The tea party movement that helped sweep Republicans into control of the House during the 2010 midterm elections may also help some liberal Canadian rockers become wealthy men.
The now-defunct Canadian rock group Tea Party owns the domain name teaparty.com, which is said to be on the market for a price north of $1 million. The domain name was registered in 1993, long before the tea party movement came into existence.
If the domain name were to sell for seven figures, it would not only enrich the band members, it would put them into an elite group. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, “Only a few dozen domain names have sold for that much or more, including sex.com ($13 million), vodka.com ($3 million), and poker.com ($1 million).”
Members of the band are reported to be liberal and hesitant to sell teaparty.com to a conservative group. Stuart Chatwood, the band’s bassist, told Bloomberg/Businessweek, “As Canadians we’re somewhat sensitive to all the criticism of socialized medicine.”
Nonetheless, Chatwood noted, “We’ve got families,” suggesting that economics rather than politics would win the day. Bloomberg Businessweek reports that one interested party is Stephen K. Bannon, the conservative former Goldman Sachs investment banker who recently released the Sarah Palin documentary, “The Undefeated.”
The rock group Tea Party reunited for an eleven city tour over the summer and will reunite again for an Australian tour in early 2012. Their teaparty.com website has an outstanding Google ranking “even though it is rarely updated,” according Bloomberg Businessweek.