UPDATE: Rehberg Joins the Tea Party Caucus

By Kellyn Brown, 7-22-10

	Caption: Tea Party demonstrators at Depot Park in downtown Kalispell. - File photo by Lido Vizzutti/Flathead Beacon

While I haven’t seen an official announcement from his office, it appears Montana’s lone Congressman Denny Rehberg is now part of the newly formed Tea Party Caucus.

His name is included on a list, located on Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann’s website, of members who have officially joined the caucus. Bachmann, the chairwoman of the caucus, launched the group “to bring members’ attention to the cries of everyday Americans who are asking got a return to the fundamental principles contained within out nation’s greatest document, the Constitution.”

Bachmann was already a star among the Tea Party, often speaking at rallies in support of its efforts. And Rehberg, at a “listening session” in Polson earlier this month, reiterated his support for the group, saying, “When people ask me what I think about the tea party I say I love them, because they're a reflection of a society that is saying enough is enough."

According to Bachmann’s website, 40 members of Congress have joined the Tea Party Caucus so far.

UPDATE: Rehberg sent over this statement:

“While progressive interest groups have made disparaging and disingenuous claims about the TEA Parties, they have done so from the safety and security of their Washington, D.C. headquarters. If you refuse to get out and actually listen to what people are saying, it’s easy to mistake the voter frustration for irrational extremism. That mistake lets you discount it completely. But if you’re not frustrated about where this Congress has taking us, you’re not paying attention. Frustration is the rational reaction when a government of the People begins crafting legislation in secret, ignoring public opposition and passing bills in the dead of the night. It’s the rational reaction when the federal government blows through $1 trillion for a ‘so-called’ Stimulus that actually hurts job growth while racking up $13 trillion on the taxpayer’s credit card, saddling every man woman and child in America with more than $40,000 in debt. You don’t have to be an extremist to participate in the TEA Party, and most of those who participate in Montana are folks who are rightly frustrated by where Nancy Pelosi is taking their country.”

[End of article]