Former vice presidential candidate and current Fox News contributor Sarah Palin said last night that the Republican Party should merge with tea partiers.
Fox's Greta Van Susteren asked if tea party candidates would end up siphoning votes from GOP nominees, or if the movement will "merge with the Republican Party."
"They need to merge," Palin said. "Definitely, they need to merge. I think those who are wanting the divisions and the divisiveness and the controversy -- those are the ones who don't believe in the message. And they're the ones, I think, stirring it up."
As we've reported at TPMmuckraker, the tea party movement has been increasingly divided. Much of the friction has been over the national tea party convention to be held in Nashville. Critics say the convention, with its expensive tickets and for-profit organizer, doesn't jive with true tea party values. Yesterday, we reported that Reps. Michele Bachmann and Martha Blackburn have dropped out.
Palin, whose speaking fees are rumored to be around $100,000, told Van Susteren she is still on for the convention. "You betcha," she said.
On the divisiveness, she continued, "We need to ignore that and we need to forge ahead with a cohesive message. It's a common sense message. It, again, is, Government, limit yourself so that the private sector, our families, free individuals can grow and thrive and prosper and enjoy America's freedom!"
As for whether the tea partiers want to merge with Republicans, that's a different story.
