MEDIA ADVISORY
MEDIA AVAILABILITY/INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES
Tea Party Leaders Release Letter Urging House and Senate
GOP to Avoid Social Issues
Full Text of Letter Below
Tea Party Leaders and activists from across the country release open letter urging
the House and Senate GOP to avoid social issues and focus on issues of economic
freedom and individual liberty
WHO: Andrew Ian Dodge, Coordinator Maine Tea Party Patriots
Christopher Barron, Chairman of the Board of GOProud
All day Monday November 15th and Tuesday November 16th
Andrew Ian Dodge available for in-person interviews in DC on Nov 15th and in
Maine on Nov 16th
Christopher Barron available for in-person interviews in DC on Nov 15th and 16th
FULL TEXT OF LETTER WITH SIGNATORIES:
Dear Senator McConnell and Representative Boehner
On behalf of limited government conservatives everywhere we write to urge you and your
colleagues in Washington to put forward a legislative agenda in the next Congress that reflects
the principles of the Tea Party movement.
Poll after poll confirms that the Tea Party’s laser focus on issues of economic freedom and
limited government resonated with the American people on Election Day. The Tea Party
movement galvanized around a desire to return to constitutional government and against
excessive spending, taxation and government intrusion into the lives of the American people.
The Tea Party movement is a non-partisan movement, focused on issues of economic freedom
and limited government, and a movement that will be as vigilant with a Republican-controlled
Congress as we were with a Democratic-controlled Congress.
This election was not a mandate for the Republican Party, nor was it a mandate to act on any
social issue, nor should it be interpreted as a political blank check.
Already, there are Washington insiders and special interest groups that hope to co-opt the Tea
Party’s message and use it to push their own agenda – particularly as it relates to social issues.
We are disappointed but not surprised by this development. We recognize the importance of
values but believe strongly that those values should be taught by families and our houses of
worship and not legislated from Washington, D.C.
We urge you to stay focused on the issues that got you and your colleagues elected and to resist
the urge to run down any social issue rabbit holes in order to appease the special interests.
The Tea Party movement is not going away and we intend to continue to hold Washington
accountable.
Christopher R Barron
Chairman of the Board, GOProud
Andrew Ian Dodge
Coordinator, Maine Tea Party Patriots
Pam Stevenson
Coordinator, Arizona Tea Party Patriots
Dianna Greenwood
Executive Director, New American Patriots (Ashland, OH)
Jim Mason II
Chairman and State Coordinator, Nebraska’s Tea Party Patriots
Ralph King
Co-coordinator Cleveland Tea Party Patriots
Co-coordinator State of Ohio Tea Party Patriots
Jack Lien
Coordinator, Tea Party Patriots of Great Malls (Montana)
JP Weber
Coordinator, Annapolis (Maryland) Tea Party
Doug Welch,
Blogger and member Southern Illinois Tea Party
Bruce Carroll
Conservative Activist and Blogger
Pam Stout
Coordinator, Sandpoint Idaho Tea Party Patriots
Dan Blatt
Conservative Activist and Blogger
Bruce Majors
Tea Party Activist and Blogger
Paul Crockett
President Santa Clara (California) Tea Party
Cumberland County (Maine) Tea Party
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GOProud represents gay conservatives and their allies. GOProud is committed to a traditional conservative agenda that emphasizes limited government, individual liberty, free markets and a confident foreign policy. GOProud promotes our traditional conservative agenda by influencing politics and policy at the federal level. PO Box 15861, Washington, DC 20003. For more information visit our website www.goproud.org
