Republican National Committee

New RNC Chair Immediately Fires Steele's Lavishly Paid Convention Planners

Rachel Slajda | January 17, 2011, 11:19AM

Reince Priebus

Newly elected Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus, in one of his first official actions, has fired everyone on the RNC's convention planning committee.

The Committee on Arrangements became yet another source of ire for RNC members fed up with the RNC's overspending under erstwhile chair Michael Steele. The committee was lead by Belinda Cook, Steele's longtime aide, and staffed with her family and friends. Cook alone pulled in $15,000 a month for the job; altogether, her "cabal," as the Daily Caller once put it, were paid $139,923 in a single three-month period last year.

RNLA

Republican Lawyers Group Calls Their Election Education Efforts 'Unprecedented'

Ryan J. Reilly | October 18, 2010, 2:05PM

RNC Chair Michael Steele and former Attorney General Ed Meese with RNLA Leadership

Many of this year's anti-voter fraud efforts -- which critics say can suppress minority turnout -- come from disjointed, independent groups like Tea Party organizations and conservative websites.

But there's one establishment organization that appears to be putting forth a major anti-voter fraud effort this year -- the Republican National Lawyers Association. To be clear, there's no evidence thus far that what is being said in RNLA training sessions is improper.

But RNLA leadership has clearly been involved in the exaggeration of the threat that voter fraud poses to the election process, raising fears over an issue that most voting rights experts say has been overblown. In 2002, for instance, the RNLA was running "ballot integrity programs in select locations around the country" in "targeted districts and areas where voter fraud is a concern or has historically been a problem," according to their newsletter at the time (and quoted in a story in the Baltimore Sun). They had 1,500 members of their organization ready for cases of voter fraud, the Christian Science Monitor reported in 2002.

Fast forward to 2010, when "RNLA's election education efforts this year have been unprecedented," Charles Bell, Jr. wrote in a message to members of the organization, "These election education efforts aid the recruitment of volunteer lawyers to assist the more than twenty governorships, ten U.S. Senate seats and seventy U.S. House seats that are up for grabs in November."

Republican National Committee

RNC Says It Recouped Nightclub Expenses

Rachel Slajda | July 9, 2010, 1:46PM

RNC chairman Michael Steele

The Republican National Committee has responded to a report in the Daily Caller today claiming the RNC had never recouped the $2,000 spent at a racy L.A. nightclub. A spokesman for the RNC says the report is wrong, and it has gotten the money back.

The Caller reported today that they couldn't find any reimbursements for the $1,946 bill in the RNC's Federal Elections Commission filings. When the expense came to light in late March -- causing plenty of embarrassment for the party and leading to multiple firings -- the RNC promised to recoup the money.

But RNC spokesman Doug Heye says the party did get its money back, in a different way.

Debbie LeHardy

Could RNC Finance Official Fired After Purchases At Luxury Boutique Be In Legal Jeopardy?

Zachary Roth | May 10, 2010, 12:32PM

RNC Chair Michael Steele and RNC Deputy Finance Director Debbie LeHardy

A Republican fundraising pro who was fired from the RNC after putting purchases at a high-end jewelry boutique on the party's tab, could potentially wind up in more hot water.

Debbie LeHardy was terminated Friday as the RNC's deputy finance director. Last month, reporters for Alternet and other outlets, combing through the RNC's FEC filings in the wake of the recent scandal over a night out at a bondage-themed night-club, found that LeHardy was reimbursed for a $450 purchase from Henri Bendel, a Manhattan jewelry and accessories boutique that touts itself as a "girls' playground for trendsetting young women from around the world." Though the store has no restaurant, the expenditure was listed on the FEC report as a meal.

Tom DeLay

DeLay Money Laundering Case May Finally Be Headed To Trial

Justin Elliott | April 29, 2010, 4:38PM

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX)

Five years after he was charged with conspiracy and money laundering in an alleged scheme to funnel corporate money into the 2002 Texas elections, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay may soon stand trial after a ruling by a state appeals court cleared perhaps the final remaining obstacles in the case.

And his lawyer tells TPMmuckraker DeLay couldn't be happier with the state of the case.

"He wants to go to trial. He's been wanting to go to trial from the very beginning," says Dick DeGuerin, the high-profile Texas defense attorney who is representing DeLay. "There's no evidence by any stretch of the imagination that could convict him."

Republican National Committee

RNC On 'Census' Mailers: It's Dems' Fault For Writing An 'Unclear' Bill

Zachary Roth | April 27, 2010, 5:46PM

RNC Chair Michael Steele

Now this is some chutzpah...

The RNC is taking all kinds of heat for sending out a misleading fundraising mailer marked "Census," even after the recent passage of a law aimed at banning such mailers. And now it's blaming Democrats for writing what it calls unclear legislation.

Republican National Committee

On RNC Census Mailer, Dem Rep. Slams 'Party Of Loopholes'

Zachary Roth | April 27, 2010, 4:40PM

RNC Chairman Michael Steele

The RNC hasn't elaborated -- despite several requests -- on its view that its misleading "Census" fundraising mailer is legal, despite a recently passed law that aimed to ban such missives.

But it may hang on the fact that the law, which passed last month, only forbids mailers with the word "census" on the outside of the envelope -- while in the RNC's mailer, "Census" is visible through the envelope's window.

Republican National Committee

Postal Service Probing RNC 'Census' Mailer

Zachary Roth | April 27, 2010, 4:04PM

RNC Chairman Michael Steele

The U.S. Postal Service is investigating the RNC's deceptive "Census" fundraising mailer, a spokesman tells TPMmuckraker.

Last night, Congressional Democrats sent a letter to Postmaster General John Potter, urging him to probe whether the mailer violates a law passed last month aimed at banning such mailers.

Republican National Committee

GOP Rep. To Steele: Stop 'Deceptive And Misleading' Census Mailer

Zachary Roth | April 27, 2010, 3:49PM

RNC Chair Michael Steele

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) has fired off a letter to RNC Chair Michael Steele, urging him to put a stop to the deceptive "Census" mailers that the party has been sending of late.

Chaffetz writes that he's concerned that the mailer "violates not only the spirit but the letter" of the law passed by Congress last month -- of which Chaffetz was a co-sponsor -- which aimed to ban such mailers.

Darrell Issa

GOPer Readying New Legislation To Ban RNC 'Census' Mailer Once And For All

Zachary Roth | April 27, 2010, 1:32PM

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA)

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) is working on new legislation that would close any loopholes in the law banning deceptive fundraising mailers of the sort sent recently by the RNC, according to his office.

"We're gonna do everything we can to protect the integrity of the census," Kurt Bardella, a spokesman for the California Republican, told TPMmuckraker. "If there is a loophole, we want to close it." Bardella said he expected the legislation would be introduced today and marked up next week.

Republican National Committee

GOP Rep: RNC 'Census' Mailer 'Outrages Me'

Zachary Roth | April 27, 2010, 12:27PM

RNC Chairman Michael Steele

The outrage over that RNC "Census" fundraising mailer -- sent just weeks after Congress passed a law to ban such mailers -- has gone bipartisan.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), a co-sponsor of the legislation passed last month, told The PlumLine's Greg Sargent that the mailer is intended to "deceive people," and added that he and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) will send a letter to RNC chair Michael Steele urging him to put a stop to the missives.

Republican National Committee

GOP 'Census' Mailer Consultant Dismisses Concerns As Political 'Ankle Biting'

Zachary Roth | April 27, 2010, 11:47AM

GOP consultant Walter Lukens and RNC Chair Michael Steele

The Republican consultant behind the RNC's misleading fundraising mailers marked "Census" proudly touts the mailers on his firm's website. And he's dismissing the bipartisan outrage over the missives as "the ankle biting of the political process," adding that the Virgin Mary "had to go to Bethlehem to be part of a census."

The website for The Lukens Company, run by GOP consultant Walter Lukens and boasting a list of big-name clients, includes "Republican National Committee Census" as an example of the firm's work. The mailer is said to be the "most successful prospecting package for [the] RNC," and to have "generated hundreds of thousands of new donors to the RNC file."

Republican National Committee

Congressional Dems Call For Probe Of RNC 'Census' Mailers

Zachary Roth | April 27, 2010, 9:20AM

RNC Chairman Michael Steele

In the wake of TPMmuckraker's report yesterday on the RNC's deceptive fundraising mailers, Congressional Democrats are calling for an investigation. The mailers, marked "Census Document," were sent just weeks after Congress passed a law aimed at banning such misleading missives.

Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and William Clay (D-MO), both senior members of the House Oversight committee, yesterday evening sent a letter to the Postmaster General, urging him to "act swiftly" to put a stop to the mailers. You can read the letter here.

Congressional Trust 2010

RNC and NRCC Join Forces For New Midterm Fundraising Operation

Justin Elliott | April 27, 2010, 8:36AM

RNC Chair Michael Steele and Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), the NRCC chair

In a sign that the 2010 money race is heating up, the Republican National Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee earlier this month set up a joint fundraising committee which will allow each group to benefit from the other's donor base as well as inject money into key House races, NRCC spokesman Paul Lindsay confirmed to TPMmuckraker.

NRCC Deputy Finance Director Jenny Sheffield Drucker describes the advantages of the committee, called Congressional Trust 2010, in an April 23 email to prospective donors obtained by TPMmuckraker: "It allows the RNC and the NRCC to fund such activities as direct contributions and coordinated expenditures for Republican House candidates in targeted races across the country."

Republican National Committee

DNC Slams 'Disturbing' RNC 'Census' Mailer

Zachary Roth | April 26, 2010, 4:02PM

Picking up on TPMmuckraker's report from this morning, the Democratic National Committee is slamming its Republican counterpart for sending out a misleading fundraising mailer marked "Census Document", even after Congress last month passed a law aimed at banning such mailers.

DNC chair Tim Kaine accused Michael Steele and co. of "flouting a law passed by Congress unanimously, and signed by the President, as a direct result of the RNC's previous efforts to confuse people on this very issue."

Republican National Committee

Even After Law Aimed At Banning It, RNC Still Sending Misleading 'Census' Mailer

Zachary Roth | April 26, 2010, 9:38AM

RNC Chair Michael Steele

The Republican National Committee is continuing to send out a misleading fundraising mailer labeled "Census Document," just weeks after Congress passed a law aimed at banning such mailers.

In response, the Democratic member of Congress behind the new law slammed the RNC for "trying to make a buck on the Census." But Michael Steele and co. are claiming the law doesn't cover their mailer.

Michael Steele

Touchy Subject: Steele Slammed For Criticizing GOP's Southern Strategy

Zachary Roth | April 23, 2010, 1:16PM

RNC Chairman Michael Steele

Michael Steele's charge this week that the GOP's southern strategy has "alienated" minority voters may not have provoked as many headlines as a trip by young Republicans to a lesbian bondage club. But in the long run it could cause just as much trouble for him.

During a speech at DePaul University, Steele declared:

For the last 40-plus years we had a "Southern Strategy" that alienated many minority voters by focusing on the white male vote in the South. Well, guess what happened in 1992, folks, "Bubba" went back home to the Democratic Party and voted for Bill Clinton.

Darrell Issa

No Let Up: Darrell Issa's Tireless Quest For Scandal

Zachary Roth | April 23, 2010, 8:35AM

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA)

Remember the 1990s, when Newt Gingrich, Dan Burton and co. managed to create a steady stream of outrage by playing up every Clinton administration "scandal," no matter how minor? Or how about the last years of the Bush administration, when Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) seemed to function as a one-man investigative machine, making sure that no Bush administration wrong-doing went unexamined?

Today that role is being played by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), the ranking Republican on the House Oversight committee. But despite the steady stream of made-to-order conspiracy theories coming from Fox News and the Tea Party crowd, it's a much harder job. That's largely because Issa's party is in the minority, so he doesn't have the power to compel testimony or subpoena documents. And it's perhaps also because, though the Obama administration is far from squeaky clean, Issa just hasn't had the kind of material to work with that his predecessors did.

Young Eagles

RNC: Young Eagles Still Grounded

Zachary Roth | April 21, 2010, 10:59AM

Clockwise from top-left: Italo Zanzi, Ryan Morfin, John Roby Penn IV, and Penn with others at an event in Washington, D.C.

It looks like J. Roby Penn IV and his high-living friends will have a freer schedule for the forseeable future. The Republican National Committee is knocking down speculation that it had planned to reconstitute the Young Eagles.

That's the group of young donors that was grounded last month after flying too close to the sun by putting the tab for a trip to an L.A. bondage club on the RNC's tab. In the wake of that news, the RNC fired the staffer who oversaw the program, and said the group's events had been placed on hold.

Young Eagles

The GOP's Young Eagles: 'If You've Got a Little Insecurity Complex, But You've Got Money -- What A Cool Group To Hang Out With'

Zachary Roth | April 6, 2010, 5:29PM

Clockwise from top-left: Italo Zanzi, Ryan Morfin, John Roby Penn IV, and Penn with others at an event in Washington, D.C.

So: Who's your favorite member of the Young Eagles?

As we're guessing you know by now, that's the RNC-created program for young donors whose night out at a bondage-themed LA club ended up on the committee's tab -- triggering the latest round of speculation over whether Michael Steele can survive.

Ryan Morfin

High-Rolling Young RNC Donor Touts 'Philanthropic Discipline'

Zachary Roth | April 6, 2010, 3:21PM

Ryan Morfin

We've told you about J. Roby Penn IV, the gala-hopping heir to an oil-and-gas fortune who's a regional director for the RNC's Young Eagles program. (Sample quote: My ancestors, actually, weren't on the Mayflower. They sent the servants over first to get the cottage ready.")

And here's another of the fledgling money-men behind the hard-partying group whose trip to a bondage-themed club has helped throw the RNC into crisis...

J. Roby Penn IV

'If You Don't Have An Oil Well, Get One': Inside The Lavish Lifestyle Of One Young Eagle

Zachary Roth | April 6, 2010, 2:15PM

John Roby Penn IV (second from left) and others at an event in Washington, D.C.

The Young Eagles have been in the spotlight lately, after it emerged that the RNC picked up the tab for a trip taken by the group to a bondage-themed L.A. club. Other planned events, including a Texas bird hunt, a trip to the Indy 500 , a bull-riding event, and a jaunt to London to hobnob with Tory party leader David Cameron, are now said to be up in the air.

But just who are the Young Eagles? We showed you the Facebook page of the group's mid-Atlantic director, J. Roby Penn IV, which includes quotes like: "I believe in a purpose driven life... if life's purpose is backgammon and tennis," and "If you don't have an oil well, get one." And here's a bit more to fill out the picture of the 29-year old oil-and-gas heir.

Young Eagles

Young GOP Donor: 'I Believe In A Purpose Driven Life ... If Life's Purpose Is Backgammon And Tennis'

Zachary Roth | April 6, 2010, 12:46PM

John Roby Penn IV (right), with Michael Saylor of MicroStrategy, at an event in Washington, D.C.

"My ancestors, actually, weren't on the Mayflower. They sent the servants over first to get the cottage ready."

Haw haw haw haw haw! That's from the Facebook page of J. Roby Penn IV, the 29-year-old oil-and-gas heir who serves as the mid-Atlantic director of the RNC's Young Eagles program.

Neil Alpert

FLASHBACK: New RNC Fundraiser Allegedly Spent PAC Money On Nightclubs

Justin Elliott | April 5, 2010, 7:34PM

RNC Chair Michale Steele

The man recently hired by Michael Steele as a Republican National Committee fundraiser was accused in 2005 by a political action committee he chaired of improperly using PAC money on personal nightclub bills, according to a copy of the complaint filed against him.

Bank records obtained by TPMmuckraker show that Neil Alpert, who began working as Steele's "special assistant for finance" last month, used the debit card of the PAC he chaired at Washington's Dream Night Club, which is also known as Club LOVE. An online review describes the club's "four levels of state-of-the-art diversions and urban scenery [attracting] entertainers, pro athletes and DC's sexiest civvies."

Republican National Committee

RNC Hires Fundraiser Who Used Employer's Money To Pay Rent

Justin Elliott | April 5, 2010, 10:39AM

RNC Chairman Michael Steele

Already reeling from a spending scandal and a crisis of confidence, the Republican National Committee has hired a fundraiser who was ordered in 2007 to reimburse a previous employer for unauthorized personal expenses, including his own rent.

The hire of Neil Alpert as Michael Steele's "special assistant for finance" was first reported by Politics Daily.

Campaign Finance

In Wake of Citizens United, Another Campaign-Finance Reg. Bites The Dust

Zachary Roth | March 26, 2010, 2:43PM

There was bad news and good news -- which could turn into bad news -- for backers of efforts to reduce the role of money in politics today.

First, the bad news: In a decision that reflects the broad impact of the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia struck down limits on contributions to political groups that spend money to support or oppose candidates.

Blackwater

Despite Initial Denials, Young GOPers Headed To Blackwater Compound For Fundraiser

Justin Elliott | March 25, 2010, 5:27PM

RNC Chair Michale Steele and a Blackwater training session

Despite flat denials earlier this month, the RNC's Young Eagles will be holding an April fundraiser at the headquarters of Blackwater in Moyock, North Carolina, Politico is reporting.

The original report that the young Republican donors would gather at the HQ of Xe, the new name for the armed contractor company formerly known as Blackwater, came from a leaked RNC presentation. The event was listed for April 16.

Tea Parties

Is There A Tea Party Movement?

Zachary Roth | March 24, 2010, 12:59PM

Tea party in Washington, D.C.

At first it seems absurd even to ask the question in the title. After all, the emergence of the Tea Partiers has been among the hottest political stories of the past year, and the group just came within inches of stymieing President Obama's major agenda item.

But lately, it's begun to appear that the Tea Partiers -- at least as defined by the media -- aren't so much a new force of previously apolitical regular folks, stirred from their apathy by an expansion of government and Rick Santelli's famous rant. Rather, they're essentially conservative Republican base voters, who were demoralized by the failures of the Bush years and have been re-energized by Democratic control of Washington. And they're part of a strain of the conservative movement that has long been driven by cultural resentment and racial paranoia.

Republican National Committee

In Rebuke To GOP, House Votes 416-0 To Ban Misleading 'Census' Mailers

Zachary Roth | March 10, 2010, 5:29PM

RNC Chairman Michael Steele

The House has voted 416-0 to ban misleading mailers designed to look like official communications from the Census Bureau of the kind that two national Republican groups recently sent out.

Under the bill, co-sponsored by two House Republicans as well as several Democrats, mailers marked "census" will have to state the name and address of the sender, along with an unambiguous disclaimer that it's not affiliated with the federal government. It will be taken up by the Senate soon.

Xe

Blackwater: There Will Be No GOP Fundraiser At Moyock Compound

Justin Elliott | March 4, 2010, 5:36PM

RNC Chair Michael Steele and a Blackwater training session

A Xe spokesman says that, contra a slide in the leaked RNC fundraising presentation, the Republican Party will not be holding an April fundraiser at the company's Moyock, North Carolina, training compound.

"The RNC is not coming to Moyock," spokesman Mark Corallo tells TPMmuckraker in an e-mail. "However, like the many corporations and organizations who choose our facilities for retreats and conferences, we would be happy to host the RNC and the DNC."

Republican National Committee

GOPers Blast RNC 'Census' Mailers: 'Nothing Could Be More Wrong'

Zachary Roth | March 4, 2010, 5:28PM

RNC Chairman Michael Steele

Two Congressional Republicans today blasted those RNC fundraising mailers that appear made to look like official Census Bureau communications. "Nothing could be more wrong," said one.

During a hearing of the House Oversight committee, which is looking into the mailers, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) declared: "I am obviously a member of the Republican Party. I have seen the Republican Party send out documents that say 'census.' I think it's wrong, I think it's deceptive, and I wish they wouldn't do it. I would hope our party would cease from doing that."

Mark Meckler

Tea Party Leader Was Involved With GOP-Tied Political Firm

Zachary Roth | March 2, 2010, 11:13AM

Tea Party Patriots leader Mark Meckler

Mark Meckler, a top Tea Party leader, has worked hard to position the movement as a grassroots uprising, independent of both political parties. But just a few years ago, Meckler was involved in an online political consulting firm with ties to the GOP -- a fact that could intensify the fears of some Tea Party activists that their movement is being hijacked by Republican political operatives.

Since last year, Meckler, a northern California lawyer, has emerged as one of two national leaders and spokespeople for the Tea Party Patriots, giving frequent interviews to national news outlets. Working closely with the Atlanta-based Jenny Beth Martin, Meckler has helped build TPP into perhaps the largest and most prominent of the various Tea Party factions. If the notoriously decentralized Tea Party movement can be said to have a spokesman, Meckler has as good a claim to the title as just about anyone.

Republican National Committee

Despite Criticism, RNC Sends Another Fundraising Mailer Designed To Look Like Census Document

Zachary Roth | February 25, 2010, 3:35PM

RNC Chairman Michael Steele

It's one thing for a political party to send out a fund-raising mailer designed to look like an official Census Bureau document, in the apparent hope of bamboozling some confused recipients into opening it. After all, who among us hasn't done that at some point?

But it takes some chutzpah to double down on the tactic, even after the Census Bureau itself, as well as members of Congress from your own party, have complained about it -- and to do it in the same year that the actual Census is being conducted.

Michael Steele

Questions Raised By Steele Campaign Payments To Law Firm

Zachary Roth | February 24, 2010, 3:50PM

RNC Chairman Michael Steele

Michael Steele paid over $122,000 from his personal political account to a Washington law firm. The Steele camp suggests there's an innocent explanation -- but the Baltimore Sun is raising questions.

The paper reported over the weekend that Steele's Maryland state campaign committee -- which dates from his 2002 run for lieutenant governor -- paid $122,195.01 during the second half of 2009 to Bryan Cave LLP, a top Beltway law and lobbying firm. That report was based on state election filings.

Tea Parties

Tea Partiers Now Forming Circular Firing Squad

Zachary Roth | February 17, 2010, 2:54PM

Tea party in Hartford, Connecticut in 2009

The level of internal tension within the always fractious Tea Party is reaching a boiling point, in the wake of yesterday's meeting with RNC chair Michael Steele and amid early efforts to build a third party out of the grassroots movement.

A major Tea Party group has announced its opposition to the idea of creating a third party -- drawing scorn from at least one activist. And a new anti-Steele website warns of the "'hijacking' of the Tea Party Movement by the GOP." Taken as a whole, the infighting suggests intense and fundamental philosophical differences among Tea Party factions, just as the movement is being hailed as a political force.

Michael Steele

Did Steele Give Tea Partiers False Assurances On Coats Race?

Zachary Roth | February 17, 2010, 10:25AM

RNC Chair Michael Steele

Did Michael Steele pull the wool over the eyes of the Tea Partiers he met with last night? Or is the RNC chair just not so up on what his party's doing? Or was there just a big misunderstanding?

An Indiana Tea Partier, Greg Fettig, said he asked Steele whether national Republicans had recruited Dan Coats into the GOP Senate race, CNN reports. There were already several Republican candidates before Coats entered the race, and Fettig said Tea Party activists in the state are "adamantly against" Coats, a former senator who now works as a Washington lobbyist.

Michael Steele

Tea Party Leader On Steele Meeting: 'We Will Not Allow Our Movement To Be Hijacked'

Zachary Roth | February 16, 2010, 1:14PM

RNC Chairman Michael Steele

RNC chair Michael Steele may be touting his big sitdown today with Tea Party leaders, but a significant swathe of the grassroots movement is not on board with the meeting.

Jenny Beth Martin, a leader of the Tea Party Patriots, which helped organize well-attended rallies in Washington last September, told TPMmuckraker in an email that her group is not involved with the Steele pow-wow, and disavowed other efforts to work closely with the GOP. "One hundred percent of our local coordinators are committed to our core values of fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government, and free markets over any particular political party," said Martin.

Tea Parties

GOP To Tea Partiers: So, Come Here Often?

Zachary Roth | February 16, 2010, 10:40AM

RNC chairman Michael Steele

The Republican Party appears to be stepping up its efforts to capitalize on the grassroots energy of the Tea Party movement, with two of the GOP's most prominent Washington leaders announcing plans to work with the Tea Partiers. But some Tea Party activists are less than happy about the news.

Michael Steele, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, will meet today with a group of Tea Party leaders from around the country. And John Boehner, the House Minority Leader, will speak at a Tax Day event in April organized by the Orlando Tea Party, that group announced yesterday.

Dale Robertson

'Warning: Tea Party In Danger': Leader Slams Palin As 'Wolf In Sheep's Clothing'

Zachary Roth | February 12, 2010, 9:59AM

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin

A prominent Tea Party leader from Texas is warning that the movement "is becoming nothing more than a wholly owned subsidiary of the Republican Party," and slamming Sarah Palin as representing "a growing insider's attack to the heart of the Tea Party."

Dale Robertson, the founder of TeaParty.org, is just the latest Tea Partier to express concern that the movement is being hijacked by the GOP.

James Bopp Jr.

Ad Uses Luntz Framing To Bamboozle Voters On Financial Reform

Zachary Roth | February 11, 2010, 3:41PM

RNC Committee Member James Bopp Jr.

Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) is ripping a stunningly deceitful new ad by a shadowy conservative group that uses Frank Luntz's up-is-down messaging advice to confuse voters about the financial-reform legislation currently in Congress.

Tester told the Billings Gazette that the ad -- which is being run by the "Committee for Truth in Politics" (CTP) and labels the reform effort a "$4 trillion bank bailout" -- is "not true."

TPMMuckraker Republican National Committee

Rachel Slajda | January 17, 2011, 11:19AM

Ryan J. Reilly | October 18, 2010, 2:05PM

Rachel Slajda | July 9, 2010, 1:46PM

Zachary Roth | May 10, 2010, 12:32PM

Justin Elliott | April 29, 2010, 4:38PM

Zachary Roth | April 27, 2010, 5:46PM

Zachary Roth | April 27, 2010, 4:40PM

Zachary Roth | April 27, 2010, 4:04PM

Zachary Roth | April 27, 2010, 3:49PM

Zachary Roth | April 27, 2010, 1:32PM

Zachary Roth | April 27, 2010, 12:27PM

Zachary Roth | April 27, 2010, 11:47AM

Zachary Roth | April 27, 2010, 9:20AM

Justin Elliott | April 27, 2010, 8:36AM

Zachary Roth | April 26, 2010, 4:02PM

Zachary Roth | April 26, 2010, 9:38AM

Zachary Roth | April 23, 2010, 1:16PM

Zachary Roth | April 23, 2010, 8:35AM

Zachary Roth | April 21, 2010, 10:59AM

Zachary Roth | April 6, 2010, 5:29PM

Zachary Roth | April 6, 2010, 3:21PM

Zachary Roth | April 6, 2010, 2:15PM

Zachary Roth | April 6, 2010, 12:46PM

Justin Elliott | April 5, 2010, 7:34PM

Justin Elliott | April 5, 2010, 10:39AM

Zachary Roth | March 26, 2010, 2:43PM

Justin Elliott | March 25, 2010, 5:27PM

Zachary Roth | March 24, 2010, 12:59PM

Zachary Roth | March 10, 2010, 5:29PM

Justin Elliott | March 4, 2010, 5:36PM

Zachary Roth | March 4, 2010, 5:28PM

Zachary Roth | March 2, 2010, 11:13AM

Zachary Roth | February 25, 2010, 3:35PM

Zachary Roth | February 24, 2010, 3:50PM

Zachary Roth | February 17, 2010, 2:54PM

Zachary Roth | February 17, 2010, 10:25AM

Zachary Roth | February 16, 2010, 1:14PM

Zachary Roth | February 16, 2010, 10:40AM

Zachary Roth | February 12, 2010, 9:59AM

Zachary Roth | February 11, 2010, 3:41PM

Inside TPM

Latest

Most Popular

All

TPMMuckraker

TPMDC

TPMLiveWire

TPM Top News

TPMMuckraker
Republican National Committee