A leading tea party group that is emblematic of the movement’s scrappy grassroots sensibilities – and its problems raising money and building infrastructure – has received a major infusion of cash and added some big conservative names to its board.
The Tea Party Patriots, a coalition of more than 2,500 local tea party groups, is set to announce at a Tuesday morning press conference at the National Press Club that it secured “significant new funding” of a yet-to-be disclosed amount from a yet-to-be named donor, said spokesman Randy Lewis.
The money will be used to fund get-out-the-vote activities, and the operations of local tea party groups, but not television or radio advertising, said Debbie Dooley, an Atlanta tea party activist who sits on the Patriots’ board.
The group in the last month also added to its board former Oklahoma Republican Rep. Ernest Istook and former FBI agent-turned-conservative activist Gary Aldrich, partly to enhance the group’s fundraising muscle, Dooley said.
Full Story: A Tea Party Patriots overhaul – Kenneth P. Vogel – POLITICO.com