Western Thumb Tea Party Group A non-partisan citizen action network.

Michigan for Conservative Senate website.  Has links to video and audio of candidate forums, answers to vetting questions, and more!

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Area Tea Party Members Discuss U.S. Senate Candidates; Choose Winner in Straw Poll

Vassar area tea party members hosted their first “caucus” Thursday in an effort to gauge members support for U.S. Senate candidates.  While not a political party, the group recognizes the importance of both educating and engaging members in the effort to replace liberal U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow.  Five of the eight Senate candidates have been featured as speakers at prior meetings in Pigeon, Cass City, and Vassar.  This is all part of a statewide grassroots effort coordinated by over 50 tea party and patriot groups with 13,000 plus members.  Each local group will be represented at statewide Michigan for Conservative Senate (MI4CS) events by voting representatives.  Three Tuscola area tea party members will travel to DeWitt to represent the Thumb groups in a statewide caucus in February.

Handouts were provided comparing the experience and qualifications of the eight Republican candidates challenging Stabenow in August.  The MI4CS effort and rules for the evening’s polling were reviewed.  Structured much like Tuesday’s Iowa process, the caucus format allowed for individuals to get in front of the group and give a stump speech on behalf of each candidate.  Straw poll voting followed, with two candidates being eliminated in each of the first two rounds of voting.  The final round of voting ranked the top three candidates in order of preference.

Gary Glenn, president of the American Family Association of Michigan, won the straw poll with 44 percent of the vote, to Detroit charter school founder Clark Durant’s 36 percent.  Small business owner Peter Konetchy finished third with 20 percent of the vote. 

None of the U.S. Senate candidates have formally filed the required petition signatures to appear on the August primary ballot.  It is expected the winner of the February MI4CS caucus will receive the volunteer and financial support of thousands of activists statewide, assisting with collection of nominating signatures and giving the candidate a competitive advantage against Stabenow.

The evening concluded with an announcement by Doug DuRussel.  DuRussel shared his decision to run for the Tuscola County Board of Commissioners in the 4^th District, which represents Tuscola, Arbela, Millington and Watertown Townships.  State Representative candidate Sam y was also introduced to the group.  Small business owner Khoury recently announced his candidacy for the 84^th District House seat currently held by Kurt Damrow.

The statewide MI4CS Senatorial Debate/Forum takes place on Saturday, January 14th, 2012, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. The debate will be held at Park Library Auditorium on the campus of Central Michigan University and will be used as a vetting tool for the public as well as the TEA Party members participating with MI4CS.   This debate is an opportunity for the candidates to reach out to voters all around the state to prove why they are the best choice for U.S. Senate. The debate will be broadcast on the Patriot Voice Radio Network and streamed live. The listen live link can be heard on WMKT 1270 AM/92.1 FM at: http://v3.player.abacast.com/player/player.php?pid=mgb_wmkt. For more information visit www.tuscolatea.org

Western Thumb Tea Party Group is a non-partisan citizen action network. Our goal is to ensure that the United States remains the safest, freest, and most prosperous country in the world.  Our members are committed to educating family, friends and neighbors about economic policy and a return of the federal government to its Constitutional limitations. Do you share our philosophy?

Meetings are generally held the first and third Thursday of each month at the Bullard Sanford Memorial Library in Vassar.  Doors open at 5:30, meeting from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

As good citizens, we do not advocate violence of any means.  Our ideological battle has always been and will always be at the ballot box.

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If MY people who are called by MY name will humble themselves and pray and seek MY face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

II Chronicles 7:14