Third Party Tea Party

Florida tea party activists have officially declared their independence from the political farce that is the two-party system and had their group certified as a minor political party. At the Daily Commercial, David Donald writes:

Tea party members in Florida now have a party to call their own. Florida Secretary of State Kurt Browning certified the Tea Party as an official minor political party, according to a Tea Party statement released Friday.

"Over the past year or more, we have seen a growing disenchantment with the existing two-party system," stated Orlando attorney Frederic O'Neal, Tea Party Chairman, in a press release. "The current system has become mired in the sludge of special interest money that seeks to control the leadership of both parties. It's time for real change . . .

The Tea Party joins 31 other minor political parties certified by the state. Some of those parties include the Reform Party, Green Party, Real Food Party of the United States of America, Prohibition Party, Veterans Party of America, The Christian Party and Florida Socialist Workers Party.

The certification allows the Tea Party to recruit its own candidates to run for state and local office in Florida.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to track down any more reports on this development nor have I found any corresponding announcements on Florida tea party websites. However, group has been listed on the political parties page of the the Florida Department of State and has been entered into site's committee tracking system.