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The "Queen of the Tea Party," Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) is leaving Congress at the end of the year. Here is a round-up of some of her most memorable moments in politics and on the campaign trail. (Jackie Kucinich/The Washington Post)

IN ST. CLOUD, MINN.

Last month, on a cool Minnesota afternoon, Rep. Michele Bachmann donned an oversize white lab coat and made the rounds in St. Clouds newest kidney center. Soon to be out of a job in Congress, the pint-size ball of tea party energy came to this hospital as part of her goodbye tour around her district, a suburban and rural area just north of the Twin Cities that never quite seemed big enough for her ambitions.

Bachmann, a youthful 58, strolled over to a big man strapped up to a dialysis machine. His gray hair spilled out of a hat that said: Dysfunctional Veteran. Leave me alone. Bachmann ignored this advice.

Hi, Im Michele Bachmann, she said with a singsong voice and a smile that could crush diamonds.

I thought it was you, he said. Why arent you running? Are you running for president?

I already ran for president, she said.

It didnt work out too well last time, did it? he said.

I won the Iowa straw poll! Thats something, she said. He shrugged.

Shes been okay, he said, after she moved on to other patients. She should have stuck around Congress. But chances are, Ill get to see her more often here. He motioned to his TV. Thats probably what she wants, anyway.

See the article here:
Michele Bachmann, queen of the tea party, searches for whats next

With one week to go before the midterm election, tea partiers are focused less on ideological purity than power. Many are throwing their resources behind the Republican candidates they opposed in primaries in an effort to help the GOP seize control of the Senate and hold on to governors' mansions.

In North Carolina, the Tea Party Patriots are mobilizing volunteers to help elect Thom Tillis to the Senate, after they heavily backed one of his opponents in the primary.

Tillis wasnt our second or maybe even third choice in North Carolina, said Kevin Broughton, communications director for the super PAC Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund. There is a chance Thom Tillis wont care about tea party folks when he gets into office, but there is a certainty that Kay Hagan wont give a hoot."

We cant let the perfect be the enemy of the good with so much at stake.

In Kansas, Tea Party Express, which has spent thousands of dollars helping conservative candidates, recently announced its support for Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts, who is locked ina tight battlewith independent Greg Orman. The Tea Party Express had backed Milton Wolf in the primary, but Roberts was able to hold onto his seat with less than 50 percent of the vote.

"These folks have fire in the belly, you know," Roberts said. "If you are going to lead the posse, and you look back, you'd better have the tea party with you."

In Georgia, the Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund threw its support behind Georgia Senate candidate David Perdue, whom they had opposed in the primary. Perdue and Democrat Michelle Nunn are in a dead heat -- and the Georgia seat could prove decisive in regard to which party controls the Senate.

Were asking all conservatives in Georgia not just to vote for David Perdue, but to knock on doors for him, Tea Party Patriots Chair Jenny Beth Martin said in a statement. Make phone calls. Drive a friend to the polls. These midterm elections are so critical to the future of the Republic, and its time for Georgians to answer the call.

The Republicans who once feared the party's right-wingers are glad to have their help.Many of the closest races for the Senate will be decided by turnout, andthe tea party has something impossible to buy through TV ads and mailers: motivated voters. A Gallup poll released last week found tea party-aligned Republicans -- who comprise about 18 percent of the GOP population -- described themselves as extremely or very motivated to vote by much larger margins than other Republicans.

The establishment has the big money but weve got the ground troops, and its always going to be that way, Diana Bannister, a Republican communication strategies, said. The activists and the tea party are still there and they are still working their tails off in their local races, in the Senate races and the governor races.

See original here:
Midterm 2014: Tea Party Groups Focus On Senate And Governor Races

So in my in-box I find some concerned conservative consonance. All this dissing is the result of the decision in the District Court for The District of Columbiain True The Vote v IRS. Judge Reggie B. Walton who rendered the decision was nominated by President Bush II in 2001. Judge Walton was also the Chair of the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission, which gives him a warm place in my heart.

It is worth noting that this is the Judge James Cacheris ruled that the National Organization for Marriage could not collect attorney fees relative to its suit against the IRS. In May, the administration had a setback in a scandal case brought by Z Street which concerned IRS having a special Israel policy for exempt organizations. The ruling against the IRS was handed down by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was nominated by President Obama in 2012. Go figure.

The Gadsden flag (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Decision

The decision is very lawyerly. True The Votewas applying for exemption under 501(c)(3), which, probably because it allows for tax deductible contributions, is even more restrictive of political activity than the 501(c)(4) status sought by many of the Tea Party groups, including the self anointed flagship of the movement Ms. Martins Tea Party Patriots Inc. The process dragged, which TTV attributed to targeting because of its apparent association with the Tea Party. It is worth noting, that Im still puzzled as to why none of the affected groups ever took that course. TTV was granted exempt status in 2013 which the IRS argues makes three of the counts moot.

Here is where it gets lawyerly. TTV wanted to invoke the volunatry cessation exception to the mootness doctrine. The idea is that even though the IRS has backed off by granting the exemption, it still might get back to its old tricks, after the judge is no longer looking over its shoulder. TTV expressed concern that the IRS might select them for audit in the future based on inappropriate criteria. The Court found that to be too speculative.

TTV was also seeking money damages from several IRS employees involved in the application process. Citing other cases the Court noted that it is unnecessary to have a court created remedy since Congress has created a specific remedy for challenges to rulings on tax exemption. That is TTV could have gone to Tax Court to complain about its ruling being delayed or if it had been denied.

The other complaint that the Court dismissed is kind of convoluted. The statute that they were citing is about inappropriately inspecting tax return information, but the complaint was about the agents asking unnecessary questions.

The Reaction From The Tea Party

Jenny Beth Martin is, as noted, not happy.

View post:
True The Vote Suit Dismissed By Bush Nominated Judge - Jenny Beth Martin Not Happy

Just afew months ago, tea party groups were running attack ads against Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kansas). Now, he's winning their endorsements.

Tea Party Patriots has officially endorsed Roberts, as he faces a tough re-election battle against independent candidate Greg Orman."There is just too much at stake not to support Pat Roberts, the group's presidentJenny Beth Martin said in a statement. We reached out to our people in Kansas, and they overwhelmingly supported this endorsement. They know this race is too important to sit out."

That's comingfrom the same personwho saidafter Roberts won his August primary that "sometimes the best candidate doesnt win." Thegroup spent more than $75,000 in Kansasagainst Robertsduring the primary.

After an unexpectedly tough primary challenge, Roberts has spent much of the general election highlighting his conservative bona fides. But his bigger problem may be a perception among voters that he'sgrown out-of-touch with Kansas, with questions over his residency also looming large in the bruising primary battle.

So Robertsbeen crisscrossing the state in hopes of energizing the GOP base, with a campaign rhetoric focused on painting Orman as a Democratic liberal in disguise and the danger of the Senate remaining in Democratic hands. He's had tea party favorites come in as reinforcements for his efforts, includingSarah PalinandTexas Sen. Ted Cruz.

The latest public polls show Roberts making a bit of a comeback aftertrailing Orman by as much as 10 points; An NBC News/Marist poll released this week shows Orman leadingby 1 point.

Orman has declined to say which party he'd caucus with, if elected.

Elahe Izadi is a general assignment national reporter for The Washington Post.

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Pat Roberts gets the backing of Tea Party Patriots

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A national tea party group has endorsed U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts' re-election in Kansas after previously supporting his opponent in the Republican primary.

The Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund announced Tuesday it is supporting Roberts because it will be harder for Republicans to regain a Senate majority if he loses. It says it wants to block Democratic President Barack Obama.

The 78-year-old Roberts is seeking his fourth, six-year term and is in a tight race with independent candidate and 45-year-old Olathe businessman Greg Orman.

Orman is running as a centrist and says voters have a choice of continuing partisan gridlock or electing a problem-solver.

The tea party group endorsed Roberts' challenger, Milton Wolf, in the August GOP primary and was active in Mississippi's contentious Republican primary.

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Original headline: Tea party group backs Roberts for Kansas Senate

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Roberts Picks up Tea Party Endorsement