Tea Party Convention Unravels

[babylonsister]

Tea Party Disputes Take Toll on Convention

By KATE ZERNIKE
Published: January 25, 2010


A Tea Party convention billed as the coming together of the grass-roots groups that began sprouting up around the country a year ago is unraveling as sponsors and participants pull out to protest its expense and express concerns about “profiteering.”

The convention’s difficulties highlight the fractiousness of the Tea Party groups, and the considerable suspicions among their members of anything that suggests the establishment.

The convention, to be held in Nashville in early February, made a splash by attracting big-name politicians. (Former Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska is scheduled to deliver the keynote speech.) But some groups have criticized the cost — $549 per ticket and a $9.95 fee, plus hotel and airfare — as out of reach for the average tea partier. And they have balked at Ms. Palin’s speaking fee, which news reports have put at $100,000, a figure that organizers will not confirm or deny.

Tea Party events exploded last winter, as increasingly large gatherings protested the federal stimulus bill, government bailouts and proposed health care legislation. While they vary by name, specific tenets and relative embrace of anarchy, such groups tend to unite around fiscal conservatism and a belief that the federal government — whether led by Republicans or Democrats — has overstepped its constitutional powers.

Tea Party Nation, the convention organizer, started as a social networking site for the groups last year, a kind of Facebook for conservatives to “form bonds, network and make plans for action.” But its founders, former sponsors and participants are now trading accusations.

Philip Glass, the national director of the National Precinct Alliance, announced late Sunday that “amid growing controversy” around the convention, his organization would no longer participate. His group seeks to take over the Republican Party from the bottom by filling the ranks of local and state parties with grass-roots conservatives, and Mr. Glass had been scheduled to lead workshops on its strategy.

“We are very concerned about the appearance of T.P.N. profiteering and exploitation of the grass-roots movement,” he said in a statement. “We were under the impression that T.P.N. was a nonprofit organization like N.P.A., interested only in uniting and educating Tea Party activists on how to make a real difference in the political arena.”

more...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/26/us/politics/26teaparty.html?hp

[aquart]

1. I guess they were that naive.

[Turbineguy]

2. The post headline made me think

it was organized by the Democratic party.

[Lerkfish]

3. ironic, since it was monied interest that whipped up the movement in the first place

so, it was always profiteering.

[hobbit709]

4. Slowly, dawn breaks on marblehead.

The useful idiots are finding out they've been used.
This is what happens when your life is based on reacting instead of thinking.

[Lasher]

6. They're pretty slow to catch on to the obvious.

Iowa Republicans wince at Sarah Palin's $100K speaking fee
10/29/09

A conservative Iowa group’s effort to lure Sarah Palin to its banquet next month has had an unintended effect: Rather than exciting conservatives about the prospect of a visit from the former Alaska governor, the group’s plan to raise a six-figure sum to bring her to the state has GOP activists recoiling at the thought of paying to land a politician's speaking appearance.

The Iowa Family Policy Center’s effort to cobble together $100,000 for Palin would represent a striking departure from customary practice in the first-in-the-nation state, these Republicans say, noting that a generation of White House hopefuls has paid their own way to boost their party and presidential ambitions.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/28873.html

[zeemike]

7. Waking up from the mesmerism is a slow process.

but slowly the truth comes out for many (but not all)
And that is why education is so important.

[liberal N proud]

5. Wasn't Glenn Beck there to tell them what to think?

[Ganja Ninja]

8. I believe they prefer 'teabagger party' to 'tea party'. n/t

[donco6]

9. Let's see, they'll pay $560 for a conference -

but whine their asses off when their taxes go up by $20.

What's wrong with this picture?

[tanyev]

10. Tea bags coming apart; large pile of used tea leaves predicts gloomy future.

[zbdent]

11. aw come on ... let them bring in their 2nd amendment guaranteed firearms ...

and serve alcohol for free ...

[BR_Parkway]

12. Repulicults involved and no one guessed that someone would make

it a profit motivated event? I'm amazed some of these folks don't forget to breathe sometimes.

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[surrealAmerican]

14. You're on the wrong forum.

If you'd ever read anything on DU, you wouldn't be posting this inane propaganda here.

[Lasher]

15. Ha ha ha, what a total ass you are!

Playing soldier with your little flags, thinking that if you do the bidding of rich folks they will someday let you be rich too.

How pathetic. Now run along to your pep rally and chip in big bucks for the privelege of being conned by Sarah - who actually is getting rich, off fools like you.

Edit: Just before this guy was put out of his misery I managed to hit the link he posted in his now-deleted message. It goes straight to a website where he's pimping flags and t-shirts to anybody dumb enough to drink the teabagger koolaid.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

16. You mean an effort to organize a bunch of guys who don't care about anyone except themselves failed?

I'm shocked! Totally shocked!

[The Backlash Cometh]

17. I'm confused.

Albeit, it's a terminal condition with me. Everything confuses me. But, in this case, aren't Tea baggers Republicans who support capitalism? If so, don't they understand that it means that they have to pay more for everything?

[Fleshdancer]

18. Conferences are expensive

Then again, if they offered or agreed to pay Palin $100,000, then they're even bigger idiots than I originally expected.

Aside from insane speaker fees, many people don't realize the amount of money that is spent on hosting a conference. Assuming this is taking place in a hotel, the space and catering can easily cost $60,000 or more. Then you have the lighting and sound equipment and setup which can be anywhere from $12,000 to $30,000 depending on what you need. Hotels love to charge for blocks of rooms so in order to reserve the rooms and get a small discount for your attendees, you have to guarantee to pay for them even if your guests don't book them all. Then you have to pay for the lanyards/name tags, banners, and programs. Since conferences don't run themselves, you have to staff your event because volunteers can/will only do so much. The costs add up very fast and unless you have a ton of sponsors for the event, the attendees will have to pay their fair share.

Just because an organization is non-profit doesn't mean things are magically free for them or that their employees work for free. It's still a business, but without the shareholders.

[Contrary1]

21. You forgot to add in the cost of the port-a-potties. n/t

[alfredo]

19. Republicans always put money over people, so why should they complain that

their organizations are out to make as much profit as possible. Just pay up and shut up. It's the Republican way.

[Scurrilous]

20. K & R

:thumbsup: