2012 Presidential Contenders Court Tea Party Activists

April 19, 2011— -- Potential Republican contenders for the White House face a tough strategic decision: How much to woo the Tea Party?

Some, like Sarah Palin, Donald Trump and Tim Pawlenty, appeared at Tea Party Tax Day events this weekend. Others, like Mitt Romney and Haley Barbour, are charting a more cautious course.

Potential candidates have increasingly courted Tea Party groups, the grassroots political force that seemingly helped propel Republicans into control of the House of Representatives in November.

But Washington is set to consider issues such as whether to overhaul Medicare and raise the debt ceiling, which some fear could hamper GOP unity. Republicans needed help from House Democrats to pass a government funding bill after 54 Republicans, many of them aligned with the Tea Party, voted to shut the government down instead.

That kind of position might help inspire primary voters in Iowa and New Hampshire early next year. But it could be more difficult to explain in the general election in November of 2012, where the election could be won or lost with less engaged independents.

Palin, a former Alaska governor who is most closely associated with the fiscally conservative, right-leaning group, railed against President Obama and his budget priorities at a Tax Day Tea Party rally in Madison, Wis., Saturday.

Pawlenty, a former Minnesota governor who is trying to expand his base, has aggressively attempted to tie himself to the group. He spoke at a Tea Party rally in Iowa Saturday to shore up support.

In another battleground state hundreds of miles away, business magnate Trump delivered a similarly fiery anti-Obama message to Tea Partiers.

The Tea Party has already emerged as a strong political force, even though many people have yet to announce formally their candidacy. Grassroots groups across the country have mobilized supporters to test out the candidates, while various national groups have organized presidential debates and political action committees to get into the game.

The Tea Party's influence "will be an important factor inside the Republican primary system," said Stephen Ansolabehere, a political scientist and professor at Harvard University.

Potential candidates such as Pawlenty are looking to the Tea Party to break out of the mold and expand their base outside of the Republican establishment.

Romney has consistently praised the Tea Party for bringing "hope that we can rein in our profligate federal government," he wrote in an op-ed in the Orlando Sentinel last week.

But the former Massachusetts governor and other potential candidates like Mississippi Gov. Barbour have adopted a more cautious approach than some of their counterparts.

Romney didn't make an appearance at any Tea Party Tax Day rallies this weekend. Barbour has also praised the Tea Party for injecting enthusiasm into the Republican party but has generally maintained a slight distance from the group.

Despite the movement's rapid surge in popularity, there is still concern that it may cause internal frictions within the party and alienate senior citizens with its goal to overhaul entitlement programs such as Medicare.