Elections

Unity Rally focuses on common enemy more than common beliefs

Alexis Levinson Political Reporter
Font Size:

TAMPA, Fla. — The “Unity Rally 2012,” convening the night before the Republican National Convention began, preached a form of unity that was less about uniting around a common idea or candidate than about uniting around a common enemy: President Barack Obama.

The Sunday rally in Tampa’s River Church featured tea party figures including two of Mitt Romney’s formal primary rivals: pizza mogul Herman Cain and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann. It was co-sponsored by TheTeaParty.net, Cain Solutions Revolution, the Western Representation PAC and other organizations.

Some in the crowd did not seem entirely sold on their party’s nominee. Two holdouts stood outside the event holding a Newt Gingrich sign, and several cars sported Ron Paul stickers.

Bachmann’s message was less unity-focused and more a celebration of ways in which the tea party had successfully co-opted the Republican Party.

“We are not an unwanted, second class political party,” she said in her short speech. “We are the conscience of the United States Constitution!”

As a measure of success of the movement, she pointed to the Republican Party’s convention platform.

“The tea party is all over that platform,” she said.

Romney’s representative at the rally, Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz, an early endorser of the former Massachusetts governor, devoted his speech to touting Romney’s business prowess, his personal appeal and his success rescuing the Salt Lake City Olympics. But even Chaffetz set out the stakes of November’s election in stark terms.

Chaffetz said he had spent countless hours and days campaigning for Romney “because I believe him — I think he’s the right person at the right time — but also because I want to defeat Barack Obama.”

Cain, who delivered the night’s keynote address, said the election was now about putting aside individual needs in favor of Republicans’ common goal.

“One of the hardest things about getting out of the race because of lies and dirty politics was that I know that a lot of people supported me were gonna be disappointed,” Cain intoned. “But let me tell you: This is why, because of the support that I had, even though I am no longer seeking the position of president, I am still on a mission to defeat Barack Obama.”

Cain does not have a speaking slot at the convention, something he said did not disappoint him.

“You see, it’s not about me,” he said to raucous applause. “It’s about the great things we can do.”

Follow Alexis on Twitter

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel