Tea party to GOP: Stay true

Leaders of national tea party groups on Saturday warned Republicans not to forget conservative values if a wave of voter frustration catapults them into power in November.

Republican success on Election Day doesn’t mean the tea party’s work is done, leaders said, because members must make sure new Republican officials don’t go moderate once in power.


“Our end date and our end game is not Nov. 2,” said Jenny Beth Martin, a national coordinator for the Tea Party Patriots, at a Freedom and Faith Coalition conference in Washington. “On Nov. 2 our work actually just begins.”

“Hopefully, we’ll be able to enjoy Nov. 2, that evening. But regardless of who is elected on Nov. 2, Nov. 3 we have to start holding those newly elected officials, nationally, state, and local,” she said, interrupted by loud applause from a crowd of about 100 in a conference room at the Mayflower Hotel. “We have to hold their feet to the fire.”

Martin and other tea party leaders said Republicans officials could easily move to more moderate positions once elected, out of political expediency.

“Let’s face it: We’ve been putting out moderate Republicans and told to hold your nose at the booth,” said Anastasia Przybylski, co-chair of the Kitchen Table Patriots. “Our job now is to hold our Congress and our Senate accountable. We’re the watchdogs now.”