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" Maybe it's just sour grapes, but sure seems like a lot of Republicans are hating on the tea party these days. Spurned GOPers ousted in primaries have been the most vocal, but even candidates who tried to court the tea party are criticizing the approach of the populist movement.
Whether it's because they feel liberated (or because, as some tea partiers have suggested, maybe they are liberals at heart), here's TPM's roundup of the Top Five Republicans who have spoken ill of the movement in recent weeks.
1. Sen. Bob Bennett (R-UT)
Considered a conservative by all political measures, Bennett was unseated as a "moderate" by Utah tea party activists and the uber-conservative Club for Growth this summer. Since losing his seat, Bennett has held nothing back.
In an interview with the Associated Press last week, Bennett said tea partiers are actually helping Democrats, given their support of novice candidates like Sharron Angle who might blow chances at unseating the party in power.
"With the tea party creating the mischief that it is in Colorado, we may not win that seat. My sources in Nevada say with Sharon Angle there's no way Harry Reid loses in Nevada," Bennett said. He also said thanks to Rand Paul's candidacy, "that's a seat we could lose."
"That's my concern, that at the moment there is not a cohesive Republican strategy of this is what we're going to do. And certainly among the tea party types there's clearly no strategy of this is what we're going to do," he said.
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