TPMMuckraker Fred O'Neal
Tea Parties
Tea Party Lawsuit Defendant: Plaintiffs' Backers Are 'Bent On The Destruction Of The Tea Party Movement'
Tea Party protesters (inset: Doug Guetzloe)
GOP consultant Doug Guetzloe is slamming the lawsuit filed against him this morning by a group of Florida Tea Party activists, charging that the plaintiffs are "being supported by well-funded GOP operatives and others bent on the destruction of the tea party movement."
In an email to TPMmuckraker, Guetzloe called on one of the plaintiffs, Everett Wilkinson, to release information about his finances "so tea party activists can see who is behind the curtain."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS (6) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (3)Topics: Doug Guetzloe, Everett Wilkinson, Fred O'Neal, Tea Parties
Tea Parties
What's In A Name? Tea Partiers Sue Rivals Over Movement Moniker
Tea Party protesters (inset: Doug Guetzloe)
Tea Party turmoil continues in the Sunshine State...
A group of Florida Tea Partiers has filed suit against the team of conservative activists that registered the Tea Party of Florida (TPOF) as an official state party, alleging that their rivals "fully intend to 'hijack' the phrase 'Tea Party' for their political will and objectives."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS (13) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (1)Topics: Doug Guetzloe, Everett Wilkinson, Florida Tea Party, Floyd Brown, Fred O'Neal, Tea Parties, Tea Party Express, Tea Party Patriots, Tim McClellan
Tea Parties
Hands Off! The Political Insiders Accused Of Hijacking The Tea Party Movement
Tea party in Hartford, Connecticut in 2009
As the Tea Party movement approaches its one-year anniversary, grassroots activists increasingly are finding themselves fighting off what they see as cynical bids by unscrupulous sophisticates to co-opt the movement for their own ends.
These new players on the Tea Party scene are lawyers, political consultants, business-people, and even Republican politicians. They're not working together for the most part, and the details of their efforts differ. But all have taken steps lately that have been denounced -- often by Tea Party activists -- as efforts to benefit personally from a movement that prides itself on its independence and incorruptability.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS (8) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (2)Topics: Doug Guetzloe, Fred O'Neal, Judson Phillips, Michael Steele, Sal Russo, Sarah Palin, Tea Parties, Tea Party Express, Tea Party Nation, Tea Party Patriots
Tea Party Nation
Florida Duo Claiming Rights To Tea Party Name Have History Of Alleged Political Dirty Tricks
Tea Party protesters (inset: Doug Guetzloe)
The two-man team of Florida political activists who are claiming the rights to the "Tea Party" name have been accused in the past of engaging in political trickery for profit, including allegedly pressing opposing candidates to pay for the endorsement of their candidate.
In August, Orlando lawyer Fred O'Neal registered the "Tea Party of Florida" (TPOF) as an official political party. Since then, as we reported yesterday, he and his close ally, GOP political consultant Doug Guetzloe, have asserted rights to the Tea Party name, and tried to strong-arm some local groups to drop the well-known moniker.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS (28) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (4)Topics: Charlie Crist, David McKalip, Doug Guetzloe, Fred O'Neal, Marco Rubio, Ric Keller, Tea Parties, Tea Party Express, Tea Party Nation, Tom Feeney
Tea Parties
Florida Lawyer Claims Rights To Tea Party Name -- Says Activist: He's 'Trying To Hijack Our Movement'
At a tea party in Philadelphia in 2009.
A Florida lawyer who registered the "Tea Party" as an official political party doesn't want to share the name that's become synonymous with the fledgling grassroots conservative movement. Fred O'Neal is pressuring activists in the state to rechristen their local Tea Party groups -- and in doing so, he's become the latest figure to be charged with co-opting the movement for personal gain.
In August, O'Neal, an Orlando attorney and anti-tax activist who until then had had little involvement with the Tea Party movement, registered the "Tea Party" as a new political party with the Florida Division of Elections. O'Neal has told the press he intends to recruit conservative candidates under the Tea Party banner -- an idea that hasn't sat well with many Tea Party activists, who view any organized political party with distrust.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS (35) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (3)Topics: Doug Guetzloe, Everett Wilkinson, Fred O'Neal, Tea Parties, Tea Party Express, Tea Party Nation, Tea Party Patriots
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