Like other Tea Party groups around the Nation, the San Antonio Tea Party is struggling. But never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that their troubles have to do with, you guessed it, FISCAL RESPONSIBLITY.
As a progressive activist in San Antonio, Texas, it pays to keep an eye on our local Tea Party website. On November 17, the site had changed remarkably with links to the last 6 months of their bank documents and a couple of emails regarding funds and money. Hmmm.... like any curious citizen, I opened April, 2009 and what appeared before my wondering eyes - expenditures galore and the funds to cover them! But I'm not talking nickles and dimes. In one month alone, The San Antonio Tea Party had collected more than $150,000 and spent almost $80,000. This, my friend, is no local grassroots party. For more, read below the fold.
In the name of fiscal responsibility, some unknown Tea Party member decided that a transparent government is the best kind. Sort of a practice what you preach approach. So they released the bank records of San Antonio Tea Party, Inc.
April 2009 starts a brand new bank account, opened with a reasonable deposit of $880.15. Paypal accounts are started and the single penny transaction to test the system is all accounted for. And that's when the big money starts rolling in:
4/13, $45,200 from Premier Marketing
4/15, $30,350 from Premier Marketing (Tax Day, in case anyone was wondering)
4/17, $32,090 from unknown source
4/17, $10,780 from unknown source
4/20, $17,489 from Stanley Kaciuba
I began to get curious. Around July, our local MoveOn group started noticing Tea Party members appearing at our events. We were often accused of Astroturfing by the opposition. Just for the record, I'm a volunteer and our group doesn't have a bank account. None of us receive any funding. We just take turns covering the cost of photocopies and thank the local SAAPAC office for allowing us to hold meetings. While we were being accused of accepting funds, the SA Tea Party was both collecting and paying out a lot of money:
July, 2009
Deposits totaling $56,741
Expenditures totaling $71,266
The expenditures range from a dinky $15, to a few hundred dollars, to several of thousands of dollars. Some checks go to companies, like Jokers Wild, but a great many of them are written to individuals.
Even more interesting, the Stanley Kaciuba who donated money in April, receives multiple payments to himself or family members. When you realize that his wife, Gail Kaciuba, is the treasurer, the questions really start to roll. Ah hah! This explains the emails on said website.
According to an email from Matthew Perdue written to SATP on June 26, 2009,
I have a big problem with being asked to bust my chops to cover an expense that is a single line item of $50,921 - lights, sound, stage - with absolutely no detail. This is the single largest item in the budget that is causing problems.
What comprises this almost $51,000?
Folks, even today I can buy 27.5 acres of land with less money in Bandera county, and have something left to show for it after July 5th. It includes a hunting cabin too - so there's a place to lay your head down at the end of a long day in the country side. I'd still have enough money left to buy a used SUV to hunt the place too!
This has to be on the "lessons learned" list on July 5th.
What, EXACTLY, is this money paying for?
Well, they did learn a lesson. Recently they sent out this fund raising request for a November 11th Veteran's Day Vigil (please note the detailed expense account):
As you may know, TeaPartySupport.org is holding a Veteran's Day candlelight vigil in support of our troops at the park in front of the Alamo. Events such as these cost money to put on. We are asking you to please donate whatever amount you can. Remember, this is not a profit making event it is to let the troops know that we care about them and support them. Here are our expenses:
City Permits: $3500
City/Park Police: $2200
Glowsticks: $400
Entertainment/Speakers: $250
Total: $6350
Again, whatever you can contribute will be greatly appreciated.
For those of you who read carefully, you'll note that this request doesn't actually come from the San Antonio Tea Party. It's from the new splinter group that is trying to get back to it's grassroots origins. However, same organizer (Matthew Perdue), same email list (according to a good source who receives them), so it is essentially the same people who spent thousands upon thousands of dollars to storm the Alamo. Of course, we think they may have a new treasurer.
Normally, I wouldn't be bothered by the expense account of another organization. I don't donate to their cause, so I'm not overly concerned about how they spend their money. In this case, I think we can learn a lot about why so many conservatives are concerned about how our government spends money. Most Tea Party groups have a mission statement that includes a comment about fiscal responsibility. For example, this comes from the Tea Party Support website:
Fiscal responsibility: From city hall to the halls of the Congress of the United States, all governmental bodies must return to reasoned and responsible use of the taxpayers money.
Obviously, the person who published the bank records of the San Antonio Tea Party either believes everything is above board and is trying to prove to other members and outside individuals that all is legal or the person believes that something stinks in the state of Denmark. If you would like to take a peek at the records, they're still available, at the San Antonio Tea Party website. Although this isn't government money, the organization still has a responsibility to its members. If Tea Party members can't trust their own people to run an effective operation, it's no wonder they don't trust their own government.
As of the end of October, the San Antonio Tea Party had collected $243,870 and spent $239,319 leaving them with a balance of about $4550. I hope they have enough to pay taxes come April 15, 2010.
UPDATE: November 18 - sometime in the dark of the night, the San Antonio Tea Party link above was removed from the web. If you have any recommendations of people or places who are interested in the information, leave a comment and I'll forward what I have.
UPDATE: Nov 18, 8:30am - old website revamped and has news about split but mentions nothing about money or fiscal responsibility, theythinkyouarestupid.com.