This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/26/republican-dick-armey-tea-party-coup
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Republican Dick Armey 'stages armed coup' at Tea Party organisation | Republican Dick Armey 'stages armed coup' at Tea Party organisation |
| (4 months later) | |
| A former top Republican, his wife, and an armed aide reportedly staged a coup in the Washington office of one of the Tea Party's biggest backers amid fears that the organisation was being hijacked by fellow conservatives, it emerged Wednesday. The news comes amid growing signs of disarray in the once powerful grassroots movement. | A former top Republican, his wife, and an armed aide reportedly staged a coup in the Washington office of one of the Tea Party's biggest backers amid fears that the organisation was being hijacked by fellow conservatives, it emerged Wednesday. The news comes amid growing signs of disarray in the once powerful grassroots movement. |
| Dick Armey, former head of the Tea Party-affiliated FreedomWorks, was ousted in September with an $8m payoff. At the time he told Associated Press "my differences with FreedomWorks are a matter of principle" and that other board members had urged him not to leave until after the 6 November election. | Dick Armey, former head of the Tea Party-affiliated FreedomWorks, was ousted in September with an $8m payoff. At the time he told Associated Press "my differences with FreedomWorks are a matter of principle" and that other board members had urged him not to leave until after the 6 November election. |
| But the Washington Post painted a far more fractious picture of his departure. According to its report, Armey, a former majority leader of the House of Representatives, walked into the FreedomWorks' Capitol Hill offices with his wife, Susan, and a gun-toting aide. The assistant, with a handgun holstered on his waistband, escorted FreedomWorks' top two employees off the premises, while Armey suspended several others. | But the Washington Post painted a far more fractious picture of his departure. According to its report, Armey, a former majority leader of the House of Representatives, walked into the FreedomWorks' Capitol Hill offices with his wife, Susan, and a gun-toting aide. The assistant, with a handgun holstered on his waistband, escorted FreedomWorks' top two employees off the premises, while Armey suspended several others. |
| Armey, 72, who wears a black cowboy hat even when he's not on his Texas ranch, co-authored the bestselling book Give Us Liberty: A Tea Party Manifesto with fellow FreedomWorks staffer Matt Kibbe. But the pair had an apparent falling out, with Kibbe among the people escorted out of the office. According to the Post, the coup lasted six days before Armey himself was defenestrated with a huge financial pay-off. | Armey, 72, who wears a black cowboy hat even when he's not on his Texas ranch, co-authored the bestselling book Give Us Liberty: A Tea Party Manifesto with fellow FreedomWorks staffer Matt Kibbe. But the pair had an apparent falling out, with Kibbe among the people escorted out of the office. According to the Post, the coup lasted six days before Armey himself was defenestrated with a huge financial pay-off. |
| FreedomWorks was one of the driving forces behind the Tea Party movement, helping right wing candidates sweep to power in the 2010 mid-term elections and organising massive rallies with conservative media stars like Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh. Its influence is still being felt in Washington, where Tea Party Republicans are stalling any deal on the fiscal cliff budget crisis by refusing to pass any deal that raises taxes. | FreedomWorks was one of the driving forces behind the Tea Party movement, helping right wing candidates sweep to power in the 2010 mid-term elections and organising massive rallies with conservative media stars like Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh. Its influence is still being felt in Washington, where Tea Party Republicans are stalling any deal on the fiscal cliff budget crisis by refusing to pass any deal that raises taxes. |
| But the movement itself was dealt a hefty blow by its failure to overturn President Barack Obama's healthcare legislation and then by his election victory. The number of people who identify as Tea Party members has declined dramatically since 2010 when the movement inspired massive rallies and became a focus for anger over government bailouts, federal spending, Obama's election and his healthcare proposals. According to an AP GfK poll, the number of people who identified as Tea Party members was in the low to mid-30% in 2010 and through the summer of 2011 and fell to 24% before Obama's re-election, the last time the poll was conducted. | But the movement itself was dealt a hefty blow by its failure to overturn President Barack Obama's healthcare legislation and then by his election victory. The number of people who identify as Tea Party members has declined dramatically since 2010 when the movement inspired massive rallies and became a focus for anger over government bailouts, federal spending, Obama's election and his healthcare proposals. According to an AP GfK poll, the number of people who identified as Tea Party members was in the low to mid-30% in 2010 and through the summer of 2011 and fell to 24% before Obama's re-election, the last time the poll was conducted. |
| Tea Party candidates, many backed by $40m in spending from FreedomWorks, suffered significant losses in the 2012 election. Among its high profile losers was Todd Akin, whose bid for the Senate was derailed after he suggested during a TV appearance that "legitimate rape" rarely leads to pregnancy. | Tea Party candidates, many backed by $40m in spending from FreedomWorks, suffered significant losses in the 2012 election. Among its high profile losers was Todd Akin, whose bid for the Senate was derailed after he suggested during a TV appearance that "legitimate rape" rarely leads to pregnancy. |
| Steve Bell of Washington-based thinktank The Bipartisan Policy Center said it was true that the Tea Party's profile was in decline as a movement but that its influence remained. "They have had their day at the grassroots level, there's no doubt about that," he said. "At the same time Republicans in a primary vote fear a challenge from the right far more than form a Democrat. Success in the party has consistently gone to the candidate who is the 'most conservative'." | Steve Bell of Washington-based thinktank The Bipartisan Policy Center said it was true that the Tea Party's profile was in decline as a movement but that its influence remained. "They have had their day at the grassroots level, there's no doubt about that," he said. "At the same time Republicans in a primary vote fear a challenge from the right far more than form a Democrat. Success in the party has consistently gone to the candidate who is the 'most conservative'." |
| Bell said the Tea Party was fracturing and was now likely to concentrate of local battles as its national profile declines. But he said its influence would continue to be felt by a Republican party still being pushed further to the right, even after its election defeat. | Bell said the Tea Party was fracturing and was now likely to concentrate of local battles as its national profile declines. But he said its influence would continue to be felt by a Republican party still being pushed further to the right, even after its election defeat. |
| guardian.co.uk today is our daily snapshot of the top news stories, sent to your inbox at 8am |