CBS's Cordes: Tea Party Causing 'Heartburn' for GOP
Reporting on the creation of a Senate Tea Party Caucus on Thursday's CBS Evening News, congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes declared that while "Conservative crusader Jim Demint, and the freshmen Senators he worked to elect, planted their Tea Party flag," the movement's "assertiveness has caused some heartburn for GOP leaders."
As evidence of the supposed indigestion, Cordes cited favorite media targets, Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin: "Bachmann insisted on delivering a separate Tea Party response to the State of the Union....Tea Party enthusiast Sarah Palin invoked a vulgar acronym to describe the President's speech." Cordes was referring to Palin's comment that "There were a lot of WTF moments throughout that speech."
Cordes explained how "friction between the Republican Party and the Tea Party doesn't trouble supporters," followed by sound bite of Kansas Congressman Jerry Moran: "It's my goal to see that Republicans listen to Tea Party activists and others about what government should be like." However, Cordes quickly touted possible divisions: "Senator Marco Rubio of Florida is one of a couple of new senators who won big in November with Tea Party support, but who steered clear of the meeting today, indicating they're not completely comfortable with taking on the Tea Party mantle."
Anchor Katie Couric wondered: "So where does this new Tea Party Caucus go from here? It is gaining or losing steam at this point, do you think, Nancy?" Cordes skeptically replied: "I think they could make a credible case that they are gaining steam...they say it doesn't really matter that some of their figureheads are lightning rods, when it's their supporters who are so energized."
Prior to the President's State of the Union address Tuesday night, Couric and a panel of CBS analysts fretted over the "militant" Tea Party members of Congress creating a "chasm" within the Republican Party.
Here is a full transcript of Cordes' January 27 report:
6:38PM ET
KATIE COURIC: To politics now and the growing power of the Tea Party movement. Congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes reports five Republican senators today attended the first-ever meeting of the Senate Tea Party caucus.
JIM DEMINT [SEN. R-SC]: Thank you for sending me some help.
NANCY CORDES: Conservative crusader Jim Demint, and the freshmen Senators he worked to elect, planted their Tea Party flag today.
MIKE LEE [SEN. R-UT]: We'll do everything we can to fight on your behalf to restore constitutionally limited government.
CORDES: The Tea Party Caucus claimed credit today for the GOP's new hardline on spending.
MITCH MCCONNELL [SEN. R-KY]: We will do everything we can to cut wasteful government spending.
CORDES: They even see their influence in the President's State of the Union address.
BARACK OBAMA: If a bill comes to my desk with earmarks inside, I will veto it.
RAND PAUL [SEN, R-KY] Did that come from his side of the party or did that come from the Tea Party?
CORDES: Their assertiveness has caused some heartburn for GOP leaders, like when Congresswoman Michele Bachmann insisted on delivering a separate Tea Party response to the State of the Union.
MICHELE BACHMANN [REP. R-MN]: Let me show you a chart.
CORDES: And when Tea Party enthusiast Sarah Palin invoked a vulgar acronym to describe the President's speech.
SARAH PALIN: His them last night in the State of the Union was the WTF, you know, 'winning the future.' And I thought, okay, that acronym, spot on. There were a lot of WTF moments throughout that speech.
CORDES: But friction between the Republican Party and the Tea Party doesn't trouble supporters, who say that's the whole point.
JERRY MORAN [REP. R-KS]: It's my goal to see that Republicans listen to Tea Party activists and others about what government should be like.
CORDES: Senator Marco Rubio of Florida is one of a couple of new senators who won big in November with Tea Party support, but who steered clear of the meeting today, indicating they're not completely comfortable with taking on the Tea Party mantle, Katie.
COURIC: So where does this new Tea Party Caucus go from here? It is gaining or losing steam at this point, do you think, Nancy?
CORDES: Well Katie, I think they could make a credible case that they are gaining steam, that the Republican leadership is reading right out of their playbook right now and they say it doesn't really matter that some of their figureheads are lightning rods, when it's their supporters who are so energized.
COURIC: Alright, Nancy Cordes on Capitol Hill tonight. Nancy, thank you.
— Kyle Drennen is a news analyst at the Media Research Center. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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Comments
I would rather think of
Submitted by ricklail on Fri, 01/28/2011 - 3:52pm.
I would rather think of myself as a thorn in their sides. Heartburn is easily taken care of.
All I got to say to Cordes is
Submitted by jdhawk on Fri, 01/28/2011 - 3:57pm.
All I got to say to Cordes is WTF?
If she thinks there is heartburn amongst RINOs in the Republican party, the dim bulbs across the isle must be shitt'n bricks! Prilosec for the sphincter is what they are dosing themselves with, is my bet.
Let's take the senate back in 2012 and get rid of duhbama once and for all before the dimocrats run this country into the ground.
Speaking of dim bulbs, Joe "Plugs" Biden, aka the Vice President, stated today that the dictator of Egypt is well . . . not a dictator?
WTF???
Oh Really?
Submitted by Ashrak on Fri, 01/28/2011 - 3:56pm.
GOOD! That is part of the POINT. Glad to see leftists are finally starting to catch on. This TEA party ain't about "party" - it is about LIBERTY.
I wish the tea party could...
Submitted by MightyMouth on Fri, 01/28/2011 - 4:05pm.
...cause hemorroids for the RINOS. Now that would get their attention!
absurdity, Nancy Cordes is thy name!
Submitted by neutron on Fri, 01/28/2011 - 4:09pm.
Nancy Cordes took CBS to a new low with her height of absurdity when she said, "Tea Party enthusiast Sarah Palin invoked a vulgar acronym..." WTF is the abbreviation of Obama's theme for the SOTU speech. Sure, it means WTF, like WTH, but it's a funny coincedence to point out.
How hillarious that WTF is "vulgar" but switching the T.E.A. Party's name to tea baggers is not vulgar. CBS and all the dinosaur media have lost, and their desparate flailing like Nancy Cordes' remarks will only drive the public further from their side, and into the hands of the T.E.A. Party.
The only heartburn on the hill over the T.E.A. Party is in the hearts and minds of the MSM Democrat Party.
Keep trying
Submitted by forest on Fri, 01/28/2011 - 4:09pm.
Tea Party may be a thorn in the side of some tired old RINOs, but it terrifies the BLM and the rest of the progressives. Conservatism isn't supposed to have grassroots activists, but it does now. Tough beans.
Vulgar? I would consider
Submitted by ant on Fri, 01/28/2011 - 4:12pm.
Vulgar? I would consider "Tea-bagger" as vulgar. WTF is more of a simple expletive.
Who asked Who or is it Whom??
Submitted by CSM on Fri, 01/28/2011 - 4:10pm.
"Bachmann insisted on delivering a separate Tea Party response to the State of the Union."
I hate to tell this ditz that the Tea Party Express asked Rep Bachmann to respond to the Speech by the One. Not the other way around.
Geesh these people can't even get the little stuff right.
Not that they are trying!!!
Palin, Demint, & Bachmann are not the challenge . . .
Submitted by Galvanic on Fri, 01/28/2011 - 4:13pm.
. . . for the GOP. They were Republicans long before they were Tea Partiers.
The challenge for the GOP is to win the hearts and minds of the average Tea Partier. If those Tea Partiers perceive the new House of Representatives as not much different than the old, they won't be voting for Republicans. In fact, we may see some independents in contested districts going after their support, and that could play havoc with the Republican strategists.
The Tea Partiers are a grass roots movement that has no permanent loyalty to particular politicians, and that's the beauty of the phenomenon. The MSM can attack Palin, Demint, Paul, Bachmann, and others, and it doesn't hurt the Tea Parties at all.
If the GOP wants continued Tea Party support, it better deliver.
I'm a multiple decade Indie; I say you're right!
Submitted by neutron on Fri, 01/28/2011 - 7:42pm.
Scott Brown won Tedrunk Kennedy's senate seat because the Independents went over to him. Many of us Indies see stuff we like in the T.E.A. Party. I even marched in a few of their events in MD and DC, not because I was one of them, but I was upset by what had upset them.
If the Republican party thinks that the T.E.A. Party movement is 100% Republican, they are not embracing reality! The Republican and Democrat Parties may be in danger of both becoming an also-ran (3rd party) Party if the T.E.A. Party takes the disaffected Republicans, the Indies, the Reagan Democrats, and the HillBuzz.org Democrats (who left the Dems because what the Soros / Kos folks did to Hillary for Obama). If the T.E.A. Party does that, they will be THE MAJORITY PARTY in American politics.
Just my Indie $0.02.
Joe Biden: "This is a big
Submitted by DumbCanuck on Fri, 01/28/2011 - 4:15pm.
Joe Biden: "This is a big F---en deal!
Media: Crickets.
Sarah Palin: "Plenty of WTF Moments..."
Media up in arms.
So what else is new?
(Actually, she meant "Winning the Future"! ;)
God Bless Sarah Palin! A thorn in the media's backside!
"There... Are... Four... Lights!"
And another thing
Submitted by CSM on Fri, 01/28/2011 - 4:17pm.
Using WTF is VULGAR?
Did they say that when the One did this??
http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/obama-gives-mccain-the-middle-finger/5d15f8938642ccf737a45d15f8938642ccf737a4-450093252764?q=obama+giving+the+finger&FROM=LKVR5>1=LKVR5&FORM=LKVR1
I don't think so!!!!
Heartburn is...
Submitted by BuffNBone on Fri, 01/28/2011 - 4:28pm.
Heartburn is a good indicator that you've been swallowing the wrong stuff and you can't stomach it anymore.
Pure projection
Submitted by dmaley1714 on Fri, 01/28/2011 - 5:17pm.
The extreme left is ripping the democrat coalition apart and the news makes it like the Republicans are in trouble. Absurd reporting at its best.
Welcome aboard
Submitted by vote24 on Fri, 01/28/2011 - 5:27pm.
I must be in a good mood today but this shht is hilarious. Well guess what. The TEA Party is coming for you too ma'am. Many people can't take ridicule so they have veered away from identifying themselves with the TEA Party directly. But they are with us. The TEA Party is huuuuge. And growing everyday, as one by one people are realizing that liberalism is a total scam. Actual FACTS back this up. It's happening. The last one over will be the biggest fool.
Good, the GOP gave us McCain
Submitted by mrsimele on Fri, 01/28/2011 - 5:54pm.
Good, the GOP gave us McCain and therefore Obama.Mzzzz. Cordessss,
Submitted by Funbowhunter on Fri, 01/28/2011 - 6:26pm.
Did you ever do a story on the Congressional Black Caucus giving Democrats heartburn? Did you ever do a story of the far left of the Democrat Party giving the Democrats heartburn?
Tea Party causing Heartburn?
Submitted by Red Jeep on Fri, 01/28/2011 - 7:04pm.
Gee whiz, I hope so. Go, Tea Party, go.
TEA Party causing heartburn......
Submitted by GregE on Fri, 01/28/2011 - 8:55pm.
........for the media.
Isn't that the truth. The
Submitted by mostlymoderate on Fri, 01/28/2011 - 9:05pm.
Isn't that the truth. The truth is that Obama is causing the Democrat's heartburn. Really, they had no idea this guy could be so incompetent. They also didn't think the "woo" factor would die off so quickly regarding Obama.
Now I know why they gave him the Nobel prize BEFORE he got started in the Presidency.
OT: Rep. Moran: Dems Lost Because Many 'Don't Want to Be Governed by an African-American.
boo hoo.
Why is she so wee-wee'd up?
Submitted by TheHistorian on Fri, 01/28/2011 - 10:35pm.
So Sarah Palin said "WTF". Where was this ditz when Joe Biden referred to legislation as an F'ing big deal (using the word) on an open mike? Or when Randi Rhodes opens her big mouth? Liberals need to have some even-handedness. That is exactly what Brent Bozell was saying about the comparison between Republican and Democrat Presidents delivering the SOTU. The media let this miscreant of a President get by with murder, while they picked on Bush for "nucular". Never criticized Jimmah Carter for the same pronunciation (and he supposedly IS a nuclear engineer according to his own claims)" and of course, Obama's "corpsman" pronounced with the "p" still in it was never a big deal.Dennis Prager
Smells fishy
Submitted by vote24 on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 1:49pm.
Liberals are getting so desperate out there. Fighting harder and whining louder, the tantrums will only get worse before the tide turns. The MFM just doesn't realize the tide has already turned on them. It's like standing up in front of a crown and telling flagrant and obvious lies, because 3 people might believe it. Why are the Republicans not investigation this mountain of corruption? Good question, because some of them are guilty too. Long live the TEA Party.