With Tea Party candidates like Alaska’s Joe Miller and Delaware’s Christine O’Donnell in the spotlight, the Chicago Sun-Times interviews CNBC’s Rick Santelli, whom some consider the Father of the Tea Party.
Santelli discusses last year’s Rant-Heard-‘Round-the-World, during which he criticized the Homeowners Affordability and Stability Plan, and suggested a Chicago tea party in response.
“The five-minute rant was the best five minutes of my life,” Santelli tells reporter Abdon Pallasch. “But beyond that, really four minutes in time, it’s the Tea Party. My wife pointed out to me, ‘You were there for the insemination, but you were not there to raise the child.'”
Pallasch writes that Santelli and his wife have attended local Tea Party rallies, donning “sunglasses and baseball caps…not talking to anyone, not claiming any credit, just admiring democracy at work.”
• Earlier on TVNewser: Is Rick Santelli the Father of the Tea Party? ‘If that’s what they put on my tombstone, they can bury me with a smile.’