For a couple weeks now, Michele Bachmann’s campaign in South Carolina has been attacking the tea party movement by accusing tea party supporters of Newt Gingrich of being bought off.

Now that Michele Bachmann herself has decided to throw fuel on the fire, and this issue has become national news, we as leaders within the South Carolina tea party movement feel we must speak out to defend our integrity.

The South Carolina tea parties have a well-developed network and history of working together on statewide campaigns and legislative issues, and we are disappointed and angry that the Bachmann campaign is using this negative strategy in an attempt to divide us.

Speaker Gingrich has often said that he has one opponent – Barack Obama. He is right, because we must be unified as a team if we are to defeat President Obama and restore Constitutional government from the ground up.

When the Presidential campaigns leave our state on January 22, we will continue to work together to make South Carolina the freest state in the nation. There is support for many presidential campaigns among our organizations, but contrary to the inaccuracies being spread by the Bachmann campaign, there is no Bachmann/Gingrich war amongst our members.

Some of us may disagree on our choices, but those disagreements will not divide us, despite the attempts by Michele Bachmann and her campaign.

There are many Tea Party leaders who have decided to support Gingrich as a candidate. While 3 of them went on to join his staff, the vast majority of them are volunteers. We encourage our members and leaders to get involved at every level with campaigns, even staff positions. What better way to have an impact on those candidates!

The undersigned repudiate the negative tactics of Michele Bachmann’s campaign, and ask that she repudiate this continued questioning of the integrity of the movement she claims to represent.

Brit Adams
President, Concerned Citizens of the Upstate
Rick Santorum Supporter

Dianne Belsom
President, Laurens County Tea Party
Unpaid County Chair for Newt 2012

Jeffrey Betsch
Fairfield County Tea Party/Vice Chair Fairfield County GOP
Rick Santorum Supporter

Talbert Black Jr.
SC Campaign For Liberty
Not voting for Gingrich

Joe Dugan
Chairman, Myrtle Beach Tea Party
South Carolina Patriots. State Coordinator
Gingrich-not paid a penny

Charlotte Hendrix
President, Florence Tea Party
Unpaid Gingrich Supporter

Chris Horne
Charleston Tea Party
Gingrich Staff

Harry Kibler
Founder, RINO Hunt
Leaning Santorum

Karen Martin
Organizer, Spartanburg Tea Party
Unaffiliated

Gerri McDaniel
Treasurer and Board Member, Myrtle Beach Tea Party
Gingrich Staff

Allen Olson
Former Chairman, Columbia Tea Party
Unpaid Gingrich Supporter

Shery Smith
Chairman, Sumter Tea Party
Unpaid Gingrich Supporter

Linda Weeks
Coordinator, 912 Greenville
Undecided