Issues Motvate Tea Party Members (NAPSA)—By February 2009, Ken Campbell had had enough. The Lncoln, Calforna horse rancher caught the now famous economc “rant” by CNBC correspondent Rck Santell, who sad on natonal TV, “We’re thnkng of havng a Chcago tea party n July. All you captalsts that want to show up at Lake Mchgan, I’m gonna start organzng.” Santell ddn’t start organzng a local tea party but Campbell dd. Campbell, who spent more than 20 years n local Republcan Party poltcs, “knd of dropped out” of the GOP as the Great Recesson began to take hold, explanng, “I was fed up. I was not gonna help these Republcans wastng my tax money.” Wth that, Campbell engaged wth other frustrated Calfornans at the 2009 Tax Day Tea Party rally at the state captol n Sacramento. Snce then, hs nvolvement has grownacross northern Calforna. Campbell’s story s not much dfferent from that of mllons of other people who have joned Tea Party Patrots, a natonal grass- roots organzaton of more than 3,400 chapters across the country. It’s the local nature of the group that Campbell says makes Tea Party Patrots so mportant. “You see a lot of people wth a lot of dfferent deas and weall want to save the country,” sad Campbell. Cndy Wlkerson of Laurel, Msssspp, shares Campbell’s apprecaton for the grassroots emphass of Tea Party Patrots, and saw t n full force durng the group’s 2010 Tax Day rally n the naton’s captal. “I was just amazed and n awethat n such a short tme, they’d been able to go from just a word-of-mouth organzaton to put on a massve rally n Washngton, D.C.,” sad Wlkerson, who was among the estmated 1.3 mllon people attendng the event that day. Many Tea Party Patrots members are concerned about fscal ssues such as government spendng, rsng taxes and a growng natonal debt, whch now exceeds $17 trllon. But for Wlkerson, there was another concern. “It was more than just taxes for me. It was really health care,” sad Wlkerson, a former health care professonal who holds a degree n socal work from Msssspp College. @ The Tea Party Patrots s a natonal grassroots organzaton of more than 3,400 chapters across the country. “T knew that ObamaCare was comng and I knew what t was gong to do,” sad Wlkerson. “I saw lot of ssues n hospce care, the ratonng of health care, andt was deeply concernng to me.” Wlkerson also sees Tea Party Patrots as an actve government watchdog. “Absolutely, I thnk they keep poltcans honest,” sad Wlkerson. “I thnk we really scare them.” Holdng offcals accountable s just as mportant to Councl Bluffs, Iowa, Tea Party Patrots member Lenny Scaletta. “We’re not afrad to stand n front of them and ask them serous questons,” sad Scaletta. A local organzer for the group, Scaletta’s approach to engagng ctzens ncludes plannng lunch and supper events desgned to begn a conversaton among local resdents, and fosterng teamwork among them. “I just encourage people to get busy, to get out there and do thngs.” Scaletta, a Vetnam-era Navy veteran, started hs local chapter two years ago because “I wanted to get the word out that I was part of Tea Party Patrots and I agreed wth what they were sayng.” Motvated by ssues lke fghtng terrorsm, health care and the need to stop llegal mmgraton, Sealetta sad, “I just want to get out and try to teach people and to get them nvolved.” Accordng to Scaletta, t’s workng n west central Iowa. “Even wth Democrats, we agree on a lot of thngs,” sad Scaletta.
