http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0710/39848.htmlBachmann forms Tea Party CaucusRepublicans have been wrangling for more than a year over how exactly to handle the tea party movement, but now Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) is bringing them under the big tent.
The House Administration committee, which usually takes days to approve something of this nature, approved Bachmann's request to create a House Tea Party Caucus in a day. It will certainly give the national movement a more official voice within the House Republican Conference.
Bachmann, already a hero within the tea party, sent a letter to House Administration Chairman Robert Brady (D-Pa.) Thursday to register the House Tea Party Caucus to serve as an “informal group of members dedicated to promote Americans’ call for fiscal responsibility, adherence to the Constitution and limited government.”
Bachmann, in a statement, said Americans have “had enough of the spending, bureaucracy and the government-knows-best mentality running rampant today throughout the halls of Congress.”
The second-term lawmaker is a fundraising juggernaut — she pulled in $1.7 million last quarter — but still faces stiff competition from State Sen. Tarryl Clark. Clark is getting the help from national Democrats, who have made it their duty to see Bachmann defeated.
The tea party has been generally resistant to a formal organizational structure and generally loathes incumbents. And Republican leaders have flirted with the tea party — often appearing at rallies — but there has been no consensus over exactly how to include the movement within the party.
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