Online Business Network Launched Under 'Tea Party Chamber of Commerce' Banner

Chambers of commerce and tea parties don't always see eye to eye, so South Florida Tea Party director Everett Wilkinson is putting like-minded businesses and activists together online.

Launching the Tea Party Chamber of Commerce, Wilkinson, of Palm Beach Gardens, says his new site has attracted roughly 100 companies since it launched this month.

Participating firms in Florida range from plumbers and Realtors to rehab clinics and gun shops (no surprise there).

"The ideaoriginatedwhen tea party members saw the need to connect business owners and patriots," says Wilkinson, who pairs his high-tech background with a political-entrepreneurial spirit.

Calling the chamber "an exclusive group of business owners and professionals that share tea party values," Wilkinson said the group's mission is to "help take back America by supporting companies and ideas that are in line with our Founding Fathers."