Most of us in the Tea Party Movement are novices to the political scene. As you will recall, our stories are much the same. We came to this movement during the September 2008 bailouts as we watched our political servants put us into an unsustainable debt that is already showing up on not only the backs of our children, but ours as well.

When the bailouts happened, a firestorm of The People came to the Tea Party Movement in droves. If you were Republican, Democrat or Independent, it did not matter. What mattered at that time was this: Saving our Country from ruin at the hands of corrupt politicians. We stood together and fought like mad to keep the healthcare reform bill from passing. As we stood outside the halls of Congress and watched Nancy Pelosi use her mallet on the American people, we were stunned at the Audacity of No Hope these political servants pushed down on us. As we watched this historic vote against the people’s wishes take place, we resolved that we would Remember in November and we flew home with that challenge in our hearts and minds.

We came back home with the mission to educate, motivate and activate the citizens of our local community about the upcoming elections. While we knew it was not our place to tell them who to vote for, we did know it was our place to educate them on all candidates. The American people are smart and do not need any one or any organization telling them who to vote for. We hope as the November 2 deadline approaches, you will do your work and educate yourself on the candidates, judges, and amendments.

There are calls to our office asking us who you should vote for. We cannot do that and feel it inappropriate to tell you so. Some of us have personal decisions we are making and we have come to those decisions from a sound investment in our research. You should do the same.

To help you make an informed decision, we will be posting the following on our site by Wednesday afternoon (tomorrow) and will alert you as soon as they are online:

· First Coast Tea Party Candidate Template: This template shows the stand of the First Coast Tea Party on issues we have fought against this year. It will help you decide if the candidates match our position statement on these issues.

· Links to Candidate Websites: We have created a link for each candidate to their website where you can lay the template next to their “promises.” Remember, these promises are just that and it will be up to us to hold them accountable after the election.

· Voting Records: If there is an incumbent in the race, we have also noted the link to their voting records. Dig deep into the records and make sure you connect the dots on their votes.

· Tea Party Questionnaires: We sent all candidates a questionnaire and the questions were tough and thoughtful. We will have those posted on the site as well so you can read their answers. We will be posting more as we receive them and we are curious as to why some candidates have not responded. If your candidate is not on the site, contact them yourself and ask them to fill it out so we can post them. We want all the questionnaires returned so you can evaluate them. We are also calling them and asking them to respond.

· Search the Internet: Last but not least, search the internet and find out more about them. Contact the candidates and ask them for clarification on issues that you are concerned about. You can do that through their website. If they do not respond, that’s a good indicator of how they will treat you when they get into office.

Also note – there are some Dirty Tricks popping up that you should know about and we have them listed here:

· Florida Tea Party – A few months ago, a Democratic attorney filed papers with the Florida Elections Commission and created a third party. We discovered that money tied to this “party” has the trappings of large democratic funding and is using this party to create division in the Tea Party Movement. If you have a Tea Party Candidate on the ballot, beware! That Tea Party Candidate is trying to trick you so watch out.

· Tea Party Foundation – Just within the last two weeks, a new “tea party” was formed. Interesting that a new tea party was formed just before the election and the organizers of tea parties across this state know each other well so this one sure does smell. We are investigating it and we will not tolerate any dirty tricks by anyone who wants to take over the Tea Party Movement for their own political aspirations. We will keep you posted on this developing story so you can be informed and educated before you cast your vote. If you do receive something in the mail stating a candidate was endorsed by the Tea Party Foundation, let us know and we will check it out.

· Outright Lies – Being new to this environment, we had no idea how vicious this was going to get. You can call us naïve but we really did think candidates would do the right thing for the good of the country. Boy have we been surprised. The lies are rampant and candidates are slinging mud all around. The ones getting hit with the mud – YOU and ME!! So, do your own homework and investigate the rumors that you are hearing. Don’t leave it up to your neighbor or your friend who might be more politically astute. It’s your job to do your research and know the whole truth.

· Using our money to buy votes - Today in Washington, the Democratic Congress has rushed back from vacations, town halls and family visits at the expense of the taxpayer to call a special session to spend more of our money! The House will vote to Bailout Teacher Unions and Public Service Unions by sending money to the states to bailout the teachers and public employees. Doesn’t that smell like buying votes from teachers and government employees? The private sector is dying and we are bailing out the public employees union. Because this emergency session was called, it allowed Congressman Tom Price (R-GA) the opportunity to force a vote on his resolution to prevent a lame duck session. GO TO LIBERTY CENTRAL TODAY AND CONTACT YOUR CONGRESSMAN ABOUT THESE TWO BILLS. TELL THEM YOU DO NOT WANT THE BAILOUT AND YOU DO NOT WANT A LAME DUCK SESSION. Click here to go to http://www.libertycentral.org/take-action-stop-the-lame-duck-the-latest-bailout-2010-08

Please alert us to any other dirty tricks happening out there in America.

Stay the course and keep your chin up. It’s time for the Tea Party Movement to say No More to Dirty Tricks in Politics. If they will behave like this on the campaign trail, they will take that same behavior into our sacred halls of government. So – make your choices by informing yourself on each of the candidates. We will let you know as soon as all the information is posted. We are a volunteer organization and we are doing our best to get this information to you so please bear with us.

God Save the USA.