Give Us Liberty? Q&A with Dick Armey & Matt Kibbe of Freedom Works

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is the latest victim of the Tea Party insurgency that's trying to take over the Republican Party. Tea Party favorite Joe Miller defeated Murkowski in The North Star State's primary by hammering away at (among other things) her support for TARP and lack of zeal for overturning Obamacare.

Miller joins a new breed of anti-spending candidates such as Maine's Paul LePage, Kentucky's Rand Paul, Florida's Marco Rubio, and South Carolina's Nikki Haley, who promise to bring a new passion for shrinking government to D.C. and state capitals.

Here's how Freedom Works' Dick Armey and Matt Kibbe sum up what the Tea Party stands for in their new book, GIVE US LIBERTY: A TEA PARTY MANIFESTO: "It doesn't take a lot of words to say that we just want to be free. Free to lead our lives as we please, so long as we don't infringe on the same freedom of others."

Armey and Kibbe say that the Tea Party coheres around spending and that other issues are not central to its mission.

Perhaps. Joe Miller is also pro-life, pro border fence, and wants to outlaw the use of embryonic stem cells in medical research. Maine gubernatorial hopeful LePage believes the "traditional definition of marriage should be preserved." Haley, who will probably be South Carolina's next governor, has campaigned on tough enforcement against illegal immigrants. And the closest thing to a Tea Party spokesperson is Sarah Palin, the former "Bridge to Nowhere" supporter who oversaw a 16 percent increase in spending during her time as governor of Alaska.

Can this coalition stay together, stick to its anti-spending message, and actually change American politics? Or will it be co-opted by the very party upon which it seeks to perform a "hostile takeover?"

Reason.tv's Nick Gillespie sat down with Armey and Kibbe to discuss these issues and more.

The interview was shot by Jim Epstein and Meredith Bragg, and edited by Epstein and Joshua Swain.

Approximately 9.30 minutes.

Visit Reason.tv for downloadable versions of the video and subscribe to Reason.tv's YouTube channel to receive automatic notification when new material goes live.

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[OmNamoSiddhanam]

@MrMarinegold It's a one party system with two wings advocating big government and imperialism. I have grown up; I just disagree with the established order.

[PUGS1688]

You don't need to be a liberal, a conservative, a marxist, a communist, or a libertarian to understand what a deficit is. Spending money you don't have is spending money you don't have...end of discussion.

[trevorx1960]

Are the Tea Baggers saying they want corporate America . . banks, car companies, the insurance companies, to give back to the taxpayer every dollar it took to bail them out, and then go broke?

After all, if you believe in unfettered private enterprise, and personal financial responsibility you would be saying that, wouldn't you?

The Tea Baggers aren't insisting on any suc h thing. They only want 'small govt' when it doesn't affect them. Have they thought how US got into this mess? No.

[asphyxiafeeling]

Liberals advocate control of your economic freedom, Conservatives advocate control of your personal freedom. Both are Statist. Right now the Republicans are being held accountable by the Tea Party, so to me they are DEFINITELY the better choice between the two.

[LovesMassEffect]

I hate big government...

[realrockvince]

Nick Gillespie really asked some tough questions right from the beginning. Good job guys. Don't let the big guys in DC off the hook so easy. I like it. Give them a challenging interview.

[martyyu]

Hey, guys. Tell us about the Koch brothers and how much money you guys have taken from them. Hello? Is this mic on? Hello? I want to hear it from Kibbe and Armey - "FreedomWorks and Americans for Prosperity are not supported by money from the Koch brothers or any of their organizations." If this proves to be true I will listen to them. Otherwise, they are corporate puppeteers using hate and fear to manipulate a justifiably angry audience.

[chevydriver1123]

@S1aptasticSquadalah Exactly, you dont see much opposition to the Patriot Act or our clusterfuck foreign policy from the Palin, Beck, and Bachmann crowds. Its only from Ron Paul's faction.

[saper321]

I hope that Tea Party will somehow take down Harry Reid. If they can do it, that would be a victory for all Americans.

[Crawdaddy79]

Next time, please ask Mr. Armey not to get sauced right before the interview.

[hahahaspam]

@sniper6081 They aren't trolls. These idiots actually believe what they're saying.