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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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34

'Tea Party' to Fight Dozen GOP Candidates in 2010

Conservatives taking aim at moderates

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(Newser) – This election cycle could herald all-out war between far-right conservatives and the Republican establishment. Empowered by their success in pushing the GOP candidate out of the race in New York’s 23rd District, tea party activists and their allies plan to launch primary challenges against more than a dozen GOP candidates, Politico reports. Top Senate contenders like Charlie Crist, Rob Simmons, and Mark Kirk, and even some incumbents, like Utah’s Bob Bennett, are in their sights.

“I would say it’s the tip of the spear,” says Dick Armey, now head of a group that works with tea party organizers. “What you’re going to see is moderates and conservatives across the country in primaries.” The challengers promise to be well-funded, and the party fears they’ll push the party too far right to win. “It can get very, very ugly,” says a former NRCC chair.

Gov. Charlie Crist speaks during a news conference Friday afternoon Aug. 7, 2009 in Tampa, Fla. following the resignation of U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla.
Gov. Charlie Crist speaks during a news conference Friday afternoon Aug. 7, 2009 in Tampa, Fla. following the resignation of U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla.   (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
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34 comments
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Wonka
Nov 3, 09 12:03 PM CST
Teabaggers are destroying the GOP!!!! Just sit back and watch them tear each other apart!!!! Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
+11
IN RESPONSE:
jamerican
Nov 3, 09 12:14 PM CST
You will be surprized when you see how many conservatives are in the country and willing to fight for what made this country great...more liberty, less government, less taxation, no socialism. Even if the GOP looses elections because their stupidity during the transition or their inabillity to change...we willl take back out country
Vote up! Vote down!
-10
IN RESPONSE:
Wonka
Nov 3, 09 12:23 PM CST
@jamerican - yeah, I saw how many "conservatives" there are in this country in the 2006 and 2008 elections. Face reality, conservatives are a fringe group. The last 8 years are proof that conservatism is a failure. You're tea parties are a joke and are thinly veiled excuse for closet racists to unite. The majority of Americans reject conservatism. The idea that you think you all will "take back out (sic) country" seems a fitting statement for a group of Americans that has completely lost touch with reality.
Vote up! Vote down!
+2
IN RESPONSE:
jamerican
Nov 3, 09 12:48 PM CST
Conservatives want to keep America strong and free based on the principles it was founded on. Why would you equate that with racism and play the race card...are you black, stupid or both?
Vote up! Vote down!
-8
IN RESPONSE:
foodchain11
Nov 3, 09 1:10 PM CST
Good Old Past!! Yep. no taxes, no government, no clue about today's world. We aren't and cannot return to nationalism; we are part of the world, not an island and not the king.
Vote up! Vote down!
+3

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