A South Florida Tea Party official quits, cites chairman’s criticism of Ryan Medicare plan
by George Bennett | June 20th, 2011Pam Wohlschlegel, the director of the Palm Beach County chapter of the South Florida Tea Party, has resigned, saying she disagrees with Chairman Everett Wilkinson‘s recent declaration that Republican House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan ‘s Medicare overhaul plan is a “public policy nightmare.”
Wohlschlegel, who helped organize tea party events and groups in Palm Beach County but didn’t have a policy-setting role, announced her resignation via an e-mail this evening that doesn’t cite specific reasons for her departure. She revealed more in an interview.
“If it were my organization, I would not speak for the organization without taking a poll and I don’t necessarily think that his positions on such things as E-Verify and his latest position on Paul Ryan, I don’t think it necessarily reflects the feelings of all the members of the organization,” Wohlschlegel said.
In addition to opposing the Ryan plan, which is popular with many in the tea party movement, Wilkinson bucked tea party sentiment by opposing a bill to require that businesses use the federal E-Verify system to check the immigration status of workers.
Wilkinson said his criticism of the Ryan budget plan, sent late Thursday night in a “Dear Patriots” e-mail and later posted on the South Florida Tea Party website, “was in my name, it was not in the name of the tea party in general.”
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June 20th, 2011 at 9:58 pm
Pam….PLEASE create your own Tea Party! I would love to help you!! We need representation in Florida and SFTP was never it!! You brought dignity and class to SFTP but that is just not enough even with Everett BEHIND the scenes! His agenda is his own…always has been!
June 20th, 2011 at 9:58 pm
People, people .. can’t we all just get along? And have respect for differences in opinion?
June 20th, 2011 at 10:10 pm
Everett Wilkinson is a disgrace. He is in this all for himself, not the Tea Party movement or the betterment of America.
He just wants to get publicity for himself, go or bad (usually bad).
He doesn’t speak for the grassroots. Most Tea Party and grassroots organizations want nothing to do with him. Some actually have disclaimers on their websites letting people know they are in no way affiliated with Everett. He has tried to use other groups events to fundraise for SFTPP because he has no credibility and no one will support SFTPP while he’s at the helm.
If he had a shred of dignity and/or cared about the Tea Party movement, HE would have resigned rather than allow Pam to step aside.
Let me end where I started. Everett Wilkinson is a disgrace. And the man that gleefully takes credit for “creating the Tea Party”, and the monster that Everett has become, Palm Beach County Republican Chairman Sid Dinerstein should speak out and tell Everett to resign. But I won’t hold my breath.
June 20th, 2011 at 10:43 pm
I really liked Pam. I have been in the tea party in West Palm Beach since day one. Everett Wilkinson is great leader and willing to take tough stands. No one else is willing to stand up to the GOP and liberals!
June 20th, 2011 at 11:14 pm
Stand up to the GOP? He was installed by Sid Dinerstein, who wrote the first check for SFTPP. If Everett ever stops kissing GOP butt he won’t have basic operating funds.
June 21st, 2011 at 12:28 am
I’m glad that Mr. Wilkinson has decided to express his true opinion regarding the Mr. Ryan’s medicare saving plan. Isn’t it good and refreshing to have leaders who have a dissenting opinion from time to time? We may not agree with their opinion but having a bunch of followers in charge with no opportunity to disagree with senior leadership is dangerous and not what they are charged to do.
June 21st, 2011 at 12:29 am
Against Everify and the Ryan plan? Are we sure this Wilkerson guy is even familiar with the movement? Is he just taking stands in the hope of distancing himself from the Republicans at who’s teat he’s suckled for 2 years? Like we won’t notice, and forget him heckling Rick Scott? Or stooging for Donald Trump? So long, Everett.
June 21st, 2011 at 12:31 am
As a registered Democrat and tea party member, I have found Wilkinson to be very fair and standing up for seniors citizens. It is unfortunate that our two party system forces to vote for the least evil. Maybe with more leaders like Wilkinson we can take America back!
June 21st, 2011 at 5:55 am
Tea Lady and Tea Patriot.
You have got to be kidding. Everett has been shunned by every group in the state. He does these things only to draw attention to himself. Always falling back on the statement that he is speaking for himself. Then he signs everything with SFTP. Why do you think so many people have left him. Why hasn’t he paid the money that is owed our city? This is nothing more than a slight of hand to get off the real issue that he is going to stick taxpayers with a $6,000.00 bill just so he could rub elbows with Trump.
He is a loser, has always been a loser and will always be a loser. Just ask the political party TEA Party and who paid for all the lawsuits that Everett filed and LOST. It was the RPOF and the local GOP that had and still has him in their pocket.
This guy is finished and if you stick with him you will be as well. You will come off as a radical group with no help from anyone. In other words, outcasts.
June 21st, 2011 at 9:07 am
All you Tea party people are a big joke and shills for the policies of the Republican Party and the Corporatization of the United States of America.
Get your head out of your -
June 21st, 2011 at 10:21 am
Some Teapublicans are good people that are grossly uninformed and have been egregiously mislead. Most of them however seem to be pharmaceutically lobotomized, having the mentality of Anne Bananas Coulter and Miss-Hell Bonkers Bachmann, like that… But combined, they are the charlatans and shills of the wealthy and globalist corporations that mindlessly kick the global warming can down the road toward the avalanching natural cascading feedback loops, which will exceed irreversible tipping point thresholds that will turn their tea into planetary poison…
June 21st, 2011 at 12:38 pm
As a Tea Partier from the beginning in Florida I have been amazed that you have kept Everett as your leader all this time. I have watched him from afar filing a lawsuit funded by a South FL mob lawyer, heckle and try to push around our now Gov during an interview, completely mess up an event in Tallahassee and talk himself into the ridiculous hole of “look at me” all the while in the name of “his” Tea Party People”. The clincher for me was reading his deposition in that law suit and how he made such a fool of himself. The members of his group should have to listen to it.
Good luck Pam! Start your own group!
June 21st, 2011 at 1:17 pm
Why is all this hate toward Wilkinson? I can only guess that he is very effective and the liberals hate him. I have attended the Jupiter meetings and been to many of the large rallies. It is too bad that outsiders that pretend to be “tea party” attack Wilkinson. I like Pam and Wilkinson.
June 21st, 2011 at 1:33 pm
Where to begin??? Everett is a useless shill for Sid “confused old man” Dinerstein. Dinerstein always claims to have written the first check for the first tea party in the county. Everett has too much fried chicken grease between his ears to put a cohesive thought together, let alone inspire others to follow him. He finally found a way to get back at all the people who kicked his chubby, loser butt everyday in school. Both he and Sid are completely delusional, in fact, I think that Everett actually caught some of dinerstein’s senility. The tea party is useless with losers like “don’t call me norman, call me chubsy ubsy” Wilkinson pretending to be a leader.
The tea party was best when it had no leader and was a movement of the people, the way it should be.
June 26th, 2011 at 10:53 pm
I support the Tea Party however just having meetings on fiscal responsibility is getting a little stale. Doesn’t anyone in the organization realize the United Nations is in our towns? Hearing the same old same old …$.40 of every dollar is being spent for the entitlements…..Get over it ….have meetings with some gusto and talk about Agenda 21/Sustainable Development, has anyone looked up the ultimate goal of the liberal/socialist politicians in our country. Talk like you have fire in your belly. Fight for FREEDOM. Fight for the Constitution of the United States the law of our land. Stand up, question, have speakers that send a message beside lower taxes, stop the spending. Yes, these are important issues but in the name of Freedom look at what is going on in this country LOCALLY. AND SUPPORT THE CONSERVATIVE, CONSTITUTIONAL CANDIDATES. WE ARE LOOSING OUR FREEDOM SO DO NOT PUT ME TO SLEEP.