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Republican Party congressional caucus

The Tea Party Caucus (TPC) was a congressional caucus of conservative members of the Republican Party in the United States House of Representatives. The Caucus was founded in July 2010 by Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann in coordination with the Tea Party movement the year following the movement's 2009 creation. Bachmann served as the Caucus's first chair.[10]

From July 2012 to April 2013 the Tea Party Caucus neither met nor posted news on its webpage, leading observers to describe it as "dead," "inactive," and "defunct."[11][12] In April 2013, Mick Mulvaney of South Carolina filed paperwork to create a new Tea Party Caucus, but found that Bachmann intended to continue the caucus, starting with an event on April 25, 2013.[13] On June 19, 2014, Tea Party Caucus member Steve Scalise of Louisiana was elected as the House Majority Whip.[14] The Caucus was reconstituted in the 114th Congress in January 2015.[15] Rep. Tim Huelskamp of Kansas became the chair in February 2015.[16] Huelskamp lost party primary election in 2016. The Caucus is now largely inactive. Though the primary functions of the Caucus have varied from year to year, its members have promoted budget cuts, including significant cuts in non-defense spending and adherence to the movement's interpretation of the Constitution. The caucus's members have also advocated socially conservative legislation, supported the right to keep and bear arms, and promoted limited government.

The idea of a Tea Party Caucus originated from Rand Paul (KY) when he was campaigning for the U.S. Senate in 2010.[citation needed] The Caucus was approved as an official congressional member organization by the House Administration Committee on July 19, 2010,[17] and held its first meeting and public event, a press conference on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol, on July 21.[18] A similar informal Caucus was formed in the Senate by four Senators on January 27, 2011.[2][note 1]

While there was no official announcement, the Tea Party Caucus appears to be defunct since approximately late 2016 and most of its members are now caucusing with either the Freedom Caucus or the Liberty Caucus. Although the Tea Party is not a party in the classic sense of the word, research has shown that members of the Tea Party Caucus vote like a third party in Congress.[19]

Michele Bachmann(20102015)

Tim Huelskamp(20152017)

The Tea Party Caucus grew out of the Tea Party movement, a conservative populist political movement that emerged in 2009 in the United States, generally opposing excessive taxation and government intervention in the private sector while supporting stronger immigration controls.[20] On February 19, 2009,[21] in a broadcast from the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, CNBC Business News Network editor Rick Santelli loudly criticized the government plan to refinance mortgages as "promoting bad behavior" by "subsidizing losers' mortgages", and raised the possibility of putting together a "Chicago Tea Party in July".[22][23] A number of the traders and brokers around him cheered on his proposal, to the apparent amusement of the hosts in the studio. It was called "the rant heard round the world".[24] Santelli's remarks "set the fuse to the modern anti-Obama Tea Party movement", according to journalist Lee Fang.[25]

The following day after Santelli's comments from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, 50 national conservative leaders, including Michael Johns, Amy Kremer and Jenny Beth Martin, participated in a conference call that gave birth to the national Tea Party movement.[26][27] In response to Santelli, websites such as ChicagoTeaParty.com, registered in August 2008 by Chicago radio producer Zack Christenson, were live within twelve hours.[28] About 10 hours after Santelli's remarks, reTeaParty.com was bought to coordinate Tea Parties scheduled for the 4th of July and within two weeks was reported to be receiving 11,000 visitors a day.[28] However, on the contrary, many scholars are reluctant to label Santelli's remarks the "spark" of the Tea Party considering that a "Tea Party" protest had taken place 3 days before in Seattle, Washington[29] In fact, this had led many opponents of the Tea Party to define this movement as "astroturfed," but it seems as if Santelli's comments did not "fall on deaf ears" considering that, "the top 50 counties in foreclosure rates played host to over 910 Tea Party protests, about one-sixth of the total".[29]

An article in Politico stated that many Tea Party activists see the Caucus as an effort by the Republican Party to hijack the movement. Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz refused to join the Caucus, saying "Structure and formality are the exact opposite of what the Tea Party is, and if there is an attempt to put structure and formality around it, or to co-opt it by Washington, D.C., its going to take away from the free-flowing nature of the true tea party movement."[30]

In an attempt to quell fears that Washington insiders were attempting to co-opt the Tea Party movement, Michele Bachmann stated "We're not the mouthpiece. We are not taking the Tea Party and controlling it from Washington, D.C. We are also not here to vouch for the Tea Party or to vouch for any Tea Party organizations or to vouch for any individual people or actions, or billboards or signs or anything of the Tea Party. We are the receptacle."[31][32]

Additionally, Senators Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Marco Rubio of Florida, all Tea Party supporters, refused to join the caucus.[33][34] Toomey said he would be "open" to joining, and spoke at the first meeting, but did not ultimately join.[35] Johnson said that he declined to join because he wanted to "work towards a unified Republican Conference, so that's where I will put my energy."[36] Rubio criticized the caucus, saying "My fear has always been that if you start creating these little clubs or organizations in Washington run by politicians, the movement starts to lose its energy."[37]

The Tea Party Caucus is often viewed as taking conservative positions, and advocating for both social and fiscal conservatism.[38] Analysis of voting patterns confirm that Caucus members are more conservative than other House Republicans, especially on fiscal matters.[38][39] Voting trends to the right of the median Republican, and Tea Party Caucus members represent more conservative, southern and affluent districts.[39][40] Supporters of the Tea Party movement itself are largely economic driven.[41][42][43]

Despite the Caucus members differing degrees of economic and social conservatism, they generally work to promote positions within the House of Representatives that are to the right-of those of the House Republican Conference.[44] Caucus members are an important swing vote on spending bills and as a result have gained influence in Congress out of proportion to their numbers.[45][46] They are frequently sought after to broker compromises amongst the Republican leadership, generally lending a more right-wing character to U.S. politics.[47] Since the advent of the Tea Party Caucus in 2010, party-line voting has increased for both Democrats and Republicans.[48]

According to OpenSecrets, the top contributors to the Tea Party Caucus members are health professionals, retirees, the real estate industry and oil and gas interests. The Center said the contributions to Caucus members from these groups, plus those from Republican and conservative groups, are on average higher than those of House members in general and also those of other Republicans. The average Tea Party Caucus member received more than $25,000 from the oil and gas industry, compared to about $13,000for the average House member and $21,500for the average House Republican.[49]

This section needs to be updated. The reason given is: Is this Caucus still in existence, and if so, who are its members in the 114th Congress?. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (March 2015)

The Caucus chair was Michele Bachmann of Minnesota between 2010 and her retirement in 2015. Tim Huelskamp was elected as the Caucus' second chair in January 2015, but was defeated in the 2016 Republican primary by Roger Marshall.[15] Of a possible 435 Representatives, as of January 6, 2013, the committee had 48 members, all Republicans.[50] At its height, the Caucus had 60 members in 2011.

Several members of the Tea Party Caucus were part of the Republican leadership. Tom Price served as chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, making him the seventh ranking Republican in the House, John R. Carter was the Secretary of the House Republican Conference, ranking him the ninth ranking Republican, and Pete Sessions was the number six Republican as the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. Other former members of the Tea Party Caucus held committee chairmanships such as Lamar S. Smith, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

Arizona

California

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Florida

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Michigan

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West Virginia

The Senate has an informal Tea Party Caucus,[note 1] founded in 2011.[53][54]

Ideological caucuses in the United States Congress

Caucuses with no known membership as of the 117th Congress do not have memberships listed.

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Tea Party Caucus - Wikipedia

TAYLOR COUNTYJune has become known as a time to celebrate diversity, as it has been chosen as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month.

To celebrate the month, Taylor County Pride recently held a Pride Picnic in the Park event, that organizers revealed was not only a great time, but it was a smashing success.

The group wanted to do something fun to kick off our celebrations this year, so we began brainstorming, said Taylor County Pride organizer Matteo Martines. Holding a tea party was actually the idea of Ashlie Clark. She asked if I would be interested, and I, of course, was!

Through their conversations, the two decided that the theme of the gathering would be none other than Alice In Wonderland.

Ashlie, who was previously a Disney cast member, brought the tea party to a whole other level. She had these wonderful topsy-tipsy serving dishes and snack trays that went perfectly with the theme, he explained. And Gigi Collett helped add to it with decorations and hats for everyone to wear.

Martines revealed that Collett also lent a helping hand with the partys music selections.

During the afternoon celebration, guests enjoyed a tasty selection of tea sandwiches, chicken salad sandwiches, cookies, cupcakes, scones, tarts, salad, pasta salad and mixed fruit. They were also privy to a story reading by none other than the White Rabbit, Miss Sophie Martines.

Sophie read the book Pink Is for Boys, and she did a fantastic job, expressed Martines.

Attendees, in addition to enjoying one anothers company, were also treated to a craft that will hopefully help put smiles on the faces of community members.

For the craft we painted rocks, and Lisa Wotring was a great help with that portion of the day, Martines disclosed. Everyone who painted one is taking them home to dry, and then they will hide them around Taylor County to be found and hidden again.

And while Taylor Countys Pride group is new to the scene, only forming last year, they have already made their mark on the town and their presence known.

After noticing that the LGBTQ community had little to no representation, Martines sought to make a difference with the creation of a group designed specifically for those who wanted to celebrate the special community.

He began conversations with some family and friends, and before long, a group was created on Facebook to discuss options for celebrations locally, as communities across the nation celebrated Pride Month.

Last year, the organization held various gatherings including a potluck dinner, book readings, participation in the Christmas parade, and they even held a small-scale Pride parade of their own.

We will be holding another Pride parade this year, and are really excited about that. It will be slightly different than our caravan parade held last year, Martines revealed. We really hope that supporters and allies will come out to help us celebrate!

The 2022 Pride March is slated to hit the streets of downtown Grafton on June 25, beginning at 1:00 p.m.

We will meet up at the Taylor County Public Librarys parking lot, then walk through town with signs and pride flags, he explained.

Following the conclusion of the parade, participants and guests are welcome to gather in Toad Hall for further celebration.

According to the Library of Congress, the designation came as a way to honor and commemorate the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan, New York, deemed as the tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement across the nation.

Common celebrations during the month include Pride parades, picnics, parties, workshops, symposia, concerts and special memorials held for those who fell victim to hate crimes or lost their lives to HIV or AIDS.

LGBTQ Pride Month events attract millions of participants around the world, and now Taylor County will join those ranks with their own celebrations.

Martines shared that to learn more about Pride, please visit the LGBTQ Foundation (https://lgbt.foundation), a charitable organization that provides acceptance, support and advice. Additional information can also be found from sources such as GLADD at, https://www.glaad.org or The Human Rights Campaign at https://www.hrc.org.

To find more information about the Taylor County Pride group, please contact Martines via Facebook messenger.

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Inclusion and acceptance the name of the game at recent tea party - Mountain Statesman

The Queen's Tea at The Cottage Cafe and Tea Room

What better way for those of us in the states to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee than with a tea party? The opening of The Cottage Cafe and Tea Room in Central run by Loretta Foreman, who owned Country Emporium until 2012 is a welcome addition for tea lovers in the Baton Rouge area.

The Cottage Cafe and Tea Room served four types of sandwiches with "The Queen's Tea," along with a few mini quiches.

Our Queen's Tea included two scones, a cup of gumbo (we're still in Louisiana and not the U.K. after all), four tea sandwiches, two mini quiches and two mini desserts. The Earl Grey cream tea was delicious, and the staff kindly refilled pot after pot for us. Foreman and her granddaughter run the shop together, and Foreman told us they wanted it to feel like you're at somebody's house, enjoying an afternoon together. We hope they don't mind frequent house guests.

The Cottage Cafe and Tea Room, 10443 Joor Road, Baton Rouge, 70818. (225) 478-2766.

The Cottage Cafe and Tea Room is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Reservations are required for lunch, and high tea is served on weekends only and requires reservations one day in advance. Afternoon tea is available without reservations from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. (Andrea Gallo, staff writer)

If you've never had pho, a Vietnamese soup with meat, herbs and rice noodles, this is a great place to try it. And if you're a pho-lover like me, it's a a prime candidate to become your go-to.

A bowl of steak pho from Bao Vietnamese Kitchen in Baton Rouge.

Each week we'll highlights the best eats and events in metro Baton Rouge. Sign up today.

The bone broth is some of the most intensely flavorful liquid you're likely to find anywhere. It's a top-notch meal anytime, but it's a particularly sublime meal if you're ever feeling under the weather. A lage bowl is exactly the right amount of food to leave you stuffed but satisfied.

Try it with a salted lemonade for a "fire and ice" contrast.

Bao Vietnamese Kitchen, 8342 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge, 70810. (225) 960-1293. Bao is open Monday-Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and is closed on Sunday. (Matthew Albright, assistant metro editor)

Pork schnitzel at City Pork

Confession: I was not the one who ordered the pork schnitzel. That wise human would be my husband, who 28-years-into-marriage understands what will happen when he makes the better menu choice than I do. Fortunately, he is a generous soul -- as that panko breaded pork cutlet, brown bacon gravy, creamy orzo and pickled redcabbagewere delicious.

City Pork's pork schnitzel is served with creamy orzo and pickled red cabbage.

The schnitzel itself was thin and crispy. The gravy was good, and I loved the pickled red cabbage (a throwback to the amazing sauerkraut I developed a taste for during the time I lived in Slovakia). In fact, the red cabbage dish was more similar to Eastern European sauerkraut than any I've had outside of...Eastern Europe. All that said, the creamy orzo (which I would describe as an orzo risotto) was the star of the show.

The contrast between the crisp schnitzel, the tangy cabbage and the creamy orzo created high perfect-bite potential. Most of my favorite meals are centered around getting the right ratio of different flavors and textures in a single bite. City Pork's schnitzel is an excellent opportunity to do just that. The only problem was I didn't get many chances -- since it was my husband's plate. If you're curious, I ordered the BLT, a personal favorite. It was good, but I like mine with a significant slathering of Duke's mayo and just the right dash of oil and vinegar, salt and pepper. Fortunately for me, my husband knows just how I my BLTs -- and makes them for me to welcome summer. Sufficeth to say, next time we go to City Pork, we'll both be ordering the schnitzel.

City Pork has two locations. 7327 Jefferson Highway (225) 615-8880 and 18143 Perkins Road E (225) 998-0744. Check individual locations for hours. (Jan Risher, features editor)

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The Queen's Tea, steak pho and pork schnitzel: Best things we ate this week - The Advocate

The trash situation will get a revamp ahead of next years Oak Bay Tea Party, says lead sorter Noreen Taylor.

Every year during the largest public event in the community, a small team of volunteers sorts each piece of trash into four categories compost, soft plastic, hard plastic and garbage headed for the landfill. This year there were roughly equal amounts, seven bags of each.

They were almost equal, but I believe three-quarters of it is garbage, Taylor said, fearing many plastics they sorted into recycling may have been too dirty. For example, a coffee cup, lid and sleeve each go in a different bag and all three can be ruined by an ice cream cone or half-full mustard container dumped on top.

RELATED: Heading to Oak Bay Tea Party? Dont be a litter bug

Rainy weather didnt help this year, Taylor said, noting their piles included bags of soggy, dirty clothing. As always, dirty diapers topped the list of trash.

With no way to close the venue to outside trash, Taylor believes the event may never achieve zero waste. She approves all vendors on-site to have compostable containers and cutlery, but all outside food appeared to have some form of non-compostable element.

Taylor plans to work with municipal staff to review the methodology ahead of the 2023 party.

Were going to look at how we can upgrade or adapt our recycling efforts, Taylor said, noting things have evolved even since the last Tea Party in 2019. Theres more products out there that are more complicated to recycle, more involved to recycle.

c.vanreeuwyk@blackpress.ca

oak bayRecycling

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Wet weather fouls up Oak Bay Tea Party trash sorters - Oak Bay News

Some of Colorados most prominent Republicans started tearing their hair out last week.

Just as theyd warned, Democrats had stepped into the void left by the GOPs relatively quiet and low-spending candidates for governor and U.S. senator.

On June 8, the day voters began receiving primary ballots in the mail and just under three weeks before deadline to return them on June 28, voters woke up to a pair of TV ads that seemed to be in heavy rotation on nearly every channel.

At first glance, they appeared to be attack ads, sternly advising voters that gubernatorial candidate Greg Lopez and U.S. Senate candidate Ron Hanks were too conservative for Colorado after listing some of their hardline positions, including opposition to abortion and gun control and support for former President Donald Trumps border wall.

The tell came in the disclaimer at the end of the ads, most obviously in the ad targeting Hanks: Paid for by Democratic Colorado, the narrator said.

Lopez, who came in third in the 2018 primary for governor, is running against Heidi Ganahl, a University of Colorado regent, with the winner facing Gov. Jared Polis in the general election. Hanks and construction company CEO Joe ODea, a first-time candidate, are vying for the chance to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet.

As details about the massive TV and digital ad buys emerged in the neighborhood of $1 million a week for each ad campaign it became clear that Democrats were attempting the political move pioneered by Missouri former U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, the Democrat who spent heavily in the 2012 Republican primary for her seat and succeeded in pushing the furthest-right candidate across the finish line.

Amid what could be an ideal environment for the states GOP to stage a comeback after nearly two decades on the ropes, GOP strategists are concerned the partys most reliable primary voters could sink the partys hopes of retaking some of the offices lost in the last several cycles, when Democrats won every statewide race and took firm control of both chambers of the General Assembly.

Some Colorado Republicans with long memories fear a replay of the 2010 general election, when the states electorate bucked the Republican tsunami that washed over most of the rest of the country in the last Democratic presidents first midterm election.

That year, Democrats spent around $500,000 to hammer the Republican frontrunner for the open governors seat, Scott McInnis, a former congressman from the Western Slope, for a burgeoning plagiarism scandal. McInnis barely lost the nomination to political newcomer Dan Maes, a tea party candidate, whose own scandals soon engulfed his campaign, nearly costing Colorado Republicans major-party status in the state when Maes received just 11% of the vote after former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo ran on a third-party ticket. Then-Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper won the first of two terms as governor against the divided field.

By most measures fundraising, endorsements, national support Ganahl and ODea have been the leading candidates in their respective primaries this year, though Lopez and Hanks made the ballot by winning the approval of delegates to the Republican state assembly and have pitched their bids as the partys grassroots taking on the the more moderate, establishment candidates.

Its an ideal environment for interlopers to push the under-resourced underdogs to the partys base, who might not otherwise grasp the sharp distinctions between the primary candidates without the help of more advertising than their rivals can afford.

Both parties have attempted the maneuver over the last dozen years in Colorado, though the scale and scope of the Democrats intervention in this years Republican primaries are unprecedented.

In part, thats because Ganahl and ODea have only been on their air with modest ad buys, if at all, leaving an opening for the Democrats ads to dominate.

Also last week, a series of anonymous mailers began landing in mailboxes belonging to likely Republican primary voters purporting to contrast Hanks and ODea, highlighting Hanks rock-ribbed conservative positions with ODeas less doctrinaire record, including making campaign donations to Democrats including Bennet and voicing support for the infrastructure package signed last year by President Joe Biden.

A few days later, ads paid for by the Democrats House Majority PAC, a committee aligned with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, began running similar TV ads tagging Lori Saine, one of four GOP candidates running in the states new, 8th Congressional District, as way too conservative for Colorado. The ad even touched on the same issues as the ads aimed at Lopez and Hanks: her support for Trumps border wall and opposition to abortion and gun control.

Like Ganahl and Hanks, Saines Republican rivals roundly condemned Democrats attempts to push primary voters her way, while the ads sponsors counter they are instead taking to the airwaves and cable channels to educate voters on just how conservative the Republicans are.

ODea swung back quickly with a 60-second radio ad blasting Democrats for trying to hijack the Republican nomination for Ron Hanks because they know they can beat him in the general election. To bolster its message, the ad included clips from pundits describing Hanks as absolutely unelectable in a statewide race in Colorado.

A week after the ads started, ODea filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission over the mailers that compared his record and Hanks on hot-button issues. He also sought an injunction in federal court to prohibit further distribution of the fliers and asked prosecutors to consider filing criminal charges over what he maintains are factual errors in the brochures.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee hit the caps-lock key and scolded Democrats for revealing their historic weakness by spending big in Colorados REPUBLICAN Senate primary to try and stir up drama.

Two years earlier, the NRSC did the same thing in Colorados Democratic Senate primary, though without causing as much of a stir or successfully advancing their preferred candidates to the general election.

First, early in the race to pick a Democrat to run against Republican Cory Gardner, the Republicans publicized a billboard it designed that called one of the Democratic Senate candidates, former congressional nominee Stephany Rose Spaulding, too liberal for Colorado. The outdoor ad pictured Spaulding alongside progressive hero U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the New Yorker known as AOC, and her fellow Squad member U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.

After Hickenlooper ended a brief presidential run and jumped into the crowded Senate race a few months later, the NRSC hired a high-tech mobile billboard to circle the venue where AOC was scheduled to headline the Boulder Democrats annual dinner. The Republicans illuminated, three-sided sign and coordinated, geographically targeted Facebook ads drew attention to similarities between AOC and Andrew Romanoff, one of the more outspoken liberals in the Senate field, declaring Romanoff & AOC One and the Same! and AOC & Andrews Agenda Medicare for all, Green New Deal, stricter gun control.

As the 2018 Senate primary neared, the NRSC took the unusual step of airing negative ads attacking Hickenlooper, who was facing Romanoff in the primary. Simply educating the voters about one of Gardners potential opponents, the Republicans said.

One ad featured Gardner who shared the cost of the ad hammering Hickenlooper over remarks hed made while still a presidential candidate, expressing his reluctance to run for the Senate. I dont think Im cut out for that, Hickenlooper said as Gardner frowned.

The other NRSC ad focused on recent findings by Colorados Independent Ethics Commission that Hickenlooper had violated a state gift ban by accepting two private plane rides when he was governor. The commission also found him in contempt after he defied a subpoena to testify at a hearing in the matter and fined him $2,750 the largest fine the commission had issued at that point.

Hickenlooper won the primary weeks later and went on to defeat Gardner in the November election.

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Parties have a history of playing in each other's primaries in Colorado - Colorado Springs Gazette