The Tea party is endorsing a Democrat? Who voted for Nancy Pelosi? I thought the tea party was a response to the leftist coup and the RINOs who lost the core principles of individual rights, low taxes, small government...................
Suckers.
Republican baffled by Tea Party endorsement of Democratic rival
When the Tea Party Express last week endorsed Idaho Rep. Walt Minnick — the only Democrat to receive the backing of the conservative grassroots group — one of his Republican challengers said he was simply baffled to learn the news, considering Minnick’s past votes that line up with Democrats on the estate tax and Guantanamo Bay.
“He voted for Nancy Pelosi. I mean all these things — I’m like, ‘Wait a minute. This is the guy you guys want to get behind nationally?’” said Republican Vaughn Ward, an active Marine Corps reserve officer whose candidacy for Minnick’s seat was endorsed by Sarah Palin.
His initial shock, Ward told The Daily Caller during an interview Tuesday, turned to frustration upon learning from Tea Party groups in Idaho — who he said have not endorsed candidates in the race yet — that the Tea Party Express didn’t consult them before the endorsement of the Democrat.
“My campaign manager e-mailed it to me the day it happened, and I thought, ‘Huh, that’s interesting.’ And I started making some phone calls around and found out that, one, they didn’t consult anyone in Idaho,” said Ward, who also faces primary competition from state Rep. Raul Labrador and three other Republican candidates.
The Republican added: “It’s almost like, ‘Did they really do a thorough job of investigating his voting record?’”
Sal Russo, a strategist with Tea Party Express, said the group did reach out to a number of groups and activists, many of whom support Minnick. Democrats who “are willing to stand up to Pelosi and Reid” should get support from Tea Party organizations “to encourage others” to act similarly, he said.
“When you find someone willing to stand up, you got to stand up with him,” Russo said.
The strategist said he wouldn’t be surprised to see the group add another Democrat or two to the list. “It can’t be a one-party issue. Fiscal responsibility has to be embedded in both parties,” he said.
