Tea party icon, Jim DeMint, after being asked on Fox News whether he'd lobby for a strong tea party presence at this year's Republican convention.
"I'd love to see Sarah Palin have a big slot -- as far as speaking -- because there's no one still in America that excites the base of conservatives and even libertarians as she does.
She can draw a crowd more than any other Republican, and I think has more influence in primaries than any other endorsement right now, so I think she'd be good."
He also said the GOP needed to add newer tea party voices to the mix like Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Utah Sen. Mike Lee, and Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey.
There's been some buzz this week over the fact that Palin hasn't been invited to the convention yet (much less speak at it), but as Ed Morrissey noted yesterday, everything about the schedule is fuzzy, so it's premature for any of her supporters or opponents to make any judgements.
That being said, you get the sense that the Romney team is going to be very careful about how it uses her -- the base still loves her, but her appeal's been somewhat limited the past few years.
