Posted on 02/24/2012 10:00:35 AM PST by GVnana
Mark Meckler, the co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots, has resigned from his role with the grassroots group over internal disputes about the leadership of the organization, The Daily Caller has learned.
In an email obtained by TheDC, Meckler told the Board of Directors of Tea Party Patriots on Thursday night that he “fought long and hard” to maintain the group “as an organization that is run from the bottom up, with the intent of serving the grassroots.”
“Unfortunately, it is my belief that I have lost this fight,” Meckler said. “I probably fought the internal fight longer than I should have, but I wanted to give absolutely every possible effort to preserving what I believe was the unique nature of the TPP organization.”
Since the organization’s founding, Meckler has shared the role of national coordinator with co-founder Jenny Beth Martin. But Meckler wrote in the email that he had lost “influence in the leadership of the organization, and it has been that way for quite some time.”
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Tea Party Patriots has experienced tremendous growth and made great strides. They host candidate debates, organize volunteers to monitor the voting polls, sponsor a motorcycle club (The Patriot Riders), monitor legislation and other services to inform and engage the public.
Perhaps this success comes at a cost. Maybe it cannot be attained with an organization focused on the here-and-now.
I sense that Tea Party Patriots has lost the feel of the street -- the willingness for direct confrontation of those who threaten our liberties. I can't say what price they will pay for this abandonment of their roots.
“In an email obtained by TheDC, Meckler told the Board of Directors of Tea Party Patriots on Thursday night that he “fought long and hard” to maintain the group “as an organization that is run from the bottom up, with the intent of serving the grassroots.”
Mark Meckler was on Hugh Hewitt last week promoting his book, echoing the whole “we only have 1/2 of 1/3 of the govt.” capitulation, and saying that some tea partiers are too extreme. Good riddance; see you Mark; the Tea Party was never supposed to have a “leader”, so collect your money and go home.
Sounds like Mark is of the SAME “caliber” as that FAT Bitch “Amy Kemer(Tea Party Express)”, I DESPISE People like this!
Well said.
Sad to see Mr. Meckler has decided to step down but I’m glad George Washington didn’t. Not to discount to any degree the TEA party’s effort but the power elite establishment appears to be too big and too powerful for the true American patriots to tackle using peaceful demonstrations to change our government. Sure the TEA Party made a difference in the House of reps in 2010 but since then, what has changed in DC? Obozo is still in office and under Constitutional law he and Holder both should be under indictment and removed immediately. Putting this country back under the rule of law is going to be costly and not just monetarily.
I agree.
-Six Whiskey Tango
Well, it's not like there was another election since 2010 in order to provide a majority in order to MAKE change possible.
Thanks for this report.
Without commenting on any one particular Tea Party organization, and not attempting to hijack this thread, I want to say again that, as I remember it, the recent Tea Party was and still is a movement that coalesced around one candidate between 2008 and now. Especially by 2010, many others were attracted to the movement and put down claim stakes as members of the Tea Party This or the Tea Party That.
Now, there are several Tea Party denominations, each with some differences of opinions. But the Tea Party designation since 2008 has referred to a movement, a spirit of like-mindedness among many Conservatives to bring about sensible reforms, elect agreeable candidates, and initiate stops to a beastly national government.
Like Franklin Graham said on msnbc this week, “What is a Christian?” He then gave a personal response indicating how he, Franklin, is a Christian. It involved being changed in every way by totally accepting the person and Spirit of the Biblical Jesus Christ, by being completely infused with that Spirit and belief.
A member of the Tea Party Movement is like that and cannot be nailed down to a particular organization no matter it’s name. A member of the Tea Party Movement just knows when he finds a candidate with the same spirit. Fakes are sensed first and confirmed later.
What happened to the Tea Party Patriots is what happens anytime a label is attached to an idea and people try to nail it down. It becomes something other than the idea.
Any official organization that pretends to represent the Tea Party is a fraud.
I expect to see this guy on MSNBC pretty soon. Nothing the ‘Progressives’ love better than someone to turn on the opposition.
Like you said, the Tea Party was never meant to have a ‘leader’. People who believe in Self Governance can do without such ‘leadership’.
Local leaders in Texas have managed to piece together some of the problems important to Paul supporters and social conservatives. That is the two major factions in the Tea Party here.
Paring the unconstitutional scope and power of government, especially health care, Homeland inSecurity and Agenda 21 (environmentalism) is important and so is removing the power of the government to impose political correctness (social and economic marxism) on the people and their children. People seem to understand corrupt politicans are being bought because they have extra-constitutional power and money to sell internationally and domestically now. These are issues both groups share.
However, when you hear Paul Ryan stand up and propose cutting social security in the name of an account shortage (that politicans caused) while they cut the payments to social security to appease Obama and fail not propose to cut the scope of government power and control, that scatters people. Then it is Washington bs as usual.
The momentum has not been helped by the GOP’s opposition to reform and the failure of Tea Party members to effectively propose and argue for any reform. We need someone like Newt...again.
I can see that.
Someone like Newt again. Yes.
You like to refer to women in extremely derogatory terms. If you are in fact a Veteran of the United States Navy you are not representative of the calibre of people I know who have done so.
You Sir are the southern end of a northbound horse and quite boorish!
Whoa...
My husband and I attended a small-ish side-session at CPAC - I think it was February 2010, a year after the Tea Party came into being. This session was led by the very pleasant Colin Hanna, President of Let Freedom Ring USA, Inc, Jenny Beth Martin and Mark Meckler of Tea Party Patriots.
I barely remember what Meckler said, but I'll never forget meeting and listening to Jenny Beth Martin. She had this sour-faced Nurse Ratchet-like coldness about her. She asked everyone in the room who they thought "invented" the Tea Party, or where they first heard about the Tea Party. I can't remember her exact words. Everyone in the room answered unanimously: "Rick Santelli's rant on CNBC on February 19, 2009... we'll never forget it!"
The look on Jenny Beth's face was priceless - an "if looks could kill" expression. She appeared to be really ticked off. She then rather smugly went on that, no, the Tea Party did not start with Rick Santelli's rant... her group - Tea Party Patriots - were the "creators" of the Tea Party movement. She literally said she and Tea Party Patriots started the Tea Party movement. TPP had been "The Tea Party" for years, yada, yada.
Right then and there my husband and I wanted nothing to do with TPP, although we know that local chapters around the country do great work - there are a lot of great people under the TPP umbrella across the US.
My husband and I participated in rallies around the Capitol during the fateful weekend that ObamaCare passed - in March 2010. Some group originally had organized a mass rally on the Capitol. My husband and I didn't care who was organizing the rallies, we wanted to participate, and drove from CT to DC.
By the time we joined the crowds on the Capitol lawn, the rallies that weekend were somehow co-opted by Jenny Beth Martin and Tea Party Patriots - I have no idea how this happened, but she ran "the show" - she was up at the podium several times with many Congressmen and other speakers.
At the time we didn't care who was running the rallies - we were (and still are) so angry about ObamaCare being rammed down our throats... we just wanted to be there so our voices could be heard. As time went on over that weekend, however, there was MUCH grumbling among the crowds at how the rally had turned into "The Jenny Beth Show", and how it didn't turn out to be the rally that was originally planned. I have no idea if the original organizers of this rally would have done a better or similar job. Obama had the votes to pass the bill - there was nothing more we could do.
As I said... this is all my anecdotal two cents. I'm still currently not a fan of Jenny Beth Martin, based on my experiences with her. I don't know much about Meckler.
Great post in #9... well said.
Well, that's the problem, right there. It's a lie. When I met up with Meckler at the 2/27/2009 event there was no "Tea Party Patriots." I will say, they adopted the name and got organized very quickly so that by 4/15/2009 they were a dominate group at the protests in CA.
Truth is, one of the largest organizing forces -- within hours of Santelli's rant -- was a twitter group known as the Don't Go Movement. They're gone now.
ChicagoTeaParty.com was up within hours of Santelli's rant going viral. As of 2/27/2009 we were still calling the demonstrations "Chicago Tea Parties," but that went by the wayside as it became obvious that a massive national movement had been born.
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