(CNN)- For all the attention paid to the clout of fiscally
focused tea party conservatives and of the primacy of jobs in the 2012 election, Rick Santorum's trifecta victories Tuesday night are a good reminder of the powerful role religious conservatives play in the GOP.
Facing seven other more
conservative candidates, Bennett has been the
focus of withering criticism from members of his own
party as well as Tea Party activ
party as well as
Tea Party activ
Party activists.
Mariano argues that a «fiscally
conservative, socially liberal, and ecologically conscious» version of the
Tea Party could address issues not raised by the current crop of
conservative and libertarian activists... in a manner that aligns with a
focus on limited government intrusion into the market.