For iowa. go ahead, tony. i never like to disagree with priscilla us about i do it when she s wrong. one of huckabee s guys has come on board with bachmann. as for bachmann being gaffe prone, i didn t know we were doing a bachmann/joe biden comparison. but joe biden didn t run for president. he did, and, oh, the gaffes were fantastic. with bachmann, priscilla is right about this, she does straddle both sides of the line very well and it is part of the thing that makes her very appealing because even though she is very much enjoyed by the tea party, she is saying and doing the things, she s actually walking the walk and talking the talk. if you talk to tea party people, they re far more in favor of bachmann than they are of boehner at this moment. in order to win the general election, you need the moderate voters. don t you think that it moderate republicans, moderate democrats, those who might be tempted to vote for a fiscal conservative might see her as kind of out
Jackson-lee s office for an explanation, an aide said she was unavailable. as for bachmann s take on the controversy surrounding the tea party movement will you not appear at any more of their events? you know, that s really not the issue. the issue is what are we going to do here in congress at the tea party caucus. we ll invite real people in and get their great ideas. reporter: as a sign of its new influence, this tea party caucus is already being taunted by democratic leaders. steny hoyer says he s anxious to see how many republicans adopt the tea party agenda. bachmann notes it s open to democrats too. jim acosta, cnn, washington. and joining us once again, our panel, john ridley, michael bursen and david gergen. talk to me about the influence of the tea party caucus, whether you believe there will be any on the republican leadership. any real clout? i think it puts republicans in a pretty awkward position.
Partiers have also been victims of offensive attacks. she points to congresswoman sheila jackson lee s comments at a recent naacp event. the texas democrat compared tea partiers to members of the kkk. those who used to wear sheets and now being able to walk down the aisle reporter: an aid said jackson was unavailable. that s a highly offensive statement to make. reporter: as for bachmann s take on the tea party movement will you not appear at any more of their events. that s not the issue. the issue is what we re going to do at tea party caucus. we re going to listen to them and get their ideas out. this caucus is already being taunted by democratic leaders, house majority leader steny hoyer says he is anxious to see how many republicans adopt the tea party agenda.
Turthis country aund. not someone who well just might be able to win and not really do the change that s necessary in washington. one more on ju flat expectations. you feel, at this point particularly, you ve got to do better than a michele bachmann or a rick perry in order to fin in this race? i ve always said there three primaries. you have the conservative primary and you mentioned the other two people who i think are in the conservati primary. you have the libertaan primary and then you he gingrich and romney sort of fighting for the establishmenvote. and our feeling was from the very beginning, if we can pace ahead of perry, and/or bachmann, that we d be i good shape, and you know, we re moving in that direction certainly. you talk about electability. you talkbout conservative credentials. but we ve been checkin on this, you know, it will be 20 years ago this wee actually, th you began your service in washington. and had you not lost the re-election you would still be in was
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