Rubio Dismisses Tea Party Caucus As A 'Little Club'

I'm not shocked that Sen. Marco Rubio used the Tea Party to get elected and now has no use for the movement. In a radio interview, Rubio called the Senate Tea Party Caucus a "little club" run by Washington insiders. Say what you will about Rand Paul but I would hardly describe the newly elected Senator as part of the Beltway elite. Paul is talking about cutting foreign aid to Israel. That isn't going to win him friends in either party.

RUBIO: Now, specifically about the Tea Party Caucus, the concern that I've expressed, is that what I think gives the Tea Party its strength and its legitimacy in the American political movement of everyday Americans. ... 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. Basically, the media will jump on that and start paying attention to that instead of the grassroots movement which is really what has given the tea party its voice. ... I don't want us to anything that changes its grassroots nature.

That is utter bullshit. How long would the Republican Party last if they had no elected representatives, made no policy and only spent time waving signs in the air. The GOP will die. Rubio doesn't want any part of the Tea Party because he has never been comfortable with the movement.

But the typically unflappable candidate seemed uncomfortable with the French reporter's questions about his tea party ties, as he did when an admirer asked him to autograph a tea party banner.

Rubio started speaking at Tea Party events when Charlie Crist was killing him in fundraising and in the polls. Rubio's prospects improved because the Tea Party events allowed Rubio to deliver his message to a conservative audience. Rubio seldomly spoke at Tea Party events once his profile increased. Like other politicians, Rubio played his voters and ditched them. If the Tea Party is still around in 2016 (which I doubt), Rubio will once again professed his love of people who carry misspelled signs and have tea bags hanging from their hats.