Jimmy Hoffa

Hoffa: 'Let's Take These Sons Of Bitches Out!'

Susan Crabtree | September 5, 2011, 3:34PM

Teamsters President James P. Hoffa

Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa didn't mince words when warming up the crowd before President Obama's pro-union speech in Detroit Monday.

Hoffa described the recent Republican-led assaults on collective bargaining rights as a "war on workers" and described Obama as union workers' general who will lead them to victory in 2012 over the Tea Party and like-minded allies.

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2012

Mitt Romney To Attend First Big Tea Party Rally

Benjy Sarlin | August 30, 2011, 3:32PM

Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney will speak at a Tea Party Express rally in New Hampshire on Labor Day, his first appearance at a high profile event associated with the movement.

Romney's scheduled appearance, first reported on CNN, comes as he faces renewed pressure on his right flank thanks to Rick Perry's surging campaign. Perry was one of the earliest national politicians to jump on the grassroots bandwagon -- he made his famous "secession" comments at a Tea Party rally in April 2009 -- and is currently polling very well with self-identified Tea Partiers. He, Michele Bachmann, and Herman Cain will attend a forum with the Tea Party-leaning Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) in South Carolina on Labor Day.

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Tea Party Express

Tea Party Express Kicks Off Bus Tour To 'Reclaim America'

David Taintor | August 29, 2011, 1:33PM

Anti-tea party protesters attended the Tea Party Express' rally in Napa, California.

Fresh off conservative criticism of President Obama's Midwest bus tour, the Tea Party Express is kicking its own tires. Leading up to the CNN/Tea Party Express Republican presidential debate Sept. 10, the tea party group on Saturday launched a bus tour in Napa, California.

"We want Washington to live within its means, just like we do," Tea Party Express chairwoman Amy Kremer told Reuters. "We're in an economic downfall. Meanwhile, politicians are busy attending cocktail parties instead of focusing on the issues."

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Mark Williams

Disgraced Ex-Tea Party Leader Promises To 'Infiltrate And Sabotage' Obama 2012

Jillian Rayfield | April 4, 2011, 4:56PM

Tea Party activist Mark Williams.

Former Tea Party Express spokesman Mark Williams, who stepped down from the group after making a series of racist remarks, has a plan to "infiltrate and sabotage" the Obama campaign by volunteering as a campaign worker.

In an interview with TPM, Williams could not specify what exactly his subterfuge would entail, but said it would probably "come under the general heading of 'not exactly representing him in a fine light.'"

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Olympia Snowe

Meet Olympia Snowe's New Hard Rocking Tea Party Challenger

Benjy Sarlin | February 11, 2011, 12:02PM

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME)

Maine moderate Olympia Snowe, whose Senate seat has long been considered vulnerable in a Republican primary, has a new Tea Party challenger: Andrew Ian Dodge.

The state coordinator for the Tea Party Patriots in Maine, Dodge told TPM he will announce his entrance into the race Friday at a press conference at CPAC. He'll be the second to jump into the GOP primary against Snowe after businessman Scott D'amboise declared his run last year.

You may not recognize Dodge's name, but if you've read news coverage of the Tea Party over the last year you've almost certainly seen him quoted. Dodge's friendly relationship with reporters and off-beat analysis has made him one of the most frequently cited activists in the movement by mainstream reporters.

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Orrin Hatch

#InviteGate: Just How Did Orrin Hatch Make His Way To The Tea Party Tonight?

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 8, 2011, 9:24PM

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) showed up at tonight's Tea Party Express town hall in downtown DC to take a few questions about the budget and push his tea party cred by sharing a stage with movement heavyweights like Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), Rep. Allen West (R-FL) and Sen. Mike Lee, the tea party Republican who booted Sen. Bob Bennett (R-UT) last cycle.

Hatch rose to the occasion, offering up the kind of anti-tax, anti-big government, anti-Obamacare messaging that the tea party thrives on. It's clear why Hatch was there -- he wants to avoid the fate that befell Bennett, who ignored the tea party rumblings in his home state only to be run out of the Senate by Republicans back home.

What's not clear is how Hatch, who presumably is just the type of incumbent Republican the tea party would like to take out in 2012, came to be introduced as a supporter of the movement before a nationwide tea party audience.

Hatch told TPM he was invited. Tea Party Express president Amy Kremer told TPM he invited himself. And Tea Party Express strategist Sal Russo (who incidentally used to work for Hatch) told TPM that anyone who says Hatch wasn't extended an invitation from his group is mistaken.

Welcome to Invite Gate.

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Orrin Hatch

Tea Partiers To Meet, Greet, Likely Yell At Orrin Hatch In DC Tonight

Evan McMorris-Santoro | February 8, 2011, 1:24PM

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)

A group of the most conspicuous names in tea party politics will gather at the National Press Club tonight for the Tea Party Express' first Washington town hall since their big wins in November. Expected at the event are the pantheon of tea party pols, including Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT).

Also in attendance will be a man who very much wants some tea party cred these days: Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT). A top name on many tea party target lists, Hatch doesn't want to go down the way his former comrade, Sen. Bob Bennett, did last year. The objectively conservative Bennett was booted from the Senate after tea partiers used his TARP vote against him at the state convention and denied him the GOP nomination.

Hatch clearly wants to avoid the same fate, and his appearance at tonight's Tea Party Express event could turn a love fest into a shouting match.

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Club For Growth

Club For Growth May Target Orrin Hatch In 2012

Jillian Rayfield | January 31, 2011, 6:17PM

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)

Sen. Orrin Hatch may have gotten a pass from the Tea Party Express on a 2012 challenge from the right, but the anti-tax group Club For Growth says it still hasn't made any decisions about him.

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UT-SEN

Tea Party Express Loves Orrin Hatch: 'An Original Tea Partier'

Eric Kleefeld | January 27, 2011, 3:56PM

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)

In some good news for Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), he will not be targeted for defeat from the right by the Tea Party Express, which in 2010 supported such primary insurgents (and general election losers) as Sharron Angle and Christine O'Donnell. And far from attacking Hatch as a RINO, National Review reports, Hatch is being hailed as "an original tea partier" -- apparently thanks to some old connections.

Just this past cycle in 2010, Hatch's fellow Utah Sen. Bob Bennett was defeated for renomination at his state GOP convention, following an activist uprising motivated in part by his vote for the TARP bailout. Hatch -- who also voted for TARP -- has also had some weak polling and could face a challenge from Rep. Jason Chaffetz.

An important thing to note: While Tea Party Express, a project of Our Country Deserves Better PAC, is branded as an outsider organization, their chief strategist is Sal Russo. For his part, Russo is a longtime GOP strategist who has worked for Republican politicians such as Jack Kemp, George Pataki -- and Orrin Hatch, with whom he has a long history.

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Debt Ceiling

Republicans Could Force Multiple Debt Ceiling Votes Before 2012

Brian Beutler | January 21, 2011, 10:26AM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

Members of both parties are preparing for a big brouhaha over the debt ceiling a few months from now. Democrats are daring Republicans to allow the country to default. Republicans are insisting that they'll only raise the debt limit if the measure is paired with truly dramatic spending cuts. Both sides think they have the upper hand, and only one side can be right about that. But when all's said and done, everybody agrees the debt ceiling will be raised.

The question now is: for how long?

All speculation thus far has centered on the immediate fight. But if Congress decides to raise the debt limit by only a modest increment, Republicans will set themselves up for more bites at the apple in the coming months.

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Tea Party Express

Tea Party Express Fundraises Off Giffords Shooting: 'Tea Party Won't Be Silenced'

Jillian Rayfield | January 10, 2011, 4:55PM

In an apparent effort to distance themselves from the mass shootings in Arizona over the weekend, the Tea Party Express sent out an email to supporters proclaiming that they "won't be silenced" -- and asking for contributions.

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Sal Russo

Tea Party Express Leader: Left Is 'Revolting And Disgusting' For Blaming The Tea Party

Jillian Rayfield | January 10, 2011, 12:39PM

Another Tea Party leader is accusing the left of unfairly blaming the Tea Party for the mass shootings in Arizona, describing how "revolting and disgusting the left is for trying to associate the tea party with violence like this."

Sal Russo, the leader of the Tea Party Express, said on Fox News today that shooting suspect Jared Lee Loughner "was obviously a leftist. He admired Mein Kampf and the Communist Manifesto. Those are not volumes that are popular with the Tea Party so he was obviously a left-wing anarchist, he was probably Anti-Semitic."

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Gabrielle Giffords

Tucson Tea Party Leader: We Won't Change Our Rhetoric After Giffords Shooting

Evan McMorris-Santoro and Jillian Rayfield | January 8, 2011, 8:20PM

A Tea Party rally in Michigan.

A leader of a Tucson-area tea party group condemned the mass shooting in Arizona that included Rep. Gabriel Giffords (D-AZ), but told TPM that this doesn't mean her group is going to tone down their rhetoric: "I think anytime you start suppressing freedom of speech, I think it's wrong. I live here and I didn't hear anything [in the 2010 campaign] that concerned me in terms of inciting violence."

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Tea Party Express

CNN, Tea Party Express To Host A GOP Presidential Debate

David Taintor | December 17, 2010, 1:24PM

Tea Party activists in Washington, D.C.

In what promises to be a bizarre pairing, CNN and the Tea Party Express are joining forces to co-host a Republican presidential primary debate in September 2011.

The Tea Party Express' hits have been no stranger to TPM's pages. Over the summer, for example, Tea Party Express' Mark Williams said the NAACP's use of the word "colored'" makes the organization racist. Williams, who was an occasional guest on CNN, was eventually forced to resign from the Tea Part Express.

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Tea Party

Tea Party Has Arrived: Predictable Infighting Marks The Movement's Big Day

Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 3, 2010, 5:35PM

At a tea party in Kerrville, Texas

The tea party is now officially part of the legitimate political scene. How do we know? After the movement's electoral victories last night, the bickering that goes with political victory has begun. As the various tea party groups try to read the tea leaves from last night, the infighting that marked marked the movement's emergence onto the scene has spilled over into the post-election euphoria.

First, let's take a look at how well the tea party candidates fared last night. Though many of their high-profile Senate nominees -- Sharron Angle in Nevada, Joe Miller in Alaska, Ken Buck in Colorado and Christine O'Donnell in Delaware -- appear to have come up short in the final tally, the tea party has a lot to be proud of. Kentucky's Senator-elect, Rand Paul, is about as tea party as they come and will likely serve as a vocal mouthpiece for the movement in the upper chamber of Congress.

By the numbers, though, the tea party did not do that well. NBC News crunched the data and found that off the dozens and dozens of tea party candidates on ballots last night, about 60% of them lost. Still, with the GOP still running scared from from the tea party, even the 32% of candidates that made it through will be a potent force in the new Republican majority in the House.

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DE-SEN

Christine O'Donnell Goes Back To The Tea Party; Promises Them A Surprise

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 31, 2010, 7:23PM

Delaware Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell (R)

WILMINGTON, DE -- It ain't over 'til it's over, says Christine O'Donnell. The embattled Republican nominee for Senate here in The First State told a crowd of supporters from her tea party base not to count her out just yet -- despite polls showing Democrat Chris Coons cruising to an easy win. O'Donnell says she's counting on first-time voters and a new 30-minute TV closing argument (airing three times on statewide TV in the next 24 hours) to pull off what most observers say would be a miracle win.

At a Delaware stop for the Tea Party Express bus tour -- the PAC-funded group that helped bring you such quotable tea party notables as Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), Nevada GOP Senate nominee Sharron Angle, Alaska GOP Senate nominee Joe Miller and others -- O'Donnell called on her supporters not to give up hope.

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DE-SEN

One Last Dance For Christine O'Donnell And The Tea Party Express In Delaware

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 31, 2010, 10:16AM

Christine O'Donnell

In Wilmington, Delaware this afternoon, the Tea Party Express will take Christine O'Donnell on one more trip around the dance floor before the election music stops. With just hours to go before Election Day, the Republican Senate nominee and and the Tea Party Express are likely set for different paths: O'Donnell to an almost certain loss to Democrat Chris Coons, and the group to what's sure to be some post-election tea party infighting. But today, they will share the same stage one more time.

[TPM SLIDESHOW: Christine O'Donnell: Anti-Masturbation Crusader. Witchcraft Dabbler. Republican Senate Nominee.]

The group's final bus tour of the campaign cycle is rolling to a stop Monday, but not before touching down in Delaware, where Tea Party Express money and resources helped O'Donnell defeat the GOP establishment pick, Mike Castle, in this September's Republican primary.

Since that time, O'Donnell has come to represent the best and the worst of the tea party phenomenon. Her ability to knock off Castle -- an odds-on favorite for the seat, with the endorsement of just about everyone in mainstream Republican politics -- was indicative of the tea party's ability to scare the pants off the establishment. That could have a big effect on how the party moves forward if the GOP wins big on Tuesday. But O'Donnell's apparent failure to engage voters in Delaware beyond her tea party base also tells a tale of the tea party: the one where candidates find themselves trapped underneath the movement's sometimes eccentric policy views.

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Joe Arpaio

Arpaio Boasts: I Gave Sarah Palin Pink Underwear!

Brian Beutler | October 25, 2010, 9:38AM

Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Sarah Palin

Maricopa County, AZ Sheriff Joe Arpaio gave Sarah Palin the prisoner treatment this weekend, then took to Twitter to brag all about it. Of course, in Arpaio-land, "the prisoner treatment" equals a pair of pink underpants.

"I just got done welcoming Sarah Palin to our County. Had a nice chat and gave her a pair of pink underwear," Arpaio tweeted.

Palin was in town for a Tea Party Express rally -- not specifically to accept the panty package. (That was just a perk.) Arpaio has gained notoriety for demeaning prisoners in Maricopa County, including by housing them in tents and making them wear pink -- all the way down to their skivvies.

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AK-SEN

Murkowski Ads Attack Tea Party Express -- And Teach Spelling (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | September 30, 2010, 10:45AM

From a campaign ad for Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), "Spelling Clinic 101."

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), who is running as a write-in candidate after she lost the Republican primary to Tea Party-backed lawyer Joe Miller, has a new pair of ads aimed at both selling her candidacy to voters -- and reminding them how to spell her name.

In one ad, a classroom of voters at the "Spelling Clinic" are told to correctly fill in the write-in oval and spell Murkowski's name.

While they are at work, the bemused instructor says to the camera: "Some outsiders say Alaskans aren't smart enough."

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Joe Miller

Murkowski Makes It Official: She's Back In The Race

Megan Carpentier | September 17, 2010, 10:20PM

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) took the floor tonight in the Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center in Anchorage to announce that she was not going to give up her Senate seat so easily. Instead, she plans to mount a write-in campaign to win re-election -- a feat only ever successfully accomplished by Strom Thurmond in 1954.

"Come November," she told supporters, "if you stand by me, I will stand by Alaska." She promised supporters that, unlike in the primary, the gloves would be off. And, to prove it, in addition to the expected swings at Republican candidate Joe Miller, she took an open swipe at Sarah Palin -- promising not to "quit on Alaska."

She also told supporters, "Alaska is not fair game for outside extremists," tweaking the Tea Party Express and its outreach efforts on behalf of Miller in the state.

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DE-SEN

Christine O'Donnell Compares Herself To Ronald Reagan (VIDEO)

Christina Bellantoni | September 15, 2010, 9:33AM

Christine O'Donnell

Christine O'Donnell isn't sweating the national Republicans who won't be helping her Delaware Senate bid this fall, because, after all, Ronald Reagan was once a pariah too.

"They also said that Ronald Reagan wasn't electable," O'Donnell said this morning on ABC's "Good Morning America. She called the GOP's whisper campaign against her "Republican cannibalism."

The perennial candidate who has never held political office said she doesn't need the NRSC's help, and believes she can win by raising just $1 million. The Tea Party Express made an appeal to supporters today for cash to help O'Donnell after the GOP's abandonment.

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Christine O'Donnell

Republican Establishment Muted After O'Donnell Win While Democrats Crow

Megan Carpentier | September 14, 2010, 10:00PM

Christine O'Donnell

Usually when a candidate like Christine O'Donnell wins a primary -- and begins the tough slog to a general election -- you expect emails from her party like "MEDIA: Tea Party Express Congratulates Christine O'Donnell !!!". That, however, is not the subject line from the Republican Party's email: It's from the Tea Party Express email.

The TPE message from Chairman Amy Kremer went on to say, "Christine O'Donnell overcame the entire political establishment to achieve victory tonight because she stood for the constitutional conservative principles that voters are craving during this election cycle," and predict her certain victory in November.

A message from Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser, a conservative pro-life women's organization, added that "Christine O'Donnell's come-from-behind victory is evidence that voters across America are hungry for conservative pro-life candidates."

By way of contrast, the National Republican Senatorial Committee's email is below in its entirety:

In reporting on the Delaware Senate Republican primary results, please consider the following response from the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC):

"We congratulate Christine O'Donnell for her nomination this evening after a hard-fought primary campaign in Delaware." - Rob Jesmer, NRSC Executive Director

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DE-SEN

Tea Party Express: No 'Funniness' Intended By Calling For GOPer's 'Termination'

Eric Lach | September 14, 2010, 1:22PM

Chairman of the Delaware Republican Party Tom Ross

Tea Party Express national coordinator Joe Wierzbicki has expanded on his group's call for the "termination" of Delaware Republican party Chairman Tom Ross, in light of the fact that Ross temporarily left his home in response to a death threat.

The call for Ross' "immediate resignation or termination" was made over the state party chair's support of GOP establishment pick Rep. Mike Castle over tea party favorite Christine O'Donnell in the Senate Republican primary.

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Tea Party Express

Tea Party Express Calls For 'Termination' Of GOPer ... Who Got Death Threat

Eric Lach | September 13, 2010, 6:24PM

Chairman of the Delaware Republican Party Tom Ross

The Tea Party Express is calling for the "immediate resignation or termination" of Delaware Republican Party Chairman Tom Ross, over Ross' support of GOP establishment pick Rep. Mike Castle in the Senate Republican primary. But it just so happens that the group's call for "termination" comes just a few days after Ross received a death threat, one serious enough for him to temporarily leave his home.

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DE-SEN

Tea Party Express 'Moneybomb' For O'Donnell Includes Just One Delaware Donor

Christina Bellantoni | September 8, 2010, 8:37AM

From a Tea Party Express ad for Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell (R-DE)

The Tea Party Express has attacked Rep. Mike Castle for raising campaign cash from out-of-state in his bid to be Delaware's next senator -- but what do you know, they have done the exact same thing for their candidate.

Castle faces Christine O'Donnell on Tuesday's Republican primary ballot. O'Donnell backers say polls are suggesting she's within striking distance of defeating Castle, a longtime member of Congress who has never lost an election. His decades-long career is one reason Open Secrets has him ranked as No. 7 on its list of the Top 10 candidates based on how many of their donations come from outside of their home state.

Castle has raised $852,963, or 51.4% of his total, from donors not living in Delaware.

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2010 elections

Dems Hope That Delaware Republicans Follow Alaska's Lead

Christina Bellantoni | September 3, 2010, 7:51AM

Rand Paul (R-KY), Ken Buck (R-CO), Sharron Angle (R-NV), Joe Miller (R-AK), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Christine O'Donnell (R-DE)

"We have a chance to win this race friends!"

Those recent words from the Tea Party Express in an email to supporters following Delaware's Republican primary might strike fear in the hearts of Republicans, but they are giving Democrats a sliver of hope that this fall won't be a complete wipeout.

On Sept. 14, Delaware Republicans will head to the polls to choose between Rep. Mike Castle and tea party darling Christine O'Donnell. The winner will face Democrat Chris Coons in November for the open seat, currently held by a Democrat. Castle has long been considered the frontrunner and clear November favorite, so much so that there's almost no polling between O'Donnell and Coons. But Democrats say that they think she's easy to beat -- and Republicans in D.C. privately admit that her candidacy is deeply flawed and that they are rooting for Castle.

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2010 elections

Alaska Vote Counting Starts Under 'Strict Enforcement' After Miller Complaints

Christina Bellantoni | August 31, 2010, 4:28PM

Joe Miller and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)

Alaska's Lt. Gov. Craig Campbell has ordered "strict enforcement of the rules governing confidentiality of the voter process" following allegations from Joe Miller's campaign that Sen. Lisa Murkowski supporters were trying to influence the ballot count in Alaska's drawn-out GOP primary for U.S. Senate.

A first count of absentee ballots in the razor-close primary began today, and Murkowski made up ground right away with a few hundred votes, according to tweets from Alaska-based reporters. The last count had Miller leading Murkowski by 1,668 votes, and the tweets suggested the senator gained at least 300 when counting began today.

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AK-SEN

Getting Nastier In Alaska: Miller Supporters Charge Vote Counting Shenanigans

Christina Bellantoni | August 31, 2010, 8:00AM

Lisa Murkowski R-AK

Joe Miller's lawyers are asking for state troopers to be stationed at Alaska elections offices, charging that there are serious shenanigans afoot involving improper shredding and that Sen. Lisa Murkowski's observers of the ballot-counting brought an illegal iPhone into the room.

Those are just two allegations in a new letter from Miller's attorneys to Lt. Gov. Craig Campbell and state elections officials that detail serious concerns and will make the sustained vote counting all the more interesting.

The Tea Party Express group, which spent more than $500,000 in a last-minute effort to put Miller over the top in a primary to unseat Murkowski, is emailing supporters a copy of the letter with the ominous subject line: "Irregularities Arise in Alaska Vote Count - URGENT!"

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AK-SEN

Why Sarah Palin Is About To Lose Big Time In Alaska's Primary (AUDIO)

Christina Bellantoni | August 24, 2010, 5:44PM

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has had plenty of successes this year, but might be about to rack up a big fail tonight as voters in her home state decide whether to oust Sen. Lisa Murkowski.

There are few public polls for this race but operatives for both Republicans and Democrats tell TPM they expect Murkowski to prevail tonight by a wide margin. Still, in a last-ditch effort to boost her preferred candidate Joe Miller, Palin recorded a robocall you can hear below suggesting Murkowski is a waffler who prefers Democratic policies. And even though several Republicans have been toppled this year by tea-party-favored candidates like Miller, those claims are a stretch.

A major question that's likely to be resolved tonight is just how influential Palin remains in her home state, given she resigned from the governorship last summer and has become a national figure.

"Her endorsement has a lesser impact than it would have had two years ago when she was at the peak of her visibility," an Alaska Republican familiar with the race but not affiliated with either campaign told TPM.

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NV-SEN

Tea Party Express Radio Ad: Angle 'Has The Guts' To Say Social Security Is Broken (AUDIO)

Eric Kleefeld | August 11, 2010, 3:06PM

Sharron Angle

Tea Party Express, the right-wing group that recently parted ways with their former spokesman Mark Williams over his racially-loaded writings and comments, is getting back into the Nevada Senate race with a radio ad for Sharron Angle.

"Sharron Angle knows we can't sustain the out of control spending and growth in the size and power of government. Nevada's leading anti-tax advocate, she led the fight to stop the biggest tax hike in state history," the announcer says.

The announcer also takes on the touchy issue of Social Security -- in which Angle has been hammered for saying she wants to "phase out" the program: "She has the guts to point out our Social Security system is broken, and she's ready to fix the system before it fails -- honoring the commitment we've made to seniors."

The TPM Poll Average currently gives Reid a lead of 45.1%-42.7%.

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Tea Party

Tea Party Express Tries To Exorcise Mark Williams With African American Speakers

Evan McMorris-Santoro | August 4, 2010, 6:01PM

More than a dozen African American speakers gathered in Washington today to help the Tea Party Express shed its ties to former chair, spokesperson and racial burr in its saddle, Mark Williams. Though the TPE never publicly rebuked Williams after his racially controversial blog post led to his resignation from the group, the speakers from the podium at the event today -- billed as a National Black Conservatives Rally -- were more than willing to call him out.

[TPM SLIDESHOW: Tea Party Express Hosts 'National Black Conservatives Rally']

"How many times do they have to pluck that bad apple out of the barrel before people quit focusing on it?" said Herman Cain, an African American talk show host. "The [tea party] movement is millions of people and hundreds of organizations.

But though the speakers at the podium denied it, Williams was the reason for the event today. His antics -- which rose to the level of national attention after the NAACP passed a resolution claiming that the tea party harbors racism in its ranks -- caused the first serious self-reflection on race relations in the movement and, today, led to some African Americans associated with the TPE to criticize the group over how it dealt with it its one-time star.

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Tea Party

Alan Keyes Coming To Tea Party Express' Rescue To Prove It's Not Racist

Evan McMorris-Santoro | August 3, 2010, 10:07AM

Former IL Sen. candidate Alan Keyes (R)

The tea party movement's Not Racist Week continues tomorrow with a "National Black Conservatives Rally" in Washington on behalf of the group nearly everyone in the movement agrees went too far on the issue of race, the Tea Party Express. More than a dozen African American conservatives will pack the National Press Club to attack the NAACP and set the record straight about what the press release for the event calls "the unrelenting attacks on the tea party movement" and the "effort to dissuade Americans from rebelling at the ballot box in the November 2010 elections."

The keynote speaker at the event will be perhaps the most prominent African American conservative, Alan Keyes. He'll be joined by the Tea Party Express' national spokesperson, Lloyd Marcus.

Marcus pointed to the extensive lineup of black conservatives on deck for tomorrow's event as evidence that the movement is more racially open than some critics have painted it.

"Apparently the NAACP and other groups are afraid to acknowledge the fact that the tea party welcomes people of all races, and is a much bigger and more diverse group than they're willing to admit," Marcus said in a statement.

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Tea Party Express

Tea Party Patriots: Seriously, That Whole Mark Williams Thing Ended Up Being Good For Us

Evan McMorris-Santoro | July 30, 2010, 10:12AM

Not even the epic fail of former Tea Party Express chairman/spokesman Mark Williams can slow the tea party movement on it's path to world domination. At least that's what tea partiers tell me.

As we reach the one-week anniversary of Williams' resignation from the TPE after a racist blog post he wrote caused a firestorm both inside the tea party movement and out, movement leaders say they've shaken off Williams and moved on -- if they'll talk about him at all.

"Isn't it weird how these things turn out?" said Shelby Blakely, a member of the Tea Party Patriots National Leadership Council and executive director of the group's online publication, the New Patriot Journal. Blakely said that, ironically, Williams has helped the tea party movement by leading to the public shaming of the TPE, which the Tea Party Patriots have long viewed as an impostor to the cause.

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DE-SEN

Tea Party Express Makes Its First Endorsement Of The Post-Mark Williams Era

Evan McMorris-Santoro | July 27, 2010, 12:08PM

US Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell (R-DE)

The Tea Party Express promised to soldier on in the wake of the Mark Williams saga, and today it made good on the pledge. For the first time since Williams -- a former chairman and spokesperson for the group -- resigned from the Tea Party Express, the TPE has endorsed a candidate in a Republican primary. The beneficiary of the TPE's return to the campaign trail? Christine O'Donnell, the tea party-style conservative challenging Rep. Mike Castle for the GOP Senate nomination in Delaware.

As has so often been the case with TPE-endorsed candidates this year, the group says Castle must be defeated because he's not conservative enough.

"We long ago announced our intention to hold Mike Castle accountable for his failed record in Congress, and now we have an excellent shot to make sure he is defeated by a solid conservative candidate," TPE coordinator Joe Wierzbicki said in a statement.

[TPM SLIDESHOW: Christine O'Donnell: Anti-Masturbation Crusader. Witchcraft Dabbler. Republican Senate Nominee.]

For her part, O'Donnell seemed to welcome the endorsement from the group other tea partiers love to hate.

"This endorsement may prove to be a pivot point in the campaign," O'Donnell's campaign says on its website. A game changer perhaps."

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Tea Party

Mark Williams Quits The Tea Party Express

Evan McMorris-Santoro | July 23, 2010, 2:42PM

Tea Party activist Mark Williams.

One of the most prominent men in the tea party movement, Tea Party Express spokesperson and former chair Mark Williams, is abandoning the group he helped propel into the role of the tea party's public face.

"Over a month ago, Williams stepped down as Chairman of the organization to pursue other activities, but still offered to remain available as a spokesperson as needed in the future," TPE spokesperson Levi Russell said in a statement to reporters today. "Today, he went further to completely cut his ties to the Tea Party Express."

In his resignation letter to the TPE, Williams says he left the group after the past week's public battle with the NAACP made him too hot to handle.

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Tea Party Express

Tea Party Express: Our Candidates Will Stick By Us, Despite Mark Williams

Evan McMorris-Santoro | July 22, 2010, 12:15PM

Founding Tea Party Express member Joe Wierzbicki.

The Tea Party Express is confident the candidates it has supported will stand by the group, despite the growing ostracism of its controversial spokesperson, Mark Williams. The TPE has played a role in a number of high-profile conservative campaigns this year, pumping more than a million dollars into the coffers of tea party favorites across the country, ranging from Scott Brown in Massachusetts to Joe Miller in Alaska to Sharron Angle in Nevada. The group is promising to spend more, and that fact will keep conservative candidates from leaving the TPE behind, the group's national coordinator Joe Wierzbicki told me yesterday.

"No, I don't think too many candidates are going to turn away our support when they know that our membership is the most actively engaged - politically - of any of the tea party groups," he said.

But other tea party leaders say that after the firestorm over Williams' racially-tinged blog post last week, abandoning the TPE would be a good idea for some of the candidates the embattled group has backed.

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Tea Party

Tea Party Patriots Leader Calls On Candidates To Repudiate Tea Party Express Support

Evan McMorris-Santoro | July 21, 2010, 3:33PM

Mark Meckler, a co-founder and National Coordinator of Tea Party Patriots and organizer of the Sacramento Tea Party.

Mark Meckler, co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots, told me today that in his opinion, candidates who have received endorsements from the ostracized Tea Party Express should work to distance themselves from the group. Speaking after Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) debuted her Tea Party Caucus, Meckler told me that candidates who have relied on the Tea Party Express for help -- a list that includes Sharron Angle and Marco Rubio -- should repudiate the group and its controversial spokesperson Mark Williams.

"It's up to every individual candidate," Meckler said. "But if I were running, I'd definitely step away from that kind of rhetoric."

Meckler condemned Williams as a racist and said that conservatives everywhere -- including candidates -- need to shun him.

"It's the right thing to do," he said.

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2010 elections

Team TPE: The Tea Party Express Candidates Who Wish Mark Williams Never Opened His Mouth

Evan McMorris-Santoro | July 21, 2010, 9:08AM

Tea Party Express spokesman Mark Williams (Rep. Walt Minnick (D-ID), Sen. candidate Sharron Angle (R-NV) and Sen. candidate Marco Rubio (R-FL) inset)

For most conservative candidates this year, a strong endorsement from a tea party group is something to be treasured and touted. But what happens when the tea party that supported you happens to be the increasingly-ostracized Tea Party Express, hauling the baggage of its very much ostracized spokesperson, Mark Williams?

Williams, of course, has come under all sorts of fire for his racist blog post last week needling the NAACP after they passed a resolution calling on the tea party to condemn its more racist elements.

This creates a problem for several high-profile Republican candidates -- and even one Democrat. Do they disavow Williams and the TPE, and risk steaming the very tea partiers who made them who they are today? Or do they stick with Williams and the Express and risk being labeled racist sympathizers -- which even in this electoral climate is still a bad thing?

Here's how four key Tea Party Express-backed candidates are handling this quandary. And surprise, surprise -- they're largely trying to delicately sidestep the issue.

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Tea Party

Second Tea Party Group Distancing Itself From Mark Williams

Evan McMorris-Santoro | July 19, 2010, 11:11AM

Tea Party activists in Washington, D.C.

There's evidence this morning that even more tea partiers are seeking to distance themselves from the Tea Party Express' Mark Williams and his racially-tinged rhetoric. In an email sent to its members this morning, the Tea Party Nation group appeared to back away from Williams and make it clear that it doesn't agree with his controversial anti-NAACP blog post.

"As most of you are aware, one of the leaders in the tea party movement posted a controversial blog many took to be racist," Tea Party Nation leaders wrote in the email obtained by TPMDC. "Tea Party Nation and many other groups have repudiated racism and racists ... We have banned members who were racists and will ban any members who show themselves to be racist."

"The Tea Party Movement is not racist," the leaders add. "Tea Party Nation welcomes all patriots, regardless of gender, ethnicity or national origin to join us and help save this great country."

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