Tea Party Leaders to Florida Voters: Santorum, Gingrich, and Paul Should Continue Past Florida
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 06:30AM CONTACT:
Michael Patrick Leahy
michaelpatrickleahy@gmail.com
615-243-6869
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tea Party Leaders to Florida Voters: Santorum, Gingrich,
and Paul Should Continue Past Florida
January 30, 2012 - Local tea party leaders from around the country who have organized the ElectionDayTeaParty.com project today released a statement of support for Florida voters participating in Tuesday's Presidential preference election.
Billie Tucker, of Jacksonville’s First Coast Tea Party declined supporting any single candidate, stating, "I am endorsing We the People because I believe they will make the right decision this Tuesday based on facts, data, research and truth.
"I am endorsing the People because they have become wise and know that what we are seeing on the airwaves and hearing from the mouths of some of these candidates is not truth.
"I am endorsing the People because I trust them more than I trust any consultant, media personality or 'has-been political operatives.' I trust the people to show the Establishment that times have changed."
Michael Patrick Leahy, co-organizer of Election Day Tea Party, agreed, and added, “None of the four candidates seeking the Republican Presidential nomination have yet earned the full support of the Tea Party movement. For us, this election is about determining which of these candidates will best align their policies with the three core values of the Tea Party movement: constitutionally limited government, fiscal responsibility, and free markets.”
Michelle Moore, co-founder of the St. Louis Tea Party Coalition, stated, "Sarah Palin recently suggested we should '… keep this vetting process going,' and many tea partiers agree with that sentiment. It’s time to elevate the discussions in this campaign process beyond petty personal attacks over insignificant issues. By keeping the debate going, we will see exactly which candidate understands that it is only with limited government that we have unlimited opportunity to pursue happiness and prosperity in America."
Mark West of the Chattanooga Tea Party said, "At this point, it’s quite clear to most in the Tea Party movement that Governor Romney has made a strategic decision not to engage with the movement, or make a serious attempt to understand our message. Personally, I want to encourage Floridians to vote for a candidate other than Governor Romney in order to continue this critical conversation."
Carol Knighton, co-founder of Florida’s Leesburg Regional Tea Party said, "So far, none of the top three candidates have given us any confidence they will demand any more fiscal responsibility than the current Republican-led House and Democratic-led Senate - which INCREASED federal spending in 2011 by 5% over 2010 - after the Tea Party movement's historic role to elect 63 new Republican members of Congress in 2010."
Zan Green, founder of the RainyDayPatriots.org Tea Party in Birmingham, Alabama, added, "The modern Tea Party movement started because Washington and the two primary parties had lost all moorings to our Constitution. We the people demanded a return of the Government of the people, and only ‘We The People’ can pick the leader by the vetting process and by having that candidate answer to us."
Lorie Medina, founder of the Frisco, Texas Tea Party and creator of the Victory-in-a-Box get-out-the-vote program added, “The Tea Party is back for the 2012 elections and stronger than ever. We’ve been flooded with volunteers at ElectionDayTeaParty.com who want to help get-out-the vote this November.
"I encourage everyone who supports the idea of constitutionally limited government, fiscal responsibility, and free markets to sign up at our website today. We’ll help you use your talents and energies in our campaign to restore this country.”
The first national event of Election Day Tea Party 2012 will be a celebration of the Tea Party movement's 3rd anniversary on February 25th, 26th, and 27th. On February 27, 2009, the Tea Party movement was launched with simultaneous tea parties in fifty cities which were attended by more than 30,000 tea partiers. This was immediately followed by Tax Day Tea Party on April 15, 2009, when over 1 million tea partiers participated in rallies held in more than 900 cities.
Additional tea parties who joined the Election Day Tea Party 2012 project and the third anniversary celebration in February come from Tennessee, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Mississippi, New Jersey, Texas, Delaware, Arkansas, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin, New Mexico, California, Florida, and Connecticut. Election Day Tea Party 2012 anticipates that tea parties from every state will participate.
About Election Day Tea Party 2012: Nationwide Tea Party Coalition, an informal federation of thirty local tea parties from around the country who work collaboratively on national projects.
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