Tea

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TAMPA, Fla. - When Mitt Romney accepts the Republican nomination for president Thursday night, Rep. Mo Brooks plans to be in the hall, unlike most of his fellow freshmen in the influential tea party class in the House, who skipped the convention. The former prosecutor and state lawmaker had considered sticking to the campaign trail in his northern Alabama district, where he is running for reelection, but decided the stakes were too high to stay away. "It's a historic event, perhaps one of the last chances we have to save our country," Brooks said.

TAMPA, Fla. - Defeated Republican presidential candidates Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain told a Tea Party Unity rally here Sunday night that the conservative movement they championed in the primary election season has lost none of its power and will be fully engaged in the fall campaign to defeat President Obama. Bachmann told the rally of about 1,200 tea party activists gathered at the River Church  that they had “already won” by forcing the Republican Party to adhere closely to the activists' goals of small government and reduced taxes.

The Republican Party has ridden ideological, anti-government fervor to a number of victories, particularly in the 2010 midterm election. But the political dangers created by the free-wheeling, anti-authoritarian movement have come into full view in the person of rogue U.S. Senate candidate Todd Akin. Most traditional GOP nominees who made a giant blunder - as Akin did Sunday with his foolish comments about how “legitimate rape” seldom makes women pregnant - would find it hard to resist the barrage of calls from Republican Party major-domos to give up their candidacies.

U.S. Rep. Todd Akin of Missouri won the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill, a vulnerable incumbent whose seat is key to GOPhopes for taking control of the chamber. A six-term congressman, Akin edged out former state Treasurer Sarah Steelman and businessman John Brunner in a tight race that divided tea party activists. But Akin may have gotten the key boost from an unlikely figure: McCaskill. Preferring to square off against a candidate with his own record in Washington, McCaskill helped generate enthusiasm for Akin when she aired an ad branding him “Missouri's true conservative.” Akin had been endorsed by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Mitt Romney stumped for tea party Senate candidate Richard Mourdock here on Saturday, arguing that as president he will need such supporters in Washington to help him enact policies to restore fiscal order. “You know, we've got to get this guy elected in the U.S. Senate, you know that. He has proven as the treasurer that he knows how to he makes sure to balance books. He's also proven as a campaigner that he can take his message to the people of Indiana, they'll support him. This is a man that I want to see in Washington to make sure that we cannot just talk about changing things but actually have the votes to get things change,” Romney told about 100 supporters gathered in Stepto's Bar-B-Q Shack. “Will you help me elect this guy as the next U.S. senator?

WASHINGTON - As a resurgent tea party takes a victory lap with Ted Cruz's win in the Texas GOP runoff for Senate, a top Democrat offered a different take. Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the chairman of her party's campaign efforts in the Senate, shrugged off the all-but-certain election of Cruz over the Democratic contender this fall in ruby red Texas. “It's more of their problem than ours,” Murray told reporters at a morning briefing. With his hard-charging approach, Cruz is expected to join the growing ranks of tea party stalwarts in the Senate - making the Republican Party in that chamber look increasingly like the conservative majority across the Capitol in the House.

WASHINGTON - In a long-shot victory that could help define the conservative tilt of the Senate, tea-party-backed Ted Cruz defeated an establishment Republican on Tuesday in the hard-fought GOP primary runoff in Texas. The outcome is not expected to tip the balance of power in the Senate, which is controlled by the Democrats; the Texas seat being vacated is already held by a Republican. But Cruz's win over Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst provides another example of the tea party movement's influence on voters and turnout - even for a candidate who has never held elected office.

If ABC News does fire Brian Ross, he could always find a job working for Aaron Sorkin. Ross, a veteran investigative reporter for ABC News, blew it Friday morning when he suggested that the Aurora, Colo., shooting suspect, Jim Holmes, might be connected with the "tea party. " "There is a Jim Holmes of Aurora, Colorado, page on the Colorado tea party site as well. Talking about him joining the tea party last year. Now, we don't know if this the same Jim Holmes," Ross ominously informed "Good Morning America"host George Stephanopoulos, who thought the news "might be significant.

Peet's Coffee & Tea Inc., the Bay Area-based cafe chain, is going private for $977.6 million - but it's not being sold to Starbucks, its giant Seattle rival. Instead, German conglomerate Joh. A. Benckiser will shell out $73.50 a share to buy the Emeryville company, paying a 29% premium on Friday's $57.16 closing price. Peet's had just under 200 stores as of this spring. Last spring, Peet's and Starbucks were rumored to be in talks to combine in an effort to boost both brands' presence in grocery stores.