Tea Party Rallies In Charlotte Area
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As Democrats get ready for the president to accept their nomination Thursday, conservatives in Charlotte were rallying their base, as the Tea Party hosted several events in the Charlotte area on Wednesday. NY1's Courtney Gross filed the following report.There was another presidential candidate in Charlotte Wednesday.
Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson dropped by a Tea Party event, just about a mile from where President Barack Obama will accept the Democratic nomination Thursday night.
Some speculate it's Johnson, the former Republican governor of New Mexico, that might be a spoiler for either Romney or the president in some swing states this fall.
"I really do wish I was known as a spoiler on both sides, that the notion that people really do care about the fact that we are in endless wars, the fact that we do care about civil liberties, that we have a growing police state."
Some Tea Partyers in Charlotte were taken by the candidate.
"For me, personally, voting for the lesser of two evils is still evil," said one
The appearance was part of LibertyStock, a response from the local Tea Party to Democrats coming to town.
"We are rallying the Tea Party base to make sure we can defeat Obama this November," said Dennis Peterson of Tea Party Charlotte.
Representatives from the Tea Party said they would rather host speaking engagements or seminars instead of protest the Democratic National Convention. This wasn't the only event in the area that they sponsored.
About a half hour from Charlotte, conservatives gathered on this farm.
Under blue skies and flags, with music and speeches, they banded together to blast the platform Democrats were touting in their home state.
"This is a grassroots event and how that is going to decide the election in North Carolina is how we get out our base and how well the grassroots groups can come together," said Thom Tillis, the North Carolina Speaker of the House.
It's a coalition that some attendees hope would help swing this swing state.
"I pray that Romney and Ryan will win," said one.
This won't be the last we will hear from these Tea Partyers this week. Officials say they will have events through the end of the convention.