Dems waste no time casting Bachmann, Paul as extreme, beholden to Tea Party

Democrats wasted no time Saturday evening casting Reps. Michele Bachmann (Minn.) and Ron Paul (Texas) — the top two finishers at the Ames straw poll — as extremists. 

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.), the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), said that the results of the unofficial poll of Iowa Republicans' preference in a presidential candidate showed that the Tea Party had effectively seized control of the GOP. 

"All of the Republican candidates have made clear their allegiance to the Tea Party, supporting extreme policies that would hurt the middle class, seniors, and students," Wasserman Schultz said in a statement. "The only winner tonight was the Tea Party."

Bachmann's been an unabashed supporter of the grassroots conservative movement, and Paul is seen as somewhat of a forefather of the Tea Party movement. They finished in first and second place, respectively, at about 29 percent and 28 percent of the final tally. 

Democrats had been on the ground in Iowa throughout the week to push back against Republican rhetoric emanating from the straw poll and the GOP presidential debate held Thursday. They've gleefully played up moments from the field of candidates that highlight the party's deeply conservative elements. 

"Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul represent the extreme right wing, which is the core of the Republican Party today," Wasserman Schultz said on MSNBC following the announcement of straw poll results. 

Democrats feel as though they benefit from casting the GOP as extreme, so much so that it makes it largely irrelevant in terms of who wins the nomination, and faces President Obama in the general election.

"It doesn't much matter who their nominee is," the DNC chief said on MSNBC. "They're all trying to out-right wing each other."

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