Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee will deliver the response to President Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday – not the official Republican response, but the “Tea Party Express” one.
It threatens once again to distract from the official Republican line and highlights the conservative vs. mainstream GOP rift.
In 2011, in the inaugural Tea Party Express response, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) was lampooned for her awkward, off-camera response. Sen. Rand Paul made the address last year, while Florida Sen. Marco Rubiodelivered the official response, but his speech is more remembered for his need to hydrate by taking a sip of water from a bottle way off camera during the address.