Tea Party Tempest
The Shark Tank has learned that Florida Tea Party leaders who sued founders of a third political party one month ago have added more than two dozen additional plaintiffs to their suit and filed an amended complaint Wednesday afternoon listing those additional groups and activists.
The defendants, Republican consultant Doug Guetzloe and his partners in the new TEA Party of Florida, Democrat Fred O’Neal, and Ron Paul backer Nick Egoroff are reportedly contacting authentic Tea Party activists and organizations across the Sunshine State in an effort to kill a federal lawsuit against their third party.
South Florida Tea Party v. TEA Party of Florida, filed January 19 in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, seeks a declaratory judgment separating the new third party from the original Tea Party movement. The lawsuit also wants the court to order Guetzloe, O’Neal and Egoroff to stop threatening legal action against Tea Party activists and organizations – even the national Tea Party convention.
To date, only one true Tea Party activist has signed on to the third party’s settlement strategy: Robin Stublen, founder of the Punta Gorda Tea Party. Guetzloe originally warned Stublen “I will sue you for everything you own” on the Tea Party Patriots blog. Stublen is now backing the political party’s attempt to settle the suit on their terms. His friends in the state’s Tea Party movement say Stublen was intimidated by the legal threats.
A recent statement by the third party trio also listed Tom Gaitens of Freedomworks Florida as backing settlement. In fact, when Gaitens learned he was listed as urging settlement he demanded his name be deleted – he wants no part of the disagreement. The political party still lists Gaitens as backing them on Facebook and in direct communiqués with authentic Tea Party activists There’s another problem: Stublen is not a party to the lawsuit, and the Guetzloe gang has not peeled away even one plaintiff from the complaint.
Stay tuned to the Shark Tank as we report on this legal action being watched closely by Tea Party activists across the country.
15 Responses to Tea Party Tempest
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I have been a Republican for 70 + years!!
I am proud to be a party of KNOW KNOW KNOW !!!
BW.
The Tea Party movement is all across our wonderful country. Whenever something like this starts up and becomes popular there will always be someone who will take advantage of it for their own benefit. It is very sad that this has happened.
OK, Rubes, what is more important? A third party, or the Republic? The Republican Party needs to be Co-Opted by the Tea Party Movement. Stop bickering, and start FIGHTING. THE COMMUNISTS ARE UP, WAY UP. While you bicker, the light of Freedom flickers! Will you put it out? OR, IS IT ALL ABOUT CONTROL. For the Republic, Forest.
The original goal of the Tea Parties was that no politicians wan not involve politicians.The politicians were to be invited to sit in the audience and listen.The GOP is trying to highjack the Tea Party Movement using Sarah P Million alin that has dropped her stock with Conservative.28 Million Evangelicals sat the 2008 election out.These are not going to compromise the liberal bent of the GOP.Mit Romney,liberal of liberals even claimed credit for the Tea Party success in his CPAC speech.Marcio Rubio with his plan to give Amnesty to Illegal criminal invaders even claims the Tea Party.These Republican Politicians are bullys.My guess is,if the Tea Parties does tell these politicicans to back off,the gop will gain seats in 2010 and those Independent Citizen Candidates will be snuffed out unless they can be annointed by the GOP.Such as Brown of Mass. we were all told this was the people only to learn Mit Romney was in the backgroud grooming and polishing him along.And I wonder why with his victory Obama and the Democrats were not crying-that was the sign it was fixed.
(Lightweight is aptly named.)
Legal or not, it was manifestly, blatantly unfair –not to say sleazy— for O’Neal to try to co-opt the name. Doug loses respect in his association with O’Neal on this one. A great disappointment for the conservative/libertarian TEA party movement as Ax the Tax is such a positive effort. This controversy serves only to aid the statists (primarily Dems) by splitting our side –if it does cause a split.
Geo, I’m all for avoiding that lethal split.
And lightweight…..well, let’s just say I think you nailed your own descriptor in the use of it as your moniker.
There does not seem to be an ounce of truth in your diatribe. I did spot some beady-eyed little man -RaulPaul quotes, though.
I welcome Tea Party conservatives in the Republican party. PLEASE help us rebuild the party to adhere to Constitutional principles. Splitting conservative votes among multiple parties will ensure that only progressive, liberals will infest the whole government.
While I have no problem with them creating their own party I do have a problem with them trying to force others to stop using the name tea party. Isn’t there a law that you can not copyright or trademark something that is over 50 years old.
I’m sick to death of decent freedom loving patriots being threatened by unconscionable greedy power mongers! Guetzloe, O’Neal, and Egoroff need to BACK the F**K OFF! The Tea Party Movement is the most promising hope this ailing nation has in the foreseeable future. IF you love our nation and cherish our Constitution cease and desist! You are spoilers, and make no mistake… “We the People” are up for the fight! What you are doing is nothing less than an attempt to insure that Progressive Marxists retain power. Give it up!
The story mentions Tom Gaitens signing on to the so called ‘settlement’…it is worth noting that he and Guetzloe have had an ongoing relationship for some time now, well BEFORE the tea party movement began. Politics do indeed make for strange bedfellows…
I am a proud tea party patriot and we need 50 million this year in Sept11 to match from Freedom Plaza to the Capitol this years theme is The Constitution last year we had 2.25 million rher is was agaisy the healthcare Bill and the Global Warming Lie so e-maill all your freins call them come early and make signs 9.10 11.12 Contact Christine Dawdy @ 1step promotions.com
wows forgot to check my spelling hope you all get it we need everyone to come to DC by the way the rooms are better rates than last year according to Christine and her husband David Dawdy@ 1steppromotions.com
Poor wittle babies; they be all upset they didn’t think of registering the name themselves and someone beat them to it.
Get real; this is just another powerplay by people who think they’ve been beaten to the punch. there’s no lawsuit to see here, now move along….
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