Let’s get something straight. The “TEA Party Movement” is just that, a true “Grass-Roots” movement of folks who have just, plain, had enough of this noise and are “Taxed Enough Already!”

The Tea Party Movement is not about political power in a top down hierarchy, political "party". It is about returning to the bottom up, "Of the People, By the People and For the People", “Republican Form of Government” that is framed in the Declaration of Independence, codified in the U.S. Constitution and guaranteed to “Every State in this Union” (that’s all of us) by Article 4, Section 4 of that phenomenal document, nothing more and nothing less.

However, late last spring or early summer, a new political party, the "Florida Tea Party" was legally formed and managed to run a few candidates around the state in 2010, shown on ballots as TEA party. It was and is, at best, completely foolhardy or, at worst, completely fraudulent, PERIOD.

I lean heavily towards fraudulent because, if they were just foolish, by now they would have realized their error and gone away. After all, word got out to most of us within a few weeks of the Florida Tea Party’s launch, replete with all kinds of linked info about their origins. And, as all genuine “Tea Partiers” know full well, to form a new political party and run TEA candidates for office would do nothing more than split the conservative vote, thereby ensuring a Democrat win.

We Tea Partiers are really not that stupid (regardless of what you may have been told).

The “Florida Tea Party”, now about 10 months old, still actively exists and actually shows Peg Dunmire as their Chairman, at the bottom of their home page: http://floridateaparty.us/home.php  (or at least it did when I published this).

Here’s another interesting article mentioning democrat Allan Grayson’s well-known connection to the Florida Tea Party: http://www.teapartypatriotslive.com/2010/06/24/peg-dunmire-and-flor...  and there’s plenty more if you dig just a tiny bit.

The Florida Tea Party has a great-looking web site and has created no little problem by placing ads, misplacing/stealing votes in 2010 and causing confusion for legit TEA party folks all over the State. But, make no mistake about it, they are either very foolishly still in existence or are not what they claim and appear to be. The latter seems far more plausible.

As of this writing, and for the foreseeable future, there is and will not be any such thing as an official, political "Tea Party", in any state or nationally, that ANY true Tea Partier supports unless they've been taken in by someone’s foolhardy or fraudulent activities. So:

• Do not give any money to nor accept any money from the “Florida Tea Party” for anything.
• Do not pay any attention to anything they say.
• Do not allow your vote or money to be misused or stolen.
• A vote for a “TEA” candidate, on ANY ballot is a vote for the opposition.
• If you see an ad or for them or their logo anywhere, report it for removal.

There are also other States where known fraud is being committed. The Detroit News ran story about a couple of “high ranking”, Democrat Party “leaders”, in Michigan, who were busted for fraud over their illegal activities. See: http://detnews.com/article/20110316/METRO02/103160415

If, on any ballot, anywhere, you see a candidate listed as a TEA candidate, that person is likely either a fool, a fraud or/and a plant, designed to split the conservative vote by duping honest and patriotic voters who are unaware of the scam. Sometimes, the TEA candidate shown on a ballot has not even entered him/herself in the race, but was "informed" after the fact, as the Detroit News story relates.

The TEA Party movement, over the last 3 or 4 years, has made great strides in loose organization, unofficial membership, grass-roots strength and, according to a March 14^th Sarasota Herald Tribune article, we are a “force to be reckoned with”. http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20110313/ARCHIVES/103131022

But, we do NOT have an official, national “Leader” or ANY active political party… Kapish, Kimosabe?

Remember…

The Tea Party Movement is not about the power of a political "party". It is about returning to the bottom up, "Of the People, By the People and For the People" Republican form of Government that is guaranteed to us by U.S. Constitution... nothing more and ABSOLUTELY NOTHING LESS.