Embrace the Tea Party. “These are our folks — the natural allies of the party of Reagan,” writes the former VP. Invoking the Perot effect on the 1992 presidential election, Quayle argues in the Washington Post that a failure to vie for the movement’s votes could tip the scales toward the Democrats.
As Reagan did 30 years ago, Republican leaders between now and 2012 should reach out, as Sarah Palin has done, to an independent grass-roots movement whose energy and conviction the party badly needs. Potential presidential contenders such as Mitch Daniels, Mitt Romney, John Thune and Bobby Jindal have records of serious reform that square with the tea party agenda, and in a general election they could draw tea party votes as part of a broad and victorious coalition.
Read Quayle’s piece here.