Tea Party Patriots: A $12.2 Million Haul
By John D. McKinnon
Wall Street Journal
May 9, 2012, 12:18 PM
Sen. Richard Lugar, who lost his primary fight in Indiana Tuesday, doesn’t need any reminders of the tea party movement’s ongoing appeal. But for those who do, another one surfaced recently in the tax return of the tea party movement’s biggest umbrella organization.
The Woodstock, Ga.-based Tea Party Patriots reported raising $12.2 million for the year ended May 31, 2011. That vaults them into the ranks of some of the most successful conservative activist groups, including FreedomWorks, the Club for Growth and Americans for Tax Reform.
Nonprofit organizations’ annual tax returns are lagging indicators, of course, and the political-fundraising landscape has been evolving rapidly. But the Tea Party Patriots’ success underscores the continuing – perhaps even growing – power of the tea party.
Much attention has been focused this election season on super PACs and nonprofits – some with ties to the tea-party movement – that are raising large sums, often from wealthy donors, and pouring it into campaign-themed advertising.
By contrast, the Tea Party Patriots and their affiliated groups are generally staying focused on the grassroots ground game – training, issue education, webinars and tele-town halls, and mobilizing of volunteers. The Patriots say they have 3,500 local affiliates, as well as a mailing list of 310,000 small-dollar donors. They also say they’ve raised even more money for the 2012 fiscal year, although they declined to provide numbers.
It’s brick-by-brick organization building, and the results aren’t easily measured. But the Patriots leaders say they’re creating a structure that will last.
At the same time, the Patriots and other tea party groups are maturing, holding fewer raucous rallies and doing more phone-banking.
“The tea party movement continues to be the most influential force this election year,” Patriots co-founder Jenny Beth Martin said in a statement on Tuesday after Indiana’s result. “Sen. Lugar betrayed the principles of fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government and free markets that must be addressed this year or the American people will choose new leaders as happened today and in 2010.”
Next up for the Patriots and for other conservatives will be the June 5 Wisconsin gubernatorial recall election, which leaders regard as a crucial test of their ability to defend their recent gains.
blogs.wsj.com |
