Tea Party Patriots

The Tea Party Patriots is an American political organization and a faction within the Tea Party movement. Ideologically, the Tea Party Patriots is a conservative organization that believes in Libertarian values. The organization was founded by Jenny Beth Martin, Mark Meckler, and Amy Kremer in March 2009. The following month, the Tea Party Patriots officially gained its non-profit status . At its inception, the Tea Party Patriots started with only a few local groups and today it includes over 2200 local groups . The sizable membership of these 2200 groups makes the Tea Party Patriots the largest Tea Party group. As of August 2010, there are “115,311 online members on its main website” . Of this membership, roughly 63% are male, 31% are female, and 6% choose not to identify . The mission statement of the Tea Party Patriots is “to attract, educate, organize, and mobilize our fellow citizens to secure public policy consistent with our three core values” . The three core values of the Tea Party Patriots are: Fiscal responsibility, Constitutionally Limited Government, and Free Market Economics . These three principles are shared by many of the Tea Party factions. It is a common belief in these principles that led to the kinds of protests and rallies that sprung up after the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and amid discussions over healthcare reform. Within the Tea Party movement, the Tea Party patriots are the most grassroots in nature. “Despite its size, Tea Party Patriots budget is considerably smaller than FreedomWorks” . This is because the funding for the Tea Party Patriots comes from the generous donations of its members, who are predominantly middle-aged, middle-class Americans. On the other hand, FreedomWorks is funded and led by wealthier political operatives. Since its membership is the largest, the Tea Party Patriots is seen as the engine or muscle of the Tea Party movement. They are a leader within the movement because they have helped local Tea Party groups create an online presence and gain membership . In addition to that, they also help local groups organize rallies and thy provide training for the leaders of the local Tea Party groups Tea Party Patriots was a co-sponsor of the 9/12 March on Washington, but refused to participate in the National Tea Party Convention. Tea Party Patriots is most notable for organizing citizen opposition at the healthcare town hall meetings of 2009, as well as various other anti-government run health care protests. In 2012, the group along with the Southern Republican Leadership Conference organized a presidential debate. The debate aired on CNN. Along with various other conservative and libertarian organizations the Tea Party Patriots have developed a Contract from America that echoes the Republican Contract with America of 1994 stating some of the core principles and several specific goals shared by organizations and individuals involved with the tea parties. Controversies Surrounding the Tea Party Patriots: Rolling Stone and Talking Points Memo have alleged that the organization is run with the help of Freedomworks, a conservative nonprofit led by former Republican House Majority Leader Dick Armey. Tea Party Patriots denies this claim. In September 2010 the group announced it had received a $1,000,000 donation from an anonymous donor. The money will be distributed to its affiliated groups and must be spent by Election Day on November 2, though it cannot be used to directly support any candidate. A 2011 investigation by the magazine Mother Jones alleged that the Tea Party Patriots organization was using its 501(c)(4) status to avoid disclosing its expenditures both to the IRS and to local contributors. The magazine reported that when local Tea Party groups pressed for more details on the group's expenses, they were removed from the umbrella organization and threatened with legal action. On December 15, 2011 the group's co-founder Mark Meckler was arrested at New York's LaGuardia Airport and charged with criminal possession of a weapon, a felony. While checking baggage for a flight to Detroit, Meckler presented a Delta Airlines agent with a locked case containing ammunition and an unloaded pistol, which he is not licensed by New York City to possess. He was released following arraignment. Meckler has since resigned from the organization.