In a word – no. That is the short answer, here are the longer answers in response to questions that I was asked last week, in an an email from a SATP supporter. In answering those questions in detail, I realized that other supporters might have something of the same concerns; so – herewith, the questions, and my answers to her.

Question #1: I am being questioned by a number of people who have called me today and asked why in the world the Tea Party is supporting and donating to a particular politician?

The SATP does not endorse any particular politician in or running for office. We encourage anyone to run for political office, and we will certainly inform our supporters of any events that we are informed of – but we do not, and cannot, per our status as a 501-c-4 organization – endorse any of them over any other. Now, many of our supporters are also supporting – as private citizens – certain candidates for office. But our mission is educational – sort of what the League of Woman Voters does. Only for fiscally prudent, free-market, strict constitutionalists.

Question #2: Another caller told me I was supporting (a particular candidate) with my Tea Party! She said it wasn’t actually called the Tea Party but the Tea Patriots Party. Can you or anyone help distinguish between a real tea party and others sounding like them? Or is there just no way to identify the groups, and their differences.

There are a lot of us; practically any individual or group can call themselves a Tea Party. In some cities there were three or four competing Tea Party groups. But there remains some basic uniting principles – fiscally prudent, free-market, strict adherence to the Constitution – everything else is pretty much up for grabs. I really have no shortcut for sorting out what is a legitimate Tea party or not. Maybe just common sense, and observation of what they do, as well as what they say.

Question #3: I hope the Tea Party, all of them, will not become something that the nation looks at as an arm of the Republican Party. I am a registered Republican but I am just about as disturbed with their actions in Congress as I am the Democrats.

Most SATP people I talk to are just as furious at the go-along-to-get along Republicans as they are at the Democrats. I do not doubt that the long-time leadership cadre of the GOP will try and co-opt the various Tea Parties – but I also think they are in for a very nasty surprise. The Tea Partiers I know and correspond with, are about taking over both parties from within, and from the grassroots up, and the GOP is immediately and on paper, a little more receptive. If you know a good, solidly Constitutionalist, fiscally-responsible, free-market-supporting candidate running, against a spend-as-usual hack -  would encourage you to support the candidate based on their principals and not just their stated political party.

Julia Hayden

SATP Media Relations