Washington (CNN) - The Democratic National Committee Wednesday is expected to roll out what they term a "major initiative" that will try to define Republicans as outside the political mainstream. A DNC source tells CNN that committee chairman Tim Kaine and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the DNC's vice-chairman, as well as several other members of Congress, will introduce what they call the "Republican-Tea Party Contract With America."
It's part of a strategy by the White House and the Democratic party to define the upcoming midterm elections a choice for voters, between what they say are the polices of President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats that are moving the country forward, compared to the failed policies of the GOP. Republicans hope to make November's contests a referendum on the Obama agenda, which they say is taking the country down the wrong path.
"The Tea Party is now the most potent force in Republican politics and with the recent launch of the Tea Party Caucus on Capitol Hill garnering the support of Republican leaders like NRCC Chair Pete Sessions and Republican Caucus Chair Mike Pence – the Tea Party is now an institutionalized part of the Republican party," says the DNC source.
The source says with that in mind, the DNC will unveil a ten point blue print on how they claim the "Republican-Tea Party" would govern if they reclaim the majority in Congress in the midterm elections.
"There is a key difference between hearing voters and listening to voters. All of America saw Arlen Specter and Claire McCaskill get an earful from voters last August, but it's clear they and other Democrats did not listen to voters anger, ignoring jobs while passing a health care bill the voters did not want. That, combined with President Obama's "how low can they go?" poll numbers, point to strong pickups for the GOP in November," Republican National Committee spokesman Doug Heye told CNN, in responding to the new DNC push.
The year-and-a-half old Tea Party movement, which calls for lower taxes, a smaller federal government, and less intrusion by Washington in the lives of Americans, has added energy to the conservative movement and has already had an impact in Republican party politics in this year's primaries.
A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation national survey indicates that 47 percent of Americans consider the views and polices of the Tea Party as too extreme, with 43 percent saying the views are in the mainstream. According to the survey, 43 percent of the public considers the views and polices of the Democratic party as too extreme and 39 percent say they feel the same way about the Republican party.
