1. Mediaite
  2. Gossip Cop
  3. Geekosystem
  4. Styleite
  5. SportsGrid
  6. The Mary Sue
  7. The Jane Dough

Rep. Michele Bachmann: “I Am Not The Queen Of The Tea Party”

video
» 25 comments

Rep. Michele Bachmann may be most influential elected public figure in the Tea Party movement as it exists today (as opposed to 2007, when Rep. Ron Paul held that title), but she certainly does not want anyone to get the wrong impression about her influence within the Tea Party. Speaking to CBN News, she explicitly reminded viewers that “I am not the queen of the Tea Party” and that “we’re not top down,” leaving little in the way of leadership positions.

“I’m the chairman of the [Congressional] Tea Party Caucus– I’m not the queen of the Tea Party,” she explained, describing the caucus as the “earpiece” listening the what Americans were saying, rather than a “mouthpiece.” “We’re not top-down,” she continued, “we don’t set up the agenda.” Arguing that the Tea Party movement “deserves a voice here in the Congress,” she abdicated any power to decide positions on issues to her constituency.



In purely technical terms, she’s absolutely right about not being queen– monarchies are so impotent nowadays. Rather, as an elected official, she serves more as Prime Minister of the Tea Party, with the ability to actually influence legislation with the ornamental figurehead title going, of course, to Sarah Palin.

[h/t]

Follow us on Twitter.

Sign up for Mediaite's daily newsletter.

Email Twitter Facebook Digg Reddit Stumble Upon Yahoo Buzz LinkedIn Tumblr Delicious
  • ohwell

    Oh dear…already trying to distance herself from the tea party?

    Nice try, Bachmann.

  • http://gordonbloyershow.com gordonbloyershow

    Poor Francis, you don’t really understand the Tea Party do you?

  • nutsofast

    gordonbloyershow said:
    Poor Francis, you don’t really understand the Tea Party do you?

    POOR GORDON

    Michele Bachmann said:
    I Am Not The Queen Of The Tea Party

    I believe QUEEN OF CRAZY is more appropriate.

  • huntingtonboy

    Why isn’t she introducing anything that will create jobs. The GOP claimed the extension of the Bush tax cuts would create jobs. Where are they. What is the GOP doing to create jobs? Its a different story when you have to govern and can’t just say NO.

  • tws258

    nutsofast said:

    That’s just stunningly unimaginative. Wow.

  • blumuze

    There once was a girl from St. Cloud
    Whose flatulence made her quite proud
    When her rhetoric stunk
    She’d just let go some funk
    And blame the offense on the crowd

  • ImNotBlue

    @ huntington

    Where have you been for the past 2 years?

  • CosmosDan

    She’s the Tea Party’s historian

  • CosmosDan

    blumuze said:
    There once was a girl from St. Cloud
    Whose flatulence made her quite proud
    When her rhetoric stunk
    She’d just let go some funk
    And blame the offense on the crowd

    LOL!! love a good limmerick

  • huntingtonboy

    What has she done to create even one job? Zero! Like her IQ

  • http://cbcf.groupsite.com Miss Capri

    Actually that hardly qualifies as a good limerick. It stunk.

  • http://cbcf.groupsite.com Miss Capri

    “What has she done to create even one job? Zero! Like her IQ”

    What have YOU done to create new jobs lately? The IQ thing, well, guess it takes one to know one…

  • ImNotBlue

    @ Huntington

    What does that say about Obama?

  • CosmosDan

    Miss Capri said:
    Actually that hardly qualifies as a good limerick. It stunk.

    So do your puns LOL!

  • Gasket

    The Queen of Crazy.

  • Garth

    gordonbloyershow said:
    Poor Francis, you don’t really understand the Tea Party do you?

    Poor gordon bloyer show the lunatic tea-bagger. Is there anything else we need to know?

  • Garth

    Bachmann is more like the skank of the tea-baggers, with Palin a very close second. Maybe tied for Queen Skank.

  • The Real Royal King

    nutsofast said:
    7 18
    gordonbloyershow said:
    Poor Francis, you don’t really understand the Tea Party do you?
    POOR GORDON
    Michele Bachmann said:
    I Am Not The Queen Of The Tea Party
    I believe QUEEN OF CRAZY is more appropriate.

    That’s the first post you’ve ever made that makes any sense.

  • The Real Royal King

    ImNotBlue said:
    @ huntington
    Where have you been for the past 2 years?

    Probably listening to the Republicans talk about how they were going to create so many jobs.

  • J Baustian

    ohwell said:
    Oh dear…already trying to distance herself from the tea party?

    Nice try, Bachmann.

    Ms Machmann is correct, of course, because the tea party movement is grass roots without any elected or self-designated leadership.

    I would be disappointed if the Congresswoman had any other attitude regarding her position or role within the movement.

  • J Baustian

    huntingtonboy said:
    Why isn’t she introducing anything that will create jobs. The GOP claimed the extension of the Bush tax cuts would create jobs. Where are they. What is the GOP doing to create jobs? Its a different story when you have to govern and can’t just say NO.

    I believe the argument being presented was that raising taxes with the economy so weak would destroy jobs. As for the creating of new jobs, that will depend on how quickly the government gets out of the way. The Obama administration and its various departments and agencies are still blocking the creation of hundreds of thousands or perhaps millions of jobs.

  • CAconservative

    Ms.Backmann is right. This movement is from the bottom up. The Repuli-rats are walking a fine line because they know we in the Tea-Party are not…NOT, Party bound. We are conservatives, with a conservative agenda and we care less what political party these beggars belong to. The don’t put this nation back on a conservative road their butts will be gone just as fast, and in numbers resembling the November elections. What Ms.Backmann is doing is echoing the Tea-party agenda, and she’s doing it well.

  • Tedderman

    Apparently the “earpiece” she claims to have picks up other voices too. They tell her to have the media investigate members of congress of for “un American thinking.” They’re gonna get right on that for ya Michelle.

  • scootrbum

    “Rep. Michele Bachmann may be most influential elected public figure in the Tea Party movement as it exists today”
    That’s like being the best buggy whip maker after automobiles took over the roads.

  • Dubon_engeven

    Bah she don’t represent the tea party views at all. Why would the tea party support her? Ron paul and her share a few of the same views but for the most part Bachmann’s views are ridiculous. She wants schools to include religion…. what happened to separation of church and state??? Would Ron Paul agree with this? im fairly certain not.

© 2012 Mediaite, LLC | About Us | Advertise | Self-Serve Advertising | Newsletter | Jobs | Privacy | User Agreement | Disclaimer | Power Grid FAQ | Contact | Archives | RSS RSS
Dan Abrams, Founder | Power Grid by Sound Strategies | Hosting by Datagram