Journalists often use resources placed on display - money, to be blunt - as a proxy for popularity and strength. In the old days, that association worked pretty well, but in the Internet era, when you can eliminate the entire middle of a political organization, and have, say, FOX News reaching down directly to the grassroots, then wealth and organization need not correlate at all with strength. If Tea Partiers win a few elections, then wealth will instantly materialize in their coffers, no matter how chaotic their affairs:
According to the Las Vegas hotel that was supposed to play host to the second national tea party convention, the much-hyped event has been canceled.
...If the convention really is off, the loss of the event will stand as the third high-profile tea party organizing fail in a month. With the election rapidly approaching, the failure of the LibertyXPO in DC this month, the second DC 9/12 rally and now the second convention suggest those that hope to leverage the movement for big, nationally-covered productions may have tapped out the tea party grassroots.
...Danish and her allies have already scared Phillips and the convention off once before, they say, and they said its possible the grassroots opposition to the convention in Nevada may have shut down the convention entirely this time. Sharron Angle, tea party megastar and Nevada's Republican nominee for Senate, was listed as the keynote speaker when the Vegas convention was first announced. After pressure from Danish and other concerned tea partiers on the ground in Nevada, they say, Angle -- presumably the biggest draw at the event -- was reconsidering her speaking slot.
"Phillips knew we were planning another boycott and Sharron Angle's camp was advised to pull out," Danish told me.
Danish is not the first local activist to push back against national tea party organizers lately. The LibertyXPO, which was billed as the largest political organizing event in the movement's history failed miserably when no one bothered to show up when it kicked off in DC Sept. 10. As Mother Jones' Stephanie Mencimer reported, "organizers were still begging for $40,000 to help pay for the event" as the XPO got underway. Two days later, marchers at the poorly-attended second 9/12 rally in DC went after Glenn Beck for using up tea party travel money on his Aug. 28 rally to himself.
Nevada tea party organizer Anthony Warren said that he will not mourn the loss of the Tea Party Nation convention if it is indeed canceled for good.
"Philips is the man who said he will 'make a million dollars off the Tea Party.' We object to him, his wife and any organization connected to him legally," Warren said. He added that the cancellation of the event is "a very sad victory," but "moral" one for tea partiers angry at Phillips and his profiteering.
"The money that would have ended-up in Philips pocket can now be used for better causes and candidates," Warren said
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