all throughout the state we have lad the largest tea party in the state the largest tax day tea party in the nation on april fifteenth. i vote we we have now twenty nine p. parties organize dozens of tea parties mr chairman our grassroots efforts are engaged they're energized and they're ready to fight for their freedom and if you try to raise our taxes and trample on our liberties we're either going to beat you or make your life. i thank. the members flatly deny the charge that they are astroturf the name given to fight grassroots organizations that are essentially corporate fronts it's nonsense that there is no such thing among our our people as astroturfing i'm here with four hundred fifty other people from north carolina and we're all individuals. to find out more about the recent tory sleep publicity shy brothers and their company koch industries i turn to a man who has been investigating them for a number of years diabetes from the environmental group greenpeace koch industries is the company nobody's ever heard of it's the second or first largest private company in this country

movement there's the tea party tell it all way and we're sending a message too. and they see it as a repudiation of the president and his policies. what does it feel like. feels bad . i came to the united states to examine the tea party phenomenon and in particular the accusations that the protesters were pawns in a covert power play by a small group of billionaires and corporate players they're recruiting them to do the bidding of corporate america this is not some corporate sponsored thing these citizens' groups are bogus the media portrays of being backed by some billionaire. person or people who is not here to be twisted his story just like to make it. boom boom boom. was the. moment you have come to kentucky the heart of tea party country it's more than a year before the movement will organize to become a force at the two thousand and ten elections the diverse group of protesters here are united by a combination of anger and patriotism this all american families and militia groups trolling for new members reason for this the so-called bertha's we think is re

sweep and a tea party title away in the biggest one found for either party since nineteen forty eight the new one hundred twelfth congress will feature forty party members a lot of libertarian leaning individuals within that tea party movement especially when it comes to taxes and over regulations band up to this agenda that is taking us in the wrong direction it's a message of. limits your constitutional government in the threats of the excessive government regulation in the out of control rules that washington is because. there's a new day now the republicans took control of the house in november two thousand and ten very anti government agenda in fact one of their agenda items is to you know take out four government agencies like the part of education part of energy to the p.a. when you have politicians elected who want to shut down the government it sets a pretty interesting tone for the debate for me this newfound zeal for the koch's radical free market ideology is the real we have a. of the tape party movement it has nothing to do with people and yield cos trains or waving flags

but i'll give the tea party a tip of the hat. ed the debate and the shape of the republican party. mitt romney had a run to the right. i think somewhat disingenuously to get the report of conservative primary republican voters, but that always been the case. >> let's look the situation the tea party in national polls. they lost support, since the 2010 elections, at a high point. as of november, 2011, 20% say they agree with the tea party movement, one in five. 27% disagree. one year earlier numbers were reversed, 27% of the country agreeing with the tea party, 22 disagreeing. you more closely at 60 congressional district represented by members, they are losing support there. in november, 2011, 25% of voters in those districts agree. that is 1 in 4. 23% disappear, one year earlier, far more agree with the tea party, 30%. matt, if you're eroding in your support nation-wide how can you convince the republican party voters you have the hot hand and should have a tea party favorite as the nominee? >> the tea party as we know is not a p

of the tea party. maybe the two people were angry about it. overall what we've got is a test. does the tea party exist? is the tea party an actual force in the republican party? like everybody has been saying for 2 1/2 years now. or aren't they? a group called national tea party alert.com sent out an e-mail from newt gingrich, it had the subject line, "do you want to stop mitt romney or not." in the e-mail he writes there is no more time for talking about stopping mitt romney, we're going to do it next week in south carolina or he's almost certain to be the republican nominee, whether conservatives like us want it or not. mr. gingrich asks for money to "defeat mitt romney and the republican establishment next week in south carolina." the entire republican establishment is now piling on newt gingrich right now. to try to stop -- to make him stop attacking mitt romney, specifically for mitt romney's business record. don't run the when mitt romney came to town attack ad about his economic record in the pr

i'll give the tea party a tip of the hat. because hat. itt romney had a run to the right. i think somewhat disingenuously to get this report of conservative primary republican voters. but that has always been the case with republican primary elections. >> let's take a look at the tea party in national polls. the tea party has lost support. as of november 2011, 20% say they agree with the tea party movement. that's 1 in 5. 27% disagree. one year earlier, the numbers were reversed with 27% of the country agreeing with the tea party. just 22 disagreeing. when you look more closely at the 60 congressional districts represented by tea party caucus members, the tea party is even losing support there. in november 2011, 25% of voters in those districts agreed. 23% disappear. but one year earlier, far more agree with the tea party. 30%. if you are eroding in your support nationwide, how can you convince the republican party voters that you've got the hot hand and you should have a tea party favorite as the nominee? >> you know, the tea party as we

anymore it's cup but while the tea party is as supposedly grassroots phenomena very much dead the tea party as it really is as a movement founded and funded by millionaires and billionaires to look out for the best interests of millionaires and billionaires is still very much alive and you can find this movement thriving on capitol hill everyone knows that congress is full of millionaires the place is busting at the seams of millionaires practically half of all are a lot makers in washington d.c. are millionaires there are millionaires in the republican party there are millionaires in the democratic party it's millionaires go or looking strictly of perth's personal wealth it's really really hard to find lawmakers who are part of the ninety nine percent in fact the average net worth of democrats in congress is six hundred thirty five thousand dollars. and the average net worth of the progressive caucus with in the democratic party which promotes policies that best represent the ninety nine ninety nine percent is even higher at six hundred thirty nine six hundred thirty nine dollars. to

he's hardly a tea party darling. will the tea party be heard from?et's listen. >> the tea party movement is saying not so fast. you cannot just shove these candidates down our throats and expect us to take it. you know, we're going to be involved in this process. we're going to have a say in the matter. and i think we're going to be influential in what happens next week. >> should the tea party in south carolina stop mitt romney? >> well, there's no question that each voter should have an opportunity to vote their conscience and the tea party represents many of us who believe that we are taxed enough already. we believe in free markets. the question is, is there a one candidate that represents the anti-romney? the answer seems to be no. when you have rick perry, when you have mr. santorum, mr. gingrich all working on the social conservative platform in south carolina, you see there is a divide on the social conservative side and all four candidates are absolutely going after the businessman. so i think it's going to be very difficult for any of us to

tea party folks came in. president obama is like they're recalcitrant and they don't want to do anything. >> bob: they are recalcitrant. you sounded like a tea party person. >> kimberly: here we go. >> bob: the truth is there will be 60 million more people voting in 2012 than 2010. you go back to 2010 as if it is an important milestone or indicator of 2012. it's not. >> why not? >> because people who didn't vote, the republicans had unusually high turn-out in 2010. the democrats were lower. in 2012 -- >> dana: turn-out in both republican primary, in iowa and new hampshire for the republicans was 3% higher than it had been. >> bob: they bragged about a massive turn-out. there was no primary. >> kimberly: let's talk about the allegation that the g.o.p. is playing games. don't play games with my heart. in with the middle class. look at this. >> they will fight with their last breath to tax cut for the poorest of americans but play games with tax cut for the middle class. i guess they thought it was a smart polit

is it tea party versus the establishment or -- >> it is all of the above, because the tea party is really infused the lifeblood in the republican party. they are very important part of our party because their number one issue is the spending and the debt. that's what the faye party cares about and they are reacting against the incredible increase in regulation with obama care, they oppose obama care and the out of control spending and the debt accumulation, that is the tea party and you see the evidence of the tea party in every single debate. they had pushed this debate and framed the debate because their concerns are the one that the candidates are trying to give voice to. >> do you think mitt romney is conservative enough to get tea party voters? >> i truly believe that we will see a coming together of all factions of our party, the tea party ininsurgents as well as the establishment, we are going to come together and we will unify, we are in the normal rough and tumble of any campaign. i know, i understand. i have been on the receiving end of a lot of these kind of hits that come from

what is what the tea party has done. the tea party is not about washington. party is a lot more about the cons seuss, a limited government, growth and opportunities and that is exciting, and again this is a very small day by day process we are looking at and every day the weed is looking for a new story, but at the end of the day, what we absolutely know, it doesn't father which wing of the party it is, we are united in purpose that we will make barack obama a one termer. >> schieffer: well, i want to ask you, though, that is a very interesting take, but has the tea party made compromise a dirty word and is that why congress can't seem to get anything done? >> not at all, the tea party is making sure that we hold on to our core principles and values. the tea party has been only a force for good in washington washington, d.c. because otherwise we continue to go further and further to the left, which is redistribution of wealth. that is why obama will be a one termer, because all he has been about is redistribution of wealth and the rise of socialist principles

>> i wouldn't call it a civil war, but the tea party started because people were fed up and angry withut especially the republican party because they got away from their conservative values. we have changed the narrative. never before have you heard democrats talking about cutting spending, so we have driven that narrative and we're forcing them right to stand on those conservative principles and values. i want to go back to what we're talking about why things have changed. when michele bachmann got out of the race last week, i think all of a sudden, the people in this movement realized two of the most conservative candidates we have have now stepped out. we're left with this field. sarah palin's not getting in. there's no one that excites the base and puts the energy in like sarah palin, so we're going to have to choose from these candidates and right now, we see establishment and mainstream media pushing a candidate and if we're going to engage, now is the time to do it. >> if you include me, i'm not pushing a candidate. i'm citing history. >> you can blame george bush for this. he d

a new super pac plans to defeat tea party favorites this year while one tea party member is running to elect newt gringrich. it plans to spend $3 million in its effort to, quote, take down the tea party ten. according to the organizations fundraising website the tea party extremists in congress has spent the last year attacking women, science, and the very notion of equality under the law. they are racist, sexist, anti-science and hypocritical corrupt and down right crazy actions make them unserve unfit to serve in congress. unlike traditional super pac credo said it's operation is based on small donations and millions of volunteers. becky bond president of the super pac and our guest hearsaysheresays quote where karl rove and the koch brothers can use shady money from a few hidden donors to fund a barrage of tv attack ads this super pac will empower local voters and our list of 2.5 million activists to build a campaign that is aggressive. using innovative tactics technology and good old fashioned strategy we're going to kick tea parties out of congress. sarah palin says she's sort of

she was a tea party darling. those candidates who have become tea party darling are not doing what you're talking about. mitt romney wasn't the tea party darling in this thing. >> if you look at what he does, he's about fiscal responsibility, smaller government and free markets. those are valleys of the tea party. the issue is can he kent to the trust issue. the idea which has been in the mainstream media being a liberal leaning governor. he had 800 vetos in his time there. he cleaned up the utah international governance of the olympics. certainly when we look at his platform and what he promises to do in terms of cutting overall tax rates and being able to reduce the size of government, the question is can he connect to the trust issue within the tea party. now for me i think it's very practical. i believe he does. i believe his representations are fair. ultimately the rest of the grassroots are going to have to make that decision coming through new hampshire and of course south carolina and florida. >> let me a

tea party. seeing conservatives have hard time getting behind one of these men? >> i had lunch with four different tea party members, each of whom is supporting someone different for the presidency. they are unified in their desire of a new occupant of 1600 pennsylvania. we need you to marry up your heart and your head. i've got friends that are supporting rick perry. gingrich, santorum. there are tea party members that are supportingç romney because they believe he's the most elected. i wouldn't couch it as a negative that they're having a difficult time rallying around a candidate. i think it's a positive. >> here is the deal. you're talking about all of the tea party members that you spoke with and they wanted to support a different person, that splits your vote. we know and i've spoken wp a number of members of the tea party who is not convinced that mitt romney is a true conservative. there you have a split vote. you have newt gingrich, who is say that mitt romney is not a real conservativ

this just shows you the division in the tea party. it will be interesting, fred, tomorrow, when governor nikki haley, who is a big tea party booster, comes in here and speaks to the crowd tomorrow morning. she is endorsing or has endorsed mitt romney. fred? >> so, shannon, one has to wonder if the republican party as a whole there in south carolina feels like it is in sync with the tea party movement or representatives of the tea party there in south carolina. >> well, i can tell you this much, that a few people got up on stage and said, what will happen here in south carolina in this primary will set the stage for what will happen eventually in terms of who will be the nominee. a lot of speakers said that. in terms of if they're in sync, they feel the conservative values are reflected in south carolina more than they were in new hampshire, more than they were in iowa. whether or not they're in sync is up to anyone's guess. these -- a lot of these tea party activists here feel like it should be decided here. >> shannon travis, thanks

he ran for the senate and was defeated by a tea party candidate. and rick scott won the republican nomination for governor. so this is a good sign for newt gingrich. >> what kind of a party, republican party is it in florida? a right wing party, center party? more conservative. it has moved to the right. >> i think it has. i think it's more center right than anything else. i think certainly marco rubio was elected to the united states senate based not only on conservative support but by the support of independents and democrats. i take one exception with what steve said. i do agree that should speaker gingrich win in florida that would cause a lot of heartburn for the republican establishment. if you look at the latest polls, governor romney is up. i think governor romney has the organization, the momentum to win in florida. >> okay. >> but that would position him very well for the remaining contest. >> the only question i want to know is, is the party moving to the right down there enough to actually win it for newt? and if the party has moved that