An animated discussion over the proper role of the Tea Party in the greater conservative movement erupted on Twitter Tuesday night when Southern Regional Vice Chair Luke Niles of the Young Republican National Federation (YRNF) labeled grassroots activists as “senile.” He further labeled them “bullies” and prone to “temper tantrum[s].”
Niles engaged with a number of individuals taking issue with his claims, including Breitbart Texas’ Managing Director Brandon Darby.
The dialogue took a rather ironic trajectory when Niles categorically labeled grassroots activists in the Tea Party as “senile angry people mad at everything.”
Antagonizing grassroots activists would appear to fall outside the job description for a regional official of the YRNF, given that the national website claims the organization “has established itself as the premier Republican grassroots organization in the nation, providing essential grassroots support for Republican candidates and conservative issues on the local, state and national levels.”
Wednesday morning, Breitbart Texas attempted to connect with the YRNF to discuss the issue. Minutes later, a new series of tweets from Mr. Niles and YRNF Chairman Jason Weingartner were published to perform damage control.
After calling Breitbart Texas’ Managing Director Brandon Darby a “coward,” Niles began deleting the record of tweets featured in this story Wednesday morning.
Luke Niles was elected Southern Regional Vice Chair of the YRNF in late 2013, according to a news release published on the national website.
Follow Logan Churchwell on Twitter @LCChurchwell
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