I did not try to contact Martha Coakley out of a third-grader’s sense of “fairness”; rather, I did so because we are first and foremost a non-partisan group. I did so out of principle: if a candidate wants to talk to us, I will work to set that up, no matter how much I personally may dislike her as a candidate. It isn’t my decision or Christen’s decision to ignore candidates or to put up walls between those who are campaigning to represent us and those who would be their constituents.

The GBTP has been successful (in a state that is not exactly receptive to our ideas) because we hold on to our principles. The GOP is where it is today because it let go of its principles a bit at a time and eventually found itself in a disaster; it did not suddenly decide to abdicate its basic mission. I do not want the same to happen to the GBTP. Like Caesar’s wife, we must be above reproach. Otherwise, we’ll end up as an arm of the GOP or the laughingstock of the state.

Just an FYI. The Greater Boston Tea Party, and no group in MA as far as I know, has “backed” any candidate. We are a non-profit, public policy advocation group. As part of our mission, we have endeavoured to introduce our members to the three candidates in this critical race. Our members have overwhelmingly chosen to back Scott Brown.

In addition, we have no plans to form a new political party or participate in the formation of such. That is not our mission. We believe that people are more than capable, when reminded of the theory and value of our nation’s founding principles, of making their own decision as to who is the candidate they will support. We are not a special interest group that exists because it’s members feel they are more qualified than the rest of us to make those important decisions.