Newsmax.com: ABC, Ross Under Withering Fire for Tea Party Link to Shooting

ABC came under increasing fire Friday after claiming that alleged theater shooter James Holmes had ties to the tea party.

Reporter Brian Ross made the shocking accusation on "Good Morning America" after discovering the Colorado Tea Party Patriots had a member called James Holmes.

Ross admitted on air that he did not know whether the two men were the same, but still went ahead with his claim that the tragedy in Aurora in which 12 people were killed and 59 injured could be linked to the grassroots group.

ABC later apologized online and Ross tweeted, "Earlier I reported incorrectly that the shooting suspect might be tied to the Tea Party. I apologize for the mistake,” but those two statements would have been seen by just a fraction of the number of people who watched his original report.

Conservatives were joined by journalism groups in attacking Ross. In an article entitled "Well, It Might Be the Same Guy," Rem Rieder, editor of the American Journalism Review was scathing.

"What was he thinking?" wrote Reider. "How could Brian Ross, ABC's chief investigative correspondent, make such a ridiculous mistake?

"If you don't know, how in the world can you think it's a good idea to 'report' it on network television as the nation tries to come to terms with another mass murder. And why? Why would you do it?" asked Rieder, who described Ross' error as "yet another blow to the reeling credibility of the news media."

Tea party groups wer furious at Ross' link. Tea Party Express chairman Amy Kremer was left fuming. “This was completely irresponsible on behalf of ABC News, but clearly shows their lack of journalistic integrity,” she told Newsmax.

“Although they have issued a retraction, the seed has been planted. Once again, they show their malice towards the tea party movement and their agenda of wanting to tear us down.

Read more on Newsmax.com: ABC, Ross Under Withering Fire for Tea Party Link to Shooting
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Newsmax - Pat Buchanan: Tea Party GOP Chairman in NH May Be Harbinger of 2012

By Hiram Reisner

New Hampshire Republicans’ pick of a tea party-style candidate as GOP chairman could foretell the winner of the state’s presidential primary. Speaking on MSNBC’s “Hardball with Chris Matthews,” Pat Buchanan said Monday that the choice of Jack Kimball could be a positive sign for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin or a conservative alternative.

“Is this good news, the fact that the Republican Party in New Hampshire is now a tea party organization?” Matthews said. “Is it good for Palin?"

Analyst Pat Buchanan

Buchanan responded: “It’s good for Palin.”

“The populist conservative is always strong in New Hampshire if you can clear the rest of the field, which we failed to do,” said Buchanan, an MSNBC political analyst and 1996 GOP presidential candidate. He won the New Hampshire primary that year, inching past former Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan. “I beat him [Dole] by one point, but Forbes was in there.”

Kimball, a former gubernatorial candidate, beat businesswoman Juliana Bergeron, a county leader who had the backing of state party leaders, Saturday for a two-year term to lead New Hampshire’s GOP.

Read more on Newsmax.com: Pat Buchanan: Tea Party GOP Chairman in NH May Be Harbinger of 2012

Public Policy Polling Media Alert: Ayotte holds 7 point lead in NH GOP primary

Kelly Ayotte’s had a quite a dramatic fall from PPP’s last poll of the New Hampshire Republican primary for Senate, when she led Ovide Lamontagne by 39 points. But Lamontagne may have run out of time to catch up. Ayotte leads with 37% to 30% for Lamontagne, 13% for Bill Binnie, and 12% for Jim Bender.

If Ayotte survives where many GOP establishment candidates have failed in Senate primaries this year it will be because she managed to be the Tea Party candidate herself. With the third of Republican primary voters who describe themselves as members of that movement she leads Lamontagne 38-37, a contrast to the wallopings folks like Trey Grayson, Sue Lowden, Lisa Murkowski, and likely Mike Castle have received with that group.

Ayotte builds on her running even with the Tea Party folks with a 39-17 lead over Lamontagne with moderate voters. Binnie actually finishes second with that group at 19%.

Although Binnie is best case scenario going to finish a distant third his numbers in this poll say a lot about where the Republican Party is headed. Generally viewed as the moderate candidate in the race, 55% of GOP primary voters have an unfavorable opinion of him to only 26% who see him favorably. That is telling when it comes to the ability of centrists to make their way in Republican primaries this year.

Lamontagne actually has the best net favorability of the candidates at +40 (56/16), followed by Ayotte at +29 (56/27), and Bender at +23 (42/19).

Lamontagne is effectively tapping into voters who think the GOP is too liberal, leading Ayotte 48-28 with that group. But those folks only account for 30% of the primary electorate and with the 48% who think the party’s ideologically fine she leads 45-28.

Unlike Delaware it may not matter from a general election standpoint who the Republicans nominate in New Hampshire. Numbers we'll release later this week show Ayotte and Lamontagne performing basically the same against Paul Hodes.

This analysis is also available on our blog:

http://publicpolicypolling.blogspot.com/2010/09/ayotte-holding-on.html

Watchdog.org - New Poll Shines Light On Tea Party Movement

News Alert - New Poll Exposes Motivation of Tea Partiers

The Tea Party Revolution has made waves in every community around the nation, including Washington, D.C. But the reason and motivation behind the Tea Party movement has yet to be determined. That is until now. The Sam Adams Alliance, a Chicago-based non-profit group advancing free-market principles, conducted interviews with dozens of leaders in the grassroots movement to see what inspired their participation.

The group surveyed 49 individuals who had organized protests in their communities and conducted in-depth interviews with 10 of them at a conservative leadership training seminar in Dallas in January. The results surprised even Anne Sorock, who was with the group when it began sponsoring protests last year.

Bill McMorris, a writer with the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, spoke to Anne Sorock and did an in depth analysis of their findings.

Bill's article is available on Watchdog.org or by clicking here. 

Tea Party Tops GOP In Latest Poll

From NetRightNation.com:

ALG President Wilson Statement on "Stunning" Rasmussen Tea Party Poll

"The stunning Rasmussen Poll showing the Republican Party finishing a decided third to a hypothetical 'Tea Party' candidate should send shock waves through the GOP. It demonstrates once again that the timid, tepid Republican leadership is leading its party to the brink of disaster. Tens of millions of Americans are looking for strong leadership to stand up to the Obama-Reid-Pelosi leftwing onslaught. Instead, the Republican Party is giving them the same shilly-shally two-step that cost it a majority in Congress, and the Oval Office. Looks like the American people are telling the GOP in no uncertain terms, 'Lead, follow -- or get out of the way.'"

Rasmussen Reports released the following information:

Tea Party Tops GOP on Three-Way Generic Ballot

In a three-way Generic Ballot test, the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds Democrats attracting 36% of the vote. The Tea Party candidate picks up 23%, and Republicans finish third at 18%. Another 22% are undecided.

Democrats 36%

Tea Party 23%

Republicans 18%

Not Sure 22%

Among voters not affiliated with either major party, the Tea Party comes out on top.

For this survey, the respondents were asked to assume that the Tea Party movement organized as a new political party.

Read the story at NetRightNation.com.