Washington County Tea Party Faces Early Opposition
The Tea Party movement has been very vocal in its opposition of the Healthcare Reform Bill.
Some people in Washington County are trying to organize their own chapter, but are running into some opposition of their own.
But the group is refusing to let it stop them from pursuing its goal.
St. Theresa's Catholic Church was supposed to be the location for Washington County's first Tea Party meeting on March 18th.
But it never happened.
"It was pretty shocking to me to get a call from the Monseigneur that we had to cancel the meeting."
Diane Vitale claims someone called the Church Diocese in Pensacola, saying the group was using the church to host a political movement.
"They were threatening to destroy the status of tax exemption for the church."
Vitale and her friend, Karen Schoen, say the Tea Party is not politically motivated.
Both are members of Bay County's group and believe Washington County needs its own Tea Party.
"We were pleasantly surprised to find out that people in the county were very interested in the way their county was being run and the lack of information that was being disseminated from meetings," says Schoen.
Both Vitale and Schoen allege the county is misappropriating funds and failing to promote the possible economic development opportunities of the new Bay County Airport.
"So if we have limited means, they should be spent on things that will benefit the entire county, not just a few, not just for the whim of a few."
County officials would not comment on the subject pending a lawsuit over misappropriated funds.
Nor could we find anyone who is opposed to the Tea Party group meeting at the church.
"These people are not going to stop us from having a Tea Party that the community wants."
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So apparently they aren't politically motivated, but only discuss politics and politicians. Just a local sampling.
The Tea Party movement has been very vocal in its opposition of the Healthcare Reform Bill.
Some people in Washington County are trying to organize their own chapter, but are running into some opposition of their own.
But the group is refusing to let it stop them from pursuing its goal.
St. Theresa's Catholic Church was supposed to be the location for Washington County's first Tea Party meeting on March 18th.
But it never happened.
"It was pretty shocking to me to get a call from the Monseigneur that we had to cancel the meeting."
Diane Vitale claims someone called the Church Diocese in Pensacola, saying the group was using the church to host a political movement.
"They were threatening to destroy the status of tax exemption for the church."
Vitale and her friend, Karen Schoen, say the Tea Party is not politically motivated.
Both are members of Bay County's group and believe Washington County needs its own Tea Party.
"We were pleasantly surprised to find out that people in the county were very interested in the way their county was being run and the lack of information that was being disseminated from meetings," says Schoen.
Both Vitale and Schoen allege the county is misappropriating funds and failing to promote the possible economic development opportunities of the new Bay County Airport.
"So if we have limited means, they should be spent on things that will benefit the entire county, not just a few, not just for the whim of a few."
County officials would not comment on the subject pending a lawsuit over misappropriated funds.
Nor could we find anyone who is opposed to the Tea Party group meeting at the church.
"These people are not going to stop us from having a Tea Party that the community wants."
------------------------------------------------------
So apparently they aren't politically motivated, but only discuss politics and politicians. Just a local sampling.