The Democratic National Committee released this statement today on the Capitol Hill Tea Party, which was organized and promoted by Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN):

"If the Republican party wants to make Michele Bachmann the voice of the party, that's more than fine with us. We'll help circulate the petition. But it is surprising that after Congressman-elect Owens won a special election by supporting the President's agenda in a New York district that hasn't elected a Democrat since Benjamin Harrison was President, that the Republican party would continue to allow itself to be led around by nose by the likes of Bachmann, Beck , Limbaugh, Palin and the rest of the extreme tea party crowd. It's their extreme right-wing, rigid ideological agenda that has Americans leaving the Republican Party in droves - and so, if displays like today are what they think is a smart political strategy, all we can say is: go for it," said DNC National Press Secretary Hari Sevugan.