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GOP operatives crash the tea party

Chappy

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Excerpted from “GOP operatives crash the tea party” By KENNETH P. VOGEL, Politico, 4/14/10 4:56 AM EDT
[SIZE="+2"]J[/SIZE]ust days after the first widespread tea party demonstrators hit the streets a year ago Thursday, Joe Wierzbicki, a Republican political consultant with the Sacramento firm Russo Marsh + Rogers, made a proposal to his colleagues that he said could “give a boost to our PAC and position us as a growing force/leading force as the 2010 elections come into focus.”

The proposal, obtained by POLITICO, was for a nationwide tea party bus tour, to be called the Tea Party Express, which over the past seven months has become among the most identifiable brands of the tea party movement. Buses emblazoned with the Tea Party Express logo have brought speakers and entertainers to rallies in dozens of small towns and big cities, including one in Boston on Wednesday that will feature former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

Aided by campaign-style advance work and event planning, slick ads cut by Russo Marsh, impressive crowds and a savvy media operation, the political action committee run by Wierzbicki, Russo Marsh founder Sal Russo and a handful of other Republican operatives has also emerged as among the prolific fundraising vehicles under the tea party banner. Known as Our Country Deserves Better when it was founded during the 2008 election as a vehicle to oppose Barack Obama’s campaign for president, the PAC saw its fundraising more than quadruple after it took the Tea Party Express public in July, raising nearly $2.7 million in roughly the following six months, compared with less than $600,000 in the preceding six months, according to Federal Election Commission filings. …

“We have to be very very careful about discussing amongst ourselves anyone we include “outside of the family” because quite frankly, we are not only NOT part of the political establishment or conservative establishment, but we are also sadly not currently a part of the “tea party” establishment (i.e. Michelle Malkin, Eric Odom of Don’t Go Movement, Smart Girl Politics, Top Conservatives on Twitter, Freedom Works, Newt Gingrich of American Solutions, etc…)” — Joe Wierzbicki, a Republican political consultant with the Sacramento firm Russo Marsh + Rogers

Oops, cat's out of the bag.

Looks like the Tea Party Express was a program for the profit of the Russo Marsh + Rogers political consulting firm. And, they made all kinds of money doing it.
 
“We have to be very very careful about discussing amongst ourselves anyone we include “outside of the family” because quite frankly, we are not only NOT part of the political establishment or conservative establishment, but we are also sadly not currently a part of the “tea party” establishment (i.e. Michelle Malkin, Eric Odom of Don’t Go Movement, Smart Girl Politics, Top Conservatives on Twitter, Freedom Works, Newt Gingrich of American Solutions, etc…)” — Joe Wierzbicki, a Republican political consultant with the Sacramento firm Russo Marsh + Rogers

Oops, cat's out of the bag.

Looks like the Tea Party Express was a program for the profit of the Russo Marsh + Rogers political consulting firm. And, they made all kinds of money doing it.


Mmmmmmm huh. :)

Very entrepreneurial of them. :mrgreen:
 
'Scuse my ignorance, but under what guise was all this money raised and where did the "donations" come from?
 
How many of the rubes and sheep out their today realized they're being manipulated by the GOP/RNC?

I just passed a bunch of teabaggers standing on a corner across from my old high school. Same tired moronic talking point. Honk if you're a patriot.

Listen, nitwits, honk if you respect the constitution, the electoral process, the legislative process, the way the a Republic work...:roll:
 
'Scuse my ignorance, but under what guise was all this money raised and where did the "donations" come from?

The "real" Tea Party folks are quite upset. From the article:

But the Tea Party Express’s high profile has angered tea party leaders who are suspicious of its big payments to Russo Marsh, view the bus tours as distractions from meaningful grass-roots organizing headed into the 2010 midterm elections and say the Republican ties of both the firm and PAC are wrong for a movement that has prided itself on independence from the political establishment and has fiercely rejected what it sees as GOP efforts to co-opt it.

“We’ve worked hard to distance ourselves from the Tea Party Express because of their close affiliation with the Republican Party, the Republican establishment and their PAC,” said Debbie Dooley, a national coordinator for the Tea Party Patriots, a national umbrella group of local activists. The Patriots have supported a strict nonpartisan posture but also have struggled to raise money, and Dooley contends that’s partly because of Tea Party Express.

“When people donate to Tea Party Express, they think that they are donating to a tea party, because they don’t read the fine print at the bottom of their e-mails that says it is a PAC,” she said. “And that hurts the local grass-roots tea party organizers, since a lot of that is actually taking some money away from them.”

Adds Ned Ryun, president of American Majority, a nonprofit group that trains local tea party organizers: “I’m concerned that they’re using (Tea Party Express) as a marketing gimmick to line the pockets of consultants instead of actually helping the tea party movement. People are already pretty fired up, so enough protesting and rallying — they need to be empowered to go back and organize their communities.”

Read more: GOP operatives crash the tea party - Kenneth P. Vogel - POLITICO.com
 
'Scuse my ignorance, but under what guise was all this money raised and where did the "donations" come from?

“When people donate to Tea Party Express, they think that they are donating to a tea party, because they don’t read the fine print at the bottom of their e-mails that says it is a PAC. And that hurts the local grass-roots tea party organizers, since a lot of that is actually taking some money away from them.” — Debbie Dooley, a national coordinator for the Tea Party Patriots, a national umbrella group of local activists

The “donations” are from ordinary people who think they are giving to their local tea party. But, it just ain't so. It's a PAC controlled by Republican consultants.

Excerpted from “GOP operatives crash the tea party” By KENNETH P. VOGEL, Politico, 4/14/10 4:56 AM EDT
[SIZE="+2"]I[/SIZE]ts fundraising success has made the PAC — which formally filed with the FEC in October to change its name to “Our Country Deserves Better PAC–TeaPartyExpress.org” — a power player in the tea party and beyond, airing hundreds of thousands of dollars in ads supporting Republican campaigns such as Scott Brown’s successful special election for Senate in Massachusetts and blasting Democratic ones, such as Senate Majority Leader Reid’s reelection bid in Nevada.

And that fundraising success has also meant a brisk business for Russo March, which essentially runs the PAC. In that capacity, Russo Marsh and a sister firm called King Media Group have received $1.9 million of the $4.1 million in payments made by the committee — a financial relationship that is not uncommon between political action committees run by consultants and their consulting firms. …
 
How many of the rubes and sheep out their today realized they're being manipulated by the GOP/RNC?

I just passed a bunch of teabaggers standing on a corner across from my old high school. Same tired moronic talking point. Honk if you're a patriot.

Listen, nitwits, honk if you respect the constitution, the electoral process, the legislative process, the way the a Republic work...:roll:

You should call the cops. Exposing ones privates in public is indecent exposure. I'd check and make sure you don't have laws in your vicinity where if you witness a crime and don't report it that you could be held liable. Its really says something about you it seems that you saw someone sexually violating someone else, at a high school no less, and thought about politics rather than doing your civic duty.
 
How 'bout everybody just quit all the bull**** honkin' altogether and give a brutha a lil' peace.
 
How many of the rubes and sheep out their today realized they're being manipulated by the GOP/RNC?

I just passed a bunch of teabaggers standing on a corner across from my old high school. Same tired moronic talking point. Honk if you're a patriot.

Listen, nitwits, honk if you respect the constitution, the electoral process, the legislative process, the way the a Republic work...:roll:

Anyone or any party who claims to be the one true patriot, true American, or that they and only they know the true meaning of the Constitution is virtaually allways lying.
 
How many of the rubes and sheep out their today realized they're being manipulated by the GOP/RNC?

I just passed a bunch of teabaggers standing on a corner across from my old high school. Same tired moronic talking point. Honk if you're a patriot.

Listen, nitwits, honk if you respect the constitution, the electoral process, the legislative process, the way the a Republic work...:roll:

Was this one of them ? Hope it worked first time I tried to copy past a URL


[URL
a-woman-has-tea-bags-hanging-from-her-hat-as-she-a.html"]



http://www.chron.com/disp/photo.mpl/photos/21277133/a-woman-has-tea-bags-hanging-from-her-hat-as-she-a.html[/URL]

HTML:
http://www.chron.com/disp/photo.mpl/photos/21277133/a-woman-has-tea-bags-hanging-from-her-hat-as-she-a.html
 
HTML:
How many of the rubes and sheep out their today realized they're being manipulated by the GOP/RNC?

I just passed a bunch of teabaggers standing on a corner across from my old high school. Same tired moronic talking point. Honk if you're a patriot.

Listen, nitwits, honk if you respect the constitution, the electoral process, the legislative process, the way the a Republic work...:roll:

HAZ, Were your 'teabaggers' wearing shirts from this company ?

Bagger T-shirts - CafePress
HTML:
Bagger T-shirts

I am confused now. I though that the term 'teabagger' was "offensive to TP 'S but look atT his : There is a company that sells Bagger T-shirts

Bagger Women's Dark T-Shirt $24 and on same page Tea Party 2010
White T-Shirt $22$15

So is tea bagger an insulting term or not ??

HTML:
"Shop the world's largest collection of Bagger T-shirts. Find high-quality Bagger shirts in styles, colors and sizes for everyone. If you don't find the perfect Bagger tee shirt, it's easy to customize your own by adding photos, images and text. Most orders ship within 24 hours, and all orders come with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. For more products, visit our Bagger gifts page now. Or try making your own personalized t-shirts
AllWomenMenKidsBabyFor DogsMake your own T-shirt"
 
How many of the rubes and sheep out their today realized they're being manipulated by the GOP/RNC?

I just passed a bunch of teabaggers standing on a corner across from my old high school. Same tired moronic talking point. Honk if you're a patriot.

Listen, nitwits, honk if you respect the constitution, the electoral process, the legislative process, the way the a Republic work...:roll:

You know, I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, a the GOP appears to be attempting to co-opt a grass roots movement, and on the surface it appears to be a bad thing. However, on the other hand, the Tea Party is pretty disorganized at this time, at least the real grass roots ones are, and some leadership from those they are going to vote for anyways is not a bad thing. But there is another twist to the story. When the GOP attempted to make John McCain into a grass roots icon, they failed miserably. Why? Because Americans are not stupid, and yet the Republican party paraded out a fake plumber with no plumber's license, and ran a pretty slick ad campaign, so slick that people saw through it. The Republican Party, if they choose to use and lead the Tea Partiers, is going to have to be much more honest this time. With the right leadership, I think they might have a winner. With the wrong leadership, well, the Democrats are going to lose seats anyways, but GOP performance won't be nearly as good as it could be. I think it's pretty much up to the Republican party how they handle this. Again, I don't think it is such a bad thing, and it was bound to happen anyways.
 
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You know, I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, a the GOP appears to be attempting to co-opt a grass roots movement, and on the surface it appears to be a bad thing. However, on the other hand, the Tea Party is pretty disorganized at this time, at least the real grass roots ones are, and some leadership from those they are going to vote for anyways is not a bad thing. But there is another twist to the story. When the GOP attempted to make John McCain into a grass roots icon, they failed miserably. Why? Because Americans are not stupid, and yet the Republican party paraded out a fake plumber with no plumber's license, and ran a pretty slick ad campaign, so slick that people saw through it. The Republican Party, if they choose to use and lead the Tea Partiers, is going to have to be much more honest this time. With the right leadership, I think they might have a winner. With the wrong leadership, well, the Democrats are going to lose seats anyways, but GOP performance won't be nearly as good as it could be. I think it's pretty much up to the Republican party how they handle this. Again, I don't think it is such a bad thing, and it was bound to happen anyways.

But once the the GOP co-opts the Tea Party, doesn't it cease to be a "grass roots" movement to become just another piece of the Republican political machine? Isn't that why the the men behind The Tea Party Express wanted to keep their participation quiet?
 
But once the the GOP co-opts the Tea Party, doesn't it cease to be a "grass roots" movement to become just another piece of the Republican political machine? Isn't that why the the men behind The Tea Party Express wanted to keep their participation quiet?

yeh but they caught Shaun Vannity ha ha !!!
 
yeh but they caught Shaun Vannity ha ha !!!

I saw that. Interesting Fox made such a big public deal about it when he had been advertising it openly.

Funny also how that was the line they wouldn't let him cross. He's been overtly campaigning for the GOP for years and years. I can remember hearing him say, "All we ask for it 3 hours a day so we don't have to wake up one morning to hear, President Hillary Clinton".
 
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