Editor’s Note: Steve is a PCA Preacher’s Kid (his dad, Jim, a longtime close friend of The Aquila Report Publisher Don Clements, died quickly from cancer in 2007. Steve has been in the RPCES, PCA, ARP and is now a member of an OPC Church in Gastonia, NC. He tells us about his recent trip to Tampa.

I am a board member and serve on the Tea Party of Greater Gaston County, North Carolina. Networking with other Tea Parties in NC we were made aware that CNN was hosting the first ever GOP Tea Party Debate.

My brother, Phil, from Eastern Carolina, and I wanted to go meet other Tea Party Leaders from around the country to get the pulse of what is on their minds and what candidate they may be supporting.

Our findings while attending the pre-debate activities were that more than 2/3 of the people attending here did not endorse a candidate yet and that leaders are still cautious about determining any front runners, even though the media (mainline and other) would like to suggest otherwise.

Hot topics discussed and overheard were concerns on Agenda 21/Sustainable Development, Devaluation of the Dollar, and, of course, the need for a free market correction for unemployment (government intervention is not the answer).

Agenda 21 is a UN initiative enacted at the local level under the guise of sustainable greenways that “connect communities”. It’s all part of the carbon credit propaganda pushed by environmentalists and often utilizes eminent domain to get it’s properties for the projects. Communities that comply often get a yearly kickback.

When I had an opportunity to ask a question, I said this: “What is your position on the Federal Reserve? Should it be audited, and be held accountable to the people of this country?”

I asked the question to the candidates because I believe that at the heart of much of the corruption in the financial area of our government is the untold printing and distribution of the money in America. Where is the money going and to whom? I have other questions like why are these bankers allowed to act independently with no accountability? See the Q&A on YouTube

As to the answer for the Fed question, we felt, as politicians often do, they talked about themselves and skirted the issue in generalities rather than explain their positions with specifics. We were very disappointed that Gingrich and Paul, who were most qualified to answer the question, were not given the time of day on the topic. The Fed, in our opinion, has a great deal to do with the manipulation of our currency in the current economic crisis, therefore the question is very important, and wasn’t given the weight it deserved.

I heard afterward through Facebook and some friends that my brother Phil got a lot of facetime on CNN. He did a lot of cheering for Ron Paul and CNN thought would get a show

The ambiance of the meeting felt less like a pep rally and more investigative by like-minded state tea party leaders. A majority of people were trying to press for more info on the candidates than just talking points, so in that regard, the event was a success, because more records came forth in the mainstream, such as Perry’s Gardasil legislation (vaccine legislation being produced by Merck under investigation for kickbacks) than was out before.

There are upsides and downsides to debates. Upsides are generally that it’s another chance to test a candidate’s honesty and compare records. Downside is that everything is screened, so that nothing is truly organic.

Steve Routszong is a graduate of UNC Greensboro and works in Business Development for Diversified Clinical Services, the largest Outpatient Wound Care Center Management firm in the U.S. He lives in Gastonia, NC with his wife Rose, and children Kathleen, Hope, and Robert. They attend Reformation OPC, a church plant in the Gastonia area.