Ann Coulter: Palin Is 'the Obama of the Tea Party'

Leaders to announce coalition today

(NEWSER) - It's a big day for Newt Gingrich: After news of his surge in South Carolina and an endorsement from Rick Perry , the Daily Caller reports that he can also expect backing from 100 Tea Party leaders. The leaders, who represent 25 states, will announce a coalition supporting Gingrich today: Tea Partiers With Newt. "My sense is there is a growing coalition behind Newt Gingrich," says a South Carolina Tea Party leader. Of course, it's not all good news today; there's also that little matter of that interview with Gingrich's ex-wife, Marianne ... More»

It fears she'll swing to the right, make movement look bad

(NEWSER) - “It’s time for Michele Bachmann to go.” So begins a statement issued yesterday by American Majority, a major Tea Party organization that, according to CNN , operates in seven states and trains thousands of activists. Bachmann’s campaign has become “about her personal effort to stay relevant and sell books,” group president Ned Ryun writes. He worries that in her desperation, she’ll advocate more socially conservative ideas, which “are not what drive the Tea Party.” More»

Social security and Tea Party topics likely to be big issues

(NEWSER) - Yes, it’s debate time again. Here’s what to watch for when the 2012 GOP presidential candidates face off tonight in Florida, at an event sponsored by CNN and the Tea Party Express:

• Social Security will likely continue to be a flash point. At the last debate, Rick Perry attacked Mitt Romney’s record on jobs; this time around, he could take a swipe at his inconsistent social issues record, Politico notes. All of the candidates will be walking a “fine line” when it comes to Social Security, one strategist predicts.
• Rick Perry “did OK” at the last debate, one insider tells the Texas Tribune . “Not good, not poor.” The paper took a survey of insiders and found that 65% felt the governor’s performance was “good,” while 15% called it “great” and 8% said it was “poor.” But some note that he started out strong then began to fade—at this debate, he’ll have to prove he has stamina.

But keeps mum about presidential ambitions

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin kept her presidential ambitions under wraps today in a 40-minute speech to thousands of very wet Iowans who had diligently waited for her in steady rain, the Des Moines Register reports. "We’re here because America is at a tipping point," Palin said at the Des Moines Tea Party rally, and told them the nation's crisis was worse than "a Midwest summer storm" that eventually "moves on." Later she told a reporter that she's happy with the current GOP slate but thought "there's room for more." More»

Looks like Sarah won this round

(NEWSER) - Christine O’Donnell may not be a witch, but she's got to be feeling like a yo-yo: After being invited, then uninvited , then re-invited to speak at an Iowa Tea Party event Saturday, the onetime Senate candidate is officially off the roster—and Sarah Palin is back on. Palin had put her appearance “on hold” after O’Donnell’s re-invitation, ominously citing the Tea Party's "continual lying." Apparently, O’Donnell herself contacted the event’s co-organizer when this whole thing started, to say that Palin wanted her to speak. But in actuality, the two had not spoken recently and Palin wasn't happy with the “misrepresentation,” a source tells the Los Angeles Times . More»