Will Local Tea Party Protest Mitt Romney’s Visit?

The First Coast Tea Party, one of the most active in the country, has been remarkably silent about the local Republican Party's choice of Mitt Romney as the keynote speaker for their annual fundraiser.

The increase in Tea Party protests has been largely attributed to the national debate over healthcare reform that would include a public option.  Some local activists have gone so far as to call it the "Nancy & Harry Health Care Plan for America", after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, both Democrats.

Although Tea Party activists have claimed that they are a non-partisan organization and not tied to the Republican Party, they have been remarkably silent on Romney's visit.

As Governor of Massachusetts, Romney pushed through healthcare reform that required every resident of the state to purchase health insurance.  That legislation also included a monetary penalty for those who did not purchase coverage, a key source of controversy in the bill currently being debated in the U.S. House of Representatives.

In addition, Romney has repeatedly boasted about his enactment of universal health care, stating in a recent USA Today opinion piece that he "is proud to be the first governor to insure all of his state's citizens."

Still, there have been no signals from local Tea Party activists that they have plans to protest Romney's November 9 appearance at the Duval County Republican Party fundraiser.  Their silence seems to indicate that their professed "non-partisanship" is nothing more than a facade.

Tags: Mitt Romney

This entry was posted on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 5:00 PM and is filed under Local Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.