who actually pay the bills in this country - TAXPAYERS WHO ACTUALLY WORK!!! Tea Party does not equal Republican and the RNC would make a huge error assuming such.

The majority of people who are identify with the Tea Party Movement don't care about a new "party" as much as change....all who are in Fed office now must go. Term Limits, repeal the 16th amendment to limit all Fed authority to a single national sales tax (that exempts only food, medical, and perhaps basic housing), are a must to return the right kind of people to Government...servants not career politicians. Take longevity and unlimited access to our wallets away away from politicians, then we can become the great United States again.
Reply to this comment
by BringMoney July 29, 2010 1:23 AM EDT
Hopefully, the Tea Party will repeal not only the ObamaCare abomination, but also every Democrat member of Congress.
Reply to this comment
by sharkboy234 July 28, 2010 11:19 PM EDT
hate the TEA PARTY DON'T IMPEACH OBAMA hate the tea party!
Reply to this comment
by RobAla July 28, 2010 10:37 PM EDT
Since when does the Democrat party get to define the Republican party or the Tea Party movement? This is crap.
Reply to this comment
by roses107 September 22, 2010 1:21 PM EDT
Well I guess they did not define these parties. I guess they will just be calling out the obvious. There is no tea party ticket. Did you follow the republican primaries? The tea partiers run on the Republican Ticket. So it is pretty elementary.... Tea Party = Republican!! Duh. Now maybe the more radical republicans identify with the tea party while the others supposedly don't, but at the end of the day they are still all Republicans. I am a former republican. Shortley after the election I saw a Republican party that made me want to hurl, I didn't think it could get any worse, oh but then now they are experimenting with the tea party. I have to go hurl some more.
by DL713 July 28, 2010 8:05 PM EDT
Here is Herman Cain's website. He is a conservative African American that explains the gross failure of the Obama Administration and the Democratically controlled Congress in many areas of our lives.

www.hermancain.org/
Reply to this comment
by mjlewis6 July 28, 2010 5:31 PM EDT
It took Obama being elected to get TWO tar balls out of the White House with all the lies etched into the public memory regarding Iraq's "50 bllion dollar war, tops" assessment of VP Cheney, the lack of a real AMERICAN invasion of Afghanistan with a significant force, the torture and renditions perpetrated in violation of Geneva Conventions, the surveillance of Americans under the ILLEGAL extention of the Foreign Surveillance Act without judicial oversight...the firing of DOJ attorneys who were NOT Republican...the Outing of Valerie Plame as a CIA agent...the list goes on and on...and
you want to wonder if Obama is legitimately born American in order to subvert Congressional debate on issues and actually take votes instead of filibustering every issue?

It just goes on and on as to WHO lied for 8 years...We voted for change and the far right is still telling lies to disrupt the truth by appealing to voter's biases. President Obama, keep the pressure ON!

Sweep the Republican "NO" Party out of office !!!
Reply to this comment
by Patriotson July 28, 2010 4:52 PM EDT
The Obamacrats can blame the Tea Party for anything it wants. Thats the way corrupt politics run, however, this democrat is not a tea partier and does not plan to join. I will not vote for a socialist; class warfair instigator; I fought in the jungles of Vietnam against the ideology that Obama wants implemented. Little did I realize until now, just how much the ideology subverted our very own society and government. I will not support a president that will not enforce our immigration laws; appoints radicals into his administration; lied about healthcare - costs-benefits- taxes. I will not support any administration that is as anti business as Obama and has no agenda for creating jobs. Life time on unemployment and government checks is not what I call job security. We must remember in November and begin changing the oil in congress and complete the process in 2012 by getting the tar ball out of the WH.
Reply to this comment
by tiredofeverything July 28, 2010 4:57 PM EDT
Wow, could you put any more blatant lies into one post?
Oh, and nice racist comment with the 'tar ball'
That's really what it's about for you isn't it?
Don't like having a black guy in the WH
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