Michael Steele, Dick Armey unite on health care opposition
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele will join forces with one of the key leaders of the Tea Party movement next week in an effort to put the brakes on the Democratic health care reform bill.
Steele and former House Majority Leader Dick Armey will hold a joint press conference call on Monday morning to discuss efforts by both the RNC and the conservative grassroots to stop health care reform.
The call will be the first joint effort between Steele and the tea party movement – which Republican candidates have been trying to court since the widespread anti-tax rallies in April that launched the populist uprising.
“The two have connected on the matters of this health care bill,” said an RNC source.
Communication between the two groups has been tricky, as the RNC cannot be seen as contributing funds to or coordinating with an outside group, though both Steele and Armey have been speaking for some time.
The Republican Governors Association has also tried to capitalize on the Tea Party movement – hosting tele-town halls with governors popular in the tea party crowd and on subjects important to the anti-tax protestors.
Through his group FreedomWorks, Armey has helped organize anti-tax rallies across the country and facilitated the massive protest outside the Capitol on September 12. Until now, the group had kept its distance from Republicans as the movement has expressed deep frustration with both parties.
Steele and fellow Republicans on Capitol Hill have tried to tap into that energy by organizing their own tea party protests, the latest of which occurred earlier this week.
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Sources: Politico, RNC, TPM, Youtube, Google Maps
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