Some favorites of Tea Party followers will headline two events in North Texas this week, but attendees will need to buy tickets to hear their speeches.
The Dallas Tea Party is hosting a symposium tonight in Mesquite featuring blogger and activist Andrew Breitbart. Admission will cost $5 to $20.
The event is meant as a fundraiser for the Dallas Tea Party as well as a promotion of its get-out-the-vote effort, said Phillip Dennis, Dallas Tea Party founder.
“Our operating expenses are for putting on events, insurance, permits, licenses,” Dennis said. “Unfortunately we don’t receive any government bailouts.”
Other speakers include Ginny Thomas, wife of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and conservative radio hosts Mark Davis and Jeff Bolton. None are being paid to speak, Dennis said.
On Saturday, a consortium of groups is hosting Nullify Now! at the Scott Theatre in Fort Worth. The six-hour event, focused on encouraging states to formally opt out of certain federal rules, is the opening of a multicity tour organized by the Los Angeles-based Tenth Amendment Center and Atlanta-based WeRefuse.com. Tickets cost $5 to $100.
“Our stance is we can follow the Constitution with or without the federal government going along with it,” said Michael Boldin of the Tenth Amendment Center.
Scheduled speakers include Debra Medina, a former Republican candidate for governor; Kathie Glass, the current Libertarian candidate for governor; and leaders of several local Tea Party groups. Some of the speakers are being paid to appear, Boldin said.
The event is being co-hosted by Carrollton-based Not in Texas Inc., and several local Tea Party groups are among the sponsors.
“These are expensive events to run,” Boldin said. “Our primary goal is to get the word out. We’d like to make some profit so we can expand to more dates.”
Aman Batheja, 817-390-7695
