Lots of people want those things. Just because someone appoints themselves a "tea party leader" that doesn't give them the right to dictate to others.
They asked him to go. He said no. They expressed their concern he didn’t go. Perfectly reasonable.
Groups like Kansas for Liberty are in the trenches fighting everyday. They expected up to 3000 people to attend. Rick chose to attend a function with 300 insiders instead. Speaks volumes about his priorities.