Tea party groups work to unseat Stabenow

The tea party effort to unite behind one conservative U.S. Senate candidate is taking shape, with dates set for a debate and straw poll convention — though some tea party groups have declined to participate or weren't invited.

Invitations are being sent to all eight GOP candidates for a Jan. 14 debate at Central Michigan University, organizers announced. Two leaders from each qualified tea party group will be invited to participate in a Feb. 25 straw poll at CMU to determine who wins the tea party endorsement.

Uniting under the banner, Michigan 4 Conservative Senate, organizers say endorsing one candidate and rallying behind him is the best way to ensure a conservative candidate defeats Democratic incumbent Sen. Debbie Stabenow in November.

"It's just a way to take a pulse of tea party groups and encourage them to work together and rather than work apart," said Cindy Gamrat, an organizer for Michigan 4 Conservative Senate.

But the unprecedented effort to unify the tea party vote has drawn criticism from some local tea party supporters who say the approach undermines the fiercely independent ideology of the movement. Others who support former Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland, believe the movement is designed to endorse any candidate but him as the tea party favorite.

"I think it's really disingenuous to have a group of people come together and anoint themselves as tea party leaders and take it further and endorse a candidate," said Patty McMurray, of Birmingham, co-founder of the Michigan Conservative Alliance, which wasn't invited to the straw poll.

Modeled after the tea party unification in Indiana, Michigan tea party organizers say it's important to not only vet the candidates but also the tea party groups themselves. Gamrat has been whittling down the original list of 120 conservative groups in Michigan to ensure their longevity and activeness, and that they are truly a tea party group, not affiliated with a national organization and not a political action committee. Those who qualify are allowed to have two members cast votes in the straw poll. McMurray's group was excluded because it's a PAC, Gamrat said.

A few other qualified groups have declined to participate in the convention and straw poll, she said. Currently she expects about 110 people to cast straw poll votes, representing 55 tea party groups statewide.

McMurray and fellow MICA co-founder, Leisa Audette, are both Hoekstra supporters and feel the event is rigged so Hoekstra doesn't win. Though he co-founded the Tea Party Caucus while in Congress, some fellow candidates have painted Hoekstra as not conservative enough and part of the Washington establishment.

McMurray would advise Hoekstra not to participate until the format is known and to pass if it's connected to a straw poll to ordain the tea party candidate, she said. Both say they don't believe 100 or so people should speak for the tea party movement statewide.

Running for the GOP nomination are Hoekstra, Cornerstone Schools co-founder Clark Durant, former Judge Randy Hekman, Gary Glenn, president of the American Family Association of Michigan, Roscommon businessman Peter Konetchy, Brighton resident and business owner Chuck Marino, Grand Blanc resident Rick Wilson and libertarian Scotty Boman.

The Michigan 4 Conservative Senate effort kicked off last week by sending Stabenow a letter signed by 100 tea party leaders assuring their commitment to her retirement. The letter, blown up on an oversized scroll, was hand delivered by Washington D.C.-area tea party supporters, Gamrat said.

Randy Bishop, of the Northern Michigan Patriots, has been actively promoting the tea party convention and openly criticizes Hoekstra. He says unifying behind one candidate is necessary to avoid splitting the vote — as what happened in the governor's race last year leading to a Rick Snyder victory, he said.

"Just as much as much as we respect their choice not to participate we hope they would respect ours to participate," Bishop said of uninterested tea party groups.

mschultz@detnews.com

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