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Tea Party Holds Rally In San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – A few hundred conservative activists gathered at Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco on Saturday for a Tea Party rally ahead of the November election.

They waved American flags, wore NRA ball caps and carried signs, all while urging their fellow Republicans to use the presidential campaign to change the direction of the country.

KCBS' Tim Ryan Reports:

Longtime activist Melanie Morgan asked the crowd to check their misery index.

"High gas prices, check. High unemployment, check. High debt, check," she said. "It is past time that we ask ourselves what Reagan asked us years ago, are you better off today than you were three years ago?"

Pam Sileman, who heads the Napa Tea Party, told the crowd that their concerns are being heard.

"I don't know what's going to happen to our country. I don't have all the answers but I do know that the answer is us. It's here," said Sileman. "Keep it up because we're making a difference."

San Francisco Police had words for a man who found his way onto the stage and its open microphone before he was booed off by the crowd.

The Tea Party doesn't endorse candidates and at the rally, there wasn't even a mention of the likely Republican Presidential Nominee, Mitt Romney.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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