(CNN) - The motto for the organization Tea Party Patriots is "100% Grassroots, 100% of the time."
And to keep that philosophy, the group's co-founder Mark Meckler recently paid a visit to Cincinnati. Ohio's primary is part of "Super Tuesday," meaning the Buckeye State has seen its share of the Republican presidential contenders.
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Meckler's job is to get the grassroots excited about voting, no matter for whom.
"In the presidential primaries, all of the candidates are speaking to tea party values," Meckler told CNN Radio. "I don't think any of them [is] the perfect tea party candidate, if you look at their records [on] tea party principles."
The candidates, plus the respective super PACs supporting their White House bids, have gone after each other on issues such as voting records in Congress, earmarks, health care reform (real and imagined), and ethics.
So there's always something for a tea party activist to find troubling, Meckler said, theorizing the slate of concerns might explain exit polls showing voters who self-describe as tea party supporters not coalescing behind one GOP contender.
"They've all embraced, fully, tea party principles," Meckler repeated, but noted all candidates, "with the exception of Ron Paul, are big-government Republicans. These are guys that have believed in and voted for big government programs. These are big spenders."
When a nominee is crowned, Meckler figured not much would change in terms of what the movement wants.
"The goal of the tea party is to see that principles in which we believe - fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited free government, free markets - become part of the debate in every election around the country," he said.
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