Election 2012: "Tea Party Woodstock"
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Tea Party activists from across the nation will hold a national nominating convention on 2000 acres of farmland near Kansas City this fall. Organizers say they picked Kansas City because of its location in the center of the country and the "heartland of red-state territory."
The convention will be announced during a press conference which will be held at the Kansas State Capitol building in Topeka on March 1st. Organizers tell Fox News the convention will have delegates from many Tea Party groups and over 100 coordinators are already involved in the planning.
Delegates can register with a via cell phone and even phone in their nominees from the opening gavel on October 7th until the polls close at "Tea Party Voter Central" at 4pm on October 8th.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Organizers say this will "probably be the largest tail-gate event in the country, with a county-fair theme, and entertainers and speakers from every cultural group. It's a sort of ‘Tea Party Woodstock' without all the Hippies, trash, and drugs."
Every Tea Party House and Senate caucus member has been invited, as have a number of potential GOP 2012 presidential candidates including Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann of Minnesota, the former governor of the same state Tim Pawlenty, New Jersey Gov Chris Christie, Florida Senator Marco Rubio and South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint.
The vote will be a non-binding straw poll and will not have any official power but, according to organizers, is aimed at "letting both parties [Republican and Democratic] know that the Tea Parties are certainly capable of picking their own candidates, and 9 months before the Republican National Convention in Tampa."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Organizers of the event put their website on-line recently and have begun registering Tea Party activists who want to participate in the event.
Here is the full list of straw-poll candidates who have been invited so far:
Representative Michelle Bachmann, R-Minn.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty
Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla.
Representative Allan West, R-S.C.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}New Jersey Gov Chris Christie
Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky.
Texas Gov Rick Perry
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Representative Mike Pence, R-Ind.
Senator Jim DeMint, R-S.C.
Herman Cain