By CARL HULSE and DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
c.2010 New York Times News Service
WASHINGTON – The incoming leadership of the new House Republican majority hardly had a chance to relish its dismantling of the Democrats before the Tea Party came calling in the form of Rep. Michele Bachmann.
Bachmann, R-Minn., the Tea Party heroine often seen exhorting conservative activists at rallies and on cable television, announced that she intended to seek the No. 4 position among House Republicans.
She said she could provide the viewpoint of a constitutional conservative, one she evidently sees lacking in Reps. John A. Boehner of Ohio, Eric Cantor of Virginia and Kevin McCarthy of California – the three likely leaders.