File under Schadenfreude.
Would a true Tea Party patriot drop nearly $1,600 in donor money for a small meal at a fancy steakhouse? Robin Stublen says no, and he's mad as hell about the profligate expenditures of a GOP political organization that has glommed on to his grassroots movement. Stublen is the organizer of the Punta Gorda, Florida, Tea Party and a member of Tea Party Patriots, a national grassroots organization that has no offices, no president, raises virtually no money, operates largely on volunteer efforts, and, most important, doesn't endorse candidates. But unbeknownst to many, there's another outfit claiming ownership of this conservative movement. It's called the Tea Party Express, and it has dominated Fox News coverage over the past year with its multistate bus tours and political rallies.
Oh, this is funny stuff. Thank you Mother Jones.
Behind it is a well-established Republican political action committee that has raked in tons of money fundraising under the "Tea Party" banner—and it has also spent a lot of that money in a fashion unbecoming a supposedly grassroots insurrection. For instance, according to recent filings with the Federal Election Commission, the PAC that created Tea Party Express dropped $1,597.29 over the summer for a meal for six at a tony Sacramento Chops restaurant, an expenditure that has Stublen seeing red.
Well, ain't that a bitch. The "grassroots" teabaggers are sending their hard-earned cash to a bunch of Republican Fat Cats who are...wait for it...spending it on themselves.
This is not going over well with the working-class true believers of the Tea Party movement who donate their time and money to protect Glenn Beck's vision of America.
"Six people averaged $266; that's not grassroots. I kill bugs and cut grass for a living. I'm splurging when I spend $19 at Chili's. Outback Steakhouse is reserved for Mother's Day," Stublen says.
As most of us know, the Teabaggers were never really a grassroots movement, but rather a stunt by well-paid right wing PR firms who were able to hoodwink the mindless Foxbots to attend their staged rallies and to send them money.
"While Tea Party Express professes to be a driving force in the Tea Party movement, it was actually started by a California-based GOP political consulting firm, Russo Marsh & Rogers."
The article claims Russo Marsh & Rogers have made at least $857,000 so far in this scam. Fox got its share with "$225,706 for ads that ran on the Fox Business Network."
Enjoy the full article here.
As Johnny Rotten said at the final Sex Pistols show, "Ever get the feeling you've been ripped off?"