A national Tea Party convention slated for next month in Las Vegas has been cancelled, organizer Judson Phillips told The Daily Caller.
Phillips, whose organization Tea Party Nation hosted the February much-hyped convention in Nashville featuring Sarah Palin, blamed the economy from keeping people from being able to buy tickets to the event and travel to Nevada.
“Ticket sales were simply not sufficient to support the convention,” said Phillips, who was working with Freeam.org to host the October event. “This decision simply came down to a matter of economics. A number of people contacted Freeam.org, saying they would love to come, but because of the economy, they simply could not.”
Ticket prices were set at $399 for the weekend, or $125 for Saturday attendance only.
The event had been originally scheduled for July at the Palazzo Las Vegas Resort, but was rescheduled for October, as organizers blamed the summer heat and family vacations from keeping activists away at the time.
Former CNN anchor Lou Dobbs and conservative commentator Laura Ingraham were scheduled to speak at the convention, as had Republican Sharron Angle, who is challenging Democrat Sen. Harry Reid in November.
“After the landmark historic convention in February, Freeam.org had hoped to contribute in this way to the Tea Party cause once again in 2010,” Phillips said. “An incredible team had put together a remarkable event, but in the end, we also were victims of the Obama economy.”
Organizers, Phillips said, are in the process of issuing refunds to convention attendees.