Has Marco Rubio Betrayed the Tea Party?

This is an extremely disturbing development if true. All over the country, Republican primaries are being moved up. One such state is Florida, the home state of Tea Party favorite, Senator Marco Rubio. Florida's primary has been moved up to January 31st, from March. There has been an easily understood school of thought that says the moving up of primaries will benefit one candidate more than any other - Mitt Romney. Robert Stacy McCain is reporting that Marco Rubio's chief of staff worked hard behind the scenes to do just that.

Via The Other McCain:

Yet while the moderate Republican faction in Tallahassee was immediately blamed for the primary date-switch, only insiders knew that a key factor was a push from inside the staff of the Tea Party’s own 2010 hero, Sen. Marco Rubio. GOP sources in Washington and Florida say that Rubio’s senatorial chief of staff, Cesar Conda, has been a major force in persuading Florida Republicans to move their primary to January.

“Cesar used to be with Romney’s campaign,” one informed source explained to me in an interview today, adding: “Conda used his contacts to push the primary to the 31st because they want Romney in.”

Conda’s loyalty to Romney was highlighted in a Politico story by Scott Wong last week: “At least six past and current Rubio Senate aides, including chief of staff Cesar Conda and his deputy, Terry Sullivan, worked for Romney’s 2008 presidential bid, establishing a direct link and a line of communication between the front-runner for the 2012 GOP nomination and the front-runner in the Republican veepstakes. There’s also a trail of fundraisers, donors and consultants who have overlapping relationships with Rubio and Romney.”

If this is true, Rubio will have quite a mess on his hands and be reduced to having two choices. 1.) Conda is relieved of his duties or 2.) Conda remains on board and Rubio risks being branded a Tea Party Benedict Arnold.

The other person to watch is Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) who is not only known as Senator Tea Party but went to the wall in order to make sure Rubio got elected.

McCain also explains the rationale behind Rubio's guys aggressively benefiting Romney with these shady tactics:

Some have speculated that, by delivering Florida for Romney, Conda would not only help Romney lock up the 2012 presidential nomination, but also secure the 2012 vice-presidential pick for Rubio.

Some may say this is just politics as normal but Rubio has been the quintessential poster child for a movement that at its core, rejects this type of thing.

If true, see which one of these two represents Marco Rubio:



h/t Hot Air

Breaking Video: CNN Asks Relevant Question about Fast and Furious

This exchange is very significant for multiple reasons. First, CNN has stumbled onto a relevant point with respect to Fast and Furious, one that those of us who have been following for a while now, have been demanding be answered. Attorney General Eric Holder said on May 3rd that the first time he learned about Fast and Furious was 'a few weeks' earlier. However, while in Mexico around March 22nd, Barack Obama discussed the operation with at least two separate interviewers (CNN and Univision). Extending Holder a full helping of grace means that he doesn't know the difference between 'few' and 'several.'

The second reason this is important has to do with questioning from Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) at that May 3rd hearing. Chaffetz asked Holder if he knew about Fast and Furious before Obama did. Holder answered in the affirmative (video at bottom).

The third reason this becomes significant is the response of the man CNN's John King is interviewing. It is Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), who is the ranking member of Darrell Issa's House Oversight committee. Cummings looks like a deer in the headlights when asked to explain the disparity and eventually concedes that they need to get to the bottom of it. If Holder and Obama somehow lose Cummings, it will be huge. Consider, though, that Cummings is registered with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) caucus so he is accustomed to lying without conscience. Nonetheless, he could be about to break. A primary challenge would help tremendously.

Via Breitbart:



Watch Eric Holder on May 3rd, tell Rep. Jason Chaffetz he learned of Fast and Furious before Obama (within first minute):

Video Beautificousness: Tea Party Puts Anarchist Icon on Defense

As the Occupy Wall Street bums begin to run out of gas - largely because they can't clean up after themselves (let alone clean themselves) - 1960's radical icon Frances Fox Piven ran into a bit of a Tea Party buzz saw at one of the least likely places - a college campus. Symbolically, this is quite significant. The Obama administration seems to be following the Cloward-Piven strategy to a tee. In essence, anarchy is created by overwhelming the entitlement system with obligations it cannot meet. Here, Piven whips out the race card while referring to the Tea Party at Messiah College. Unfortunately for Piven, she wasn't expecting to hear a Tea Party rebuke from the audience.

Remember, when applying the Alinsky model, it is imperative that participants enjoy what they're doing, that opponents are sufficiently bullied into submission. When this doesn't happen, the model breaks down. That's what makes this so significant. In the context of this exchange, it may not mean much. In the bigger picture, however, Piven is a virtual icon of the left wing movement today. This was an extremely significant occurrence in that respect. Fireworks start at the 1:30 mark when Piven says the Tea Party didn't like the idea of a 'black president.'

Via MRCTV:



This set up a question from someone in the audience in which Piven was asked to explain the rise of Herman Cain in light of her premise that the Tea Party has a problem with the idea of a black president. In typical heads-I-win-tails-you-lose fashion, Piven asserts that Cain 'dilutes the suspicion.' Translation: Herman Cain's rise is a Tea Party conspiracy. Note, however, that Piven modulates her position a bit when pressed:



Piven then comes full circle and gives the Tea Party legitimacy as a movement while asserting that she hopes it's not the 'only important movement in American society.' This is significant because it reveals a sense of doubt that the left may not have an answer for the Tea Party. Days later, the Occupy Wall Street movement appears to be winding down.



h/t Weasel Zippers