Former Congressman Steve LaTourette of the Main Street Republican Partnership and Matt Kibbe of FreedomWorks clashed on Fox News Sunday over remarks LaTourette made where he called members of the Tea Party “chuckle-heads.” LaTourette blamed the Tea Party for the current budget problem while Kibbe rejected the notion that members of the Tea Party are somehow responsible for the frequent budget crises that have consumed Capitol Hill in recent years.

“I don’t think I would say it is all Tea Party freshmen, it is those who seem more interested in voting no and going home than governing,” said LaTourette when asked by Wallace to explain the position.

Kibbe went on to defend the Tea Party saying that the only reason anybody is actually talking about balancing a budget is because of the Tea Party members that were swept into Congress in 2010. Kibbe said that the Tea Party members are the only people on Capitol Hill that are actually serious about solving the long term budget problems.

“We’re never gonna fix this problem just by pretending that the process of bipartisanship somehow gets to real problems because that’s how we got here. This crisis was created by both Republicans and Democrats not willing to make tough choices,” said Kibbe.

LaTourette proceeded to reiterate his point saying that the Tea Party members are an important part of the GOP but that they can’t just throw their hands up at everything and say no. They have to work together with others if they want to get anything done, he said.

“Just voting no and then holding your nose and saying ‘boy if it passes I can go home to my local Tea Party groups and say ‘I voted no!’ that’s ridiculous. That’s what makes them chuckleheads,” said LaTourette.

Watch clip below via Fox

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