Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) marked the fifth anniversary of the so-called Tea Party movement by telling a group of conservatives in Washington that they had literally been the "answer to my prayers."

Speaking to the Tea Party Patriots 5th Anniversary Celebration at the Hyatt Regency on Thursday, Gohmert reminded the room full of conservatives that the Republican Party had given Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) the presidential nomination in 2008 only because it was "his turn."

"As a result, 2008 ended up being a really bad year for Republicans," he explained. "It ended up being a really great year for the Democrats. Nancy Pelosi got the gavel [to be Speaker of the House], Democrats got the White House, Harry Reid kept a grip on leadership in the Senate, and Anthony Weiner got some new friends to text with."

Gohmert pointed to the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), the 2009 stimulus package and the bailout of the auto industry as proof that the beginning of President Barack Obama's first term was a "disaster."

"In the ashes arose a group who felt they were Taxed Enough Already! Yes!" he exclaimed. "And I was asked by media, over and over, 'So what do you think of the Tea Party?'"

"And I would explain, 'They are an answer to my prayers,'" Gohmert recalled.