Rush: Tea Party Is ‘Alive,’ ‘Vibrant’

Talk radio host Rush Limbaugh says the tea party is not only “alive” but “vibrant,” in response to an article on The Daily Caller, which argues that conventional wisdom dictates "the tea party is all but over."

“The tea party started as a protest movement. It has moved beyond that now. The tea party is not solely a protest movement,” Limbaugh said Tuesday. “The tea party is alive. It is vibrant.”

The article on The Caller’s website projects that a win for Indiana Treasurer Richard Mourdock over incumbent Republican Sen. Richard Lugar in Tuesday’s primary could increase the number of reliable conservative Republicans in the Senate.

Limbaugh says people are supporting Mourdock for two reasons: “they like what Mourdock stands for” and “they oppose the Republican establishment, represented in this case by Lugar.”

“If there isn’t a tea party, if the ‘tea party is all but over,’ then how did this guy Mourdock get on the ballot, and why is he 10 points ahead in polling in Indiana?” Limbaugh asked.

“It’s happening because the tea party’s real, the tea party exists.”