The Tea Party Patriots is an American

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

political organization founded in 2009 as part of the

Tea Party movement The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2009. Members of the movement called for lower taxes and for a reduction of the national debt and federal budget defic ...

. It is known for organizing citizen opposition to the

Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...

during the

presidency of Barack Obama Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican n ...

, and more recently for supporting President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

. In 2020, Tea Party Patriots hosted and funded the "America's Frontline Doctors" event promoting use of the drug

hydroxychloroquine Hydroxychloroquine, sold under the brand name Plaquenil among others, is a medication used to prevent and treat malaria in areas where malaria remains sensitive to chloroquine. Other uses include treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, an ...

as a cure to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In 2021, Tea Party Patriots was among 11 groups listed on the website of the "March to Save America", the pro-Trump rally that led to the storming of the United States Capitol.

History

Obama years, 2009–2017

Rick Santelli Rick John Santelli (born July 6, 1956) is an editor for the CNBC Business News network. He joined CNBC as an on-air editor on June 14, 1999, reporting primarily from the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade. He was formerly the vice president for ...

, an editor for the CNBC Business News network, is credited as being a catalyst in the early formation of the Tea Party movement through a statement he made on February 19, 2009. The organization was founded by

Jenny Beth Martin Jenny Beth Martin (born July 2, 1970) is the co-founder and national coordinator of the Tea Party Patriots, and a columnist for ''The Washington Times''. In February 2010, ''Time'' magazine named her as one of its 100 Most Influential Leaders. S ...

, Mark Meckler, and

Amy Kremer Amy Kremer (born 1970 or 1971) is an American political activist known for her roles in the Tea Party movement and as a supporter of Donald Trump. She became involved in the Tea Party movement in 2009 and campaigned as part of the Tea Party Expre ...

in March 2009. Tea Party Patriots was a co-sponsor of the 9/12 March on Washington, but refused to participate in the National Tea Party Convention. Tea Party Patriots is most notable for organizing citizen opposition at the healthcare town hall meetings of 2009. In 2010, Tea Party Patriots was among the 12 most influential groups in the Tea Party movement according to the ''

National Journal ''National Journal'' is an advisory services company based in Washington, D.C., offering services in government affairs, advocacy communications, stakeholder mapping, and policy brands research for government and business leaders. It publishes da ...

'', and among the top five according to ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

''. In September 2010, the group announced it had received a $1 million donation from an anonymous donor. The money was distributed to its affiliated groups and must be spent by

Election Day Election day or polling day is the day on which general elections are held. In many countries, general elections are always held on a Saturday or Sunday, to enable as many voters as possible to participate; while in other countries elections ar ...

, though it could not be used to directly support any candidate. In 2010, the group reportedly included over 2,200 local chapters. In 2012, the group along with the

Southern Republican Leadership Conference The Southern Republican Leadership Conference (SRLC) is a political event held in the Southern United States before each United States presidential election, presidential election. The event is attended by Republican Party (United States), Republic ...

organized a presidential primary debate that aired on

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

. Along with various other

and

libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

organizations the Tea Party Patriots developed a

Contract from America The Contract from America was the idea of Houston-based attorney Ryan Hecker. Hecker states that he developed the concept of creating a grassroots call for reform prior to the April 15, 2009 Tax Day Tea Party rallies. To get his idea off the ...

that echoed the Republican

Contract with America The Contract with America was a legislative agenda advocated for by the Republican Party during the 1994 congressional election campaign. Written by Newt Gingrich and Dick Armey, and in part using text from former President Ronald Reagan's 19 ...

of 1994 stating some of the core principles and several specific goals shared by organizations and individuals involved with the tea parties. In July 2012, the group's

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

chapter partnered with the

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...

and the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

to defeat a proposed transit tax in Atlanta. The

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

was defeated by a margin of 63 percent.

Trump years, 2017–2021

Amid the

COVID-19 pandemic in the United States The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States is a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the Uni ...

, the Tea Party Patriots were reported to have assisted in lobbying efforts by hospitals against restrictions on elective surgeries and procedures.

America's Frontline Doctors event

On July 27, 2020, amid the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the Tea Party Patriots hosted and funded a

press conference A press conference or news conference is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicians, corporations, non-governmental organ ...

in Washington, D.C., at which they introduced "America's Frontline Doctors", a group founded by Doctor Simone Gold that promotes misleading and erroneous medical advice regarding the

. Video of the press conference, published by

Breitbart News ''Breitbart News Network'' (known commonly as ''Breitbart News'', ''Breitbart'', or ''Breitbart.com'') is an American far-rightMultiple sources: * * * * * * * * * * * * syndicated news, opinion, and commentary website founded in mid-2007 b ...

, was promoted by President

and viewed millions times before it was removed by

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

and

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

for spreading misinformation.

March to Save America

The Tea Party Patriots were among 11 groups listed on the website of the March to Save America, the pro-Trump rally in 2021 that led to the storming of the Capitol.

Finances

The organization is run with the help of

FreedomWorks FreedomWorks is a conservative and libertarian advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. FreedomWorks trains volunteers, assists in campaigns, and encourages them to mobilize, interacting with both fellow citizens and their political representat ...

, a

nonprofit. A 2011 investigation by the magazine ''

Mother Jones Mary G. Harris Jones (1837 (baptized) – November 30, 1930), known as Mother Jones from 1897 onwards, was an Irish-born American schoolteacher and dressmaker who became a prominent union organizer, community organizer, and activist. She h ...

'' alleged that the Tea Party Patriots organization was using its 501(c)(4) status to avoid disclosing its expenditures both to the IRS and to local contributors. The magazine reported that when local Tea Party groups pressed for more details on the group's expenses, they were removed from the umbrella organization and threatened with legal action. The magazine reported that Tea Party Patriots "has started to resemble the Beltway lobbying operations its members have denounced." In 2014, ''The Washington Post'' reported that Tea Party Patriots president Jenny Beth Martin was receiving two salaries from the organization: a $15,000 per month fee for strategic consulting and a $272,000 salary as president, with total annual compensation over $450,000."Tea Party PACs reap money for midterms but spend little on candidates," ''The Washington Post'', April 26, 2014
retrieved November 10, 2016.

Richard Uihlein Richard Ellis Uihlein ( ; born 1945) and Elizabeth Uihlein are American billionaire businesspeople, founders of Uline and conservative donors. Richard is also an heir to the Schlitz brewing fortune.Uline Uline is a privately held American company which offers shipping and other business supplies. It was founded in 1980 by Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein. It has more than 8,000 employees and is headquartered in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. It has ...

business supplies company, donated a total of nearly $4.3 million in the five years through 2020 to the Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund, the group's political action committee.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Organizations established in 2009 Tea Party movement 501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations Conservative organizations in the United States Libertarian organizations 2009 establishments in the United States