UPDATE: Steele deviated a bit from his prepared remarks, and I’ve changed the text to reflect that.

In his speech to Republican National Committee state chairmen, Michael Steele aligns the party with the “Tea Party movement”:

Too bad the chattering classes inside the Beltway are too busy fretting over phony disputes and intra-party intrigue to notice that a change has indeed come to America. But it’s not the one the Obama Administration wants aired on the nightly news. Those of you who live outside of Washington know what I’m talking about.  Those of you who actually attend Lincoln Day dinners, and county party events, those of you who toil in the vineyards, spending time in communities, in diners, in barber shops, and in coffee shops where real, every day people can be found. You know it’s real. You can see it, and you can feel it. This change, my friends, is being delivered in a teabag. And that’s a wonderful thing.

Steele did not actually attend any April 15 Tea Parties after the organizers of the Chicago Tea Party turned down his request to speak.

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