Bill Clinton: New GOP Makes Bush Look Liberal

The Republican congressional candidates nominated in this year's primaries are so conservative that even former President George W. Bush is too liberal for them, former President Bill Clinton said today.

"A lot of their candidates today, they make [Bush] look like a liberal," Clinton said at a Democratic fundraiser today, the Associated Press reports. The Republican party, he added, is pushing out pragmatic voices and embracing "ideology over evidence."

Conservative Tea Party-backed candidates in a handful of Republican primaries this year managed to pull off upset victories over establishment candidates. On Tuesday, Tea Party-backed Christine O'Donnell defeated nine-term Rep. Mike Castle in Delaware. The results of that primary made it less likely the GOP could take over the Senate this November.

"The Boston Tea Party was protesting abuse of power," Clinton said today. "This is now trading public power for the abuse of private power."

The former president was speaking at a Minneapolis fundraiser for Mark Dayton, the Democratic nominee for Minnesota governor. Dayton is running against Republican state Rep. Tom Emmer and Independence Party nominee Tom Horner.