Carter sees tea party parallels to his 1976 run

ATLANTA (AP) — Former President Jimmy Carter sees parallels between today’s tea party movement and his own election to the White House in 1976.

The Georgia Democrat told The Associated Press on Monday that he thinks the tea party will be “quite a major factor in November” but that its influence will wane before the next presidential election in 2012.

Carter spoke on the day that his book, “White House Diary,” was released.

Carter said his 1976 candidacy was in some ways like that of a tea party candidate. He said he was a “complete outsider” who capitalized on widespread dissatisfaction among voters after Watergate and the Vietnam War.

He said that while the tea party will influence this fall’s elections, “there’s already a process of absorbing them into the Republican Party.”