As a part of the Tea Party campaign, conservative activists have been encouraged to send tea bags to elected representatives. The only problem is, according to Sarah Olkin at the Chicago Tribune, "the tea keeps getting mistaken for a hazardous substance."

In Boulder, Colo., the district office of U.S. Rep. Jared Polis recently called for help after a lumpy white envelope with no return address arrived in the mail. The Boulder County Hazardous Materials Response Team found a tea bag and a note reading "We the People, 1773."

Earlier this month in Manchester, N.H., a hazmat team descended on the office of U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter after employees opened an envelope marked "tax protest" and found a bunch of tea leaves. Two days later, the Modesto, Calif., office of U.S. Rep. George Radanovich was evacuated after an intern alerted staff after finding an envelope containing a "granular substance" that turned out to be, once again, tea.

With the protest expected to reach a crescendo Wednesday—organizers say some 300 "tea parties" are scheduled for April 15—some conservatives are now trying to persuade folks to send just the tag or write the word "tea bag" instead.

Nico Pitney at Huffington Post reports this morning that "the office of Rep. George Radanovich in Modesto, Calif., was also vacuated.

About 20 people from the building, including those in the congressman's office and two mortgage firms, were evacuated as a precaution.

Modesto Fire Battalion Chief Rich Sasser said the envelope held a granular substance. It did not have a return address.

About 3 p.m., the Stanislaus County Hazardous Materials Response Team went into the office. Sasser said their monitors showed there was nothing dangerous, so the hazmat team double-bagged the sealed envelope and turned it over to the FBI.

Whoops! Hmm, I bet sending out hazmat teams uses taxpayer money. Maybe these cities should send the bill to Fox News?

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-$aveTheRich.com