Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Can the Tea Party buy what Michael Pryce is selling?

Dr. Michael Pryce recently announced his candidacy for the Senate in Ohio. Despite the fact that he missed the deadline to register as a Tea Party candidate, he's calling himself a man of the Tea Party anyway. In reality, if he somehow is able to gather 5,000 signatures, he'll still be labeled as simply an Independent candidate on the ballot in November.

But considering his contribution history, he may find it difficult getting help gathering signatures from Tea Party grassroots organizations.

Among his donations include several contributions, sometimes in the hundreds to thousands, to Mike DeWine, George Voinovich and Betty Montgomery. Not exactly favorites of the Tea Party.

Additionally, his press release includes the following quote from the "candidate":
When George Washington left office, he warned against relying on the two-party system. We are seeing the end result of two-party partisan politics. They have nearly destroyed this country’s well-being.
Interestingly enough, Pryce was pretty happy with the Party system when he contributed to both the National Republican Congressional Committee(NRCC) and National Republican Senatorial Committee(NRSC).

Take a look for yourself on Opensecrets.

In reality, much more likely than not this whole campaign will end up moot, as Pryce will find it much more difficult than he anticipates to gather 5,000 valid signatures.

2 comments:

  1. I do believe that many who have wished the Republican Party would carry forth with their promises would and then found that the progressives in the Republican Party were no different that the Democrat progressives. Getting sick of broken promises and outlandish spending, they become independent and try to bring sanity back to the American people.

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  2. My name is Michael Pryce and I would like to comment on this submission. First of all, when I announced my candidacy, I was invited to the Portage County Tea Party meeting. I was raised in Portage County, my medical practice is in Portage County and I have spent my life serving the people of that county so I felt it fitting to kick off the campaign there. I did not even get to finish my speech because I was interrupted so many times by applause for what I had to say. Since the author was not there, he was not privy to the fact that I am no longer a Republican. I am now and I intend to remain an Independent. I cannot deny my past. I was a life long Republican because I am a conservative. True, I contributed to people I had trust in, including Senator George Voinovich. I ran 4 fundraisers for him in my house and gave stump speeches for him when he could not attend "Meet the Candidates" functions. We raised over $250,000 for campaigns during his career. With that, in 8 years as Governor, and 12 years as US Senator, he has not so much as answered even one phone call to me. Neither did Betty Montgomery. Neither has any other Republican. I have just been used as a contributor and never been allowed to participate in anything substantial as a Republican. Like most of the real conservatives in this country, I, too have become disenchanted with the two party system and I no longer dropped out. I was tagged a "tea party candidate" by the Buckeyestateblog yet I have never joined a tea party because to date there are no such organizations. I am in Independent as are 63% of all Ohio voters. I am a conservative. What the blogger has failed to realize that within 2 days of the speech I gave at the Portage County Tea Party meeting the Republican Party came out with the announcement that the Party had convinced Tom Ganley to drop out of the race with Portman so the water would not be muddied during the Primary. Then several people still in the Republican Party have told me my name has come up during Republican Breakfasts claiming I am going to be trouble to them. That is very true. If elected I intend to make the Republicans live up to their continued line of crap about making government smaller, making taxes lower, restoring a strong defense and all the crap they have strewn about Since "Read My Lips - No New Taxes" George 41 Bush. Then along came his incompetent son and the promise of all the above during two elections and two more times I fell for it. I have not donated a cent to the Republican Party for years. The Republican Party recruited a Democrat to run against my wife, a 20 year precinct chairman and senior precinct chairman in our area. So quit trying to label me as a Republican. When I was a Republican, I was proud until I realized I was being sandbagged. The Portage County Tea Party had good things to say about my campaign. This blogger looks like a Republican in Tea Party clothes trying to disrupt my campaign before it begins. My comment is can the Tea Party people really afford not to buy what I am campaigning about? Do they want to turn everything back over to the Republicans AGAIN? They will have to make that decision for themselves. As for the signatures, we are gaining momentum and I am confident we will get what we need. Democrats are offering to help because they see me as a vote splitter. With 63% of the people listed as Independent now in Ohio I will take all the help they offer because I do not intend to split the vote, I intend to win it.

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