Michelle Bachmann: Tea Party And GOP Are 'Merging'

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) rejected the idea that there was animosity between the Tea Party movement and the GOP in an interview on CNN Thursday, and instead said that the two sides were on the verge of coming together under a single mantle.

"Do the Republicans become tea partiers, do tea partiers become Republicans? How does this evolve?" CNN's Ali Velshi asked Bachmann on CNN's Newsroom Thursday.

"It's really merging into one single, solitary unit," Bachmann replied. "They have unified. A number of Tea Party groups from around the country are coming together, unifying under the umbrella of economic, fiscal conservatism because Americans, quite simply, feel like they're taxed enough already."

Those comments may not ring true to some conservative activists who have sought to distance themselves from the GOP. For example, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins (who has recently been critical of RNC spending missteps ) warned the GOP that "Republicans are not the only game in town," and said that the Tea Party was "taking on a life of its own."

Watch the video of Bachmann's comments on CNN (Tea Party remarks begin at 3:30 mark):