Gee, you'd almost think The Tea Party and its "massive groundswell of grassroots support" was actually just the figment of someone's imagination.
That seems to be the case in Colorado where Tea Party fave Dan Maes isn't getting much benefit of the groundswell:
Republican Dan Maes' already lackluster fundraising plummeted in the first two weeks of September, leaving little money in the bank to wage a campaign against two opponents.
One-third of what Maes raised went to paying off a total of $15,000 in legal fees stemming from the record $17,500 in fines he agreed to pay for campaign-finance violations.
Maes didn't turn out to be Knight in Shining Armor that Partiers had hoped for:
Several tea-party leaders across the state have withdrawn their endorsements and urged Mr. Maes to quit the race following a string of stumbles.
That would leave the Republican candidate to the Whims of Wadhams, and the "Constitutional" candidate as Tom Tancredo.
Talk about yer "Republican Party in disarray" headline.
But that leaves a bigger question: even though the peons aren't supporting Maes, wouldn't the Tea Party Gods at least piss some more of their wealth away to extend Democrats' pain in Colorado and elsewhere?
In April, 2009, Melissa Cohlmia, a company spokesperson, denied that the Kochs had direct links to the Tea Party, saying that Americans for Prosperity is "an independent organization and Koch companies do not in any way direct their activities." Later, she issued a statement: "No funding has been provided by Koch companies, the Koch foundations, or Charles Koch or David Koch specifically to support the tea parties." David Koch told New York, "I’ve never been to a tea-party event. No one representing the tea party has ever even approached me."
At the lectern in Austin, however, Venable—a longtime political operative who draws a salary from Americans for Prosperity, and who has worked for Koch-funded political groups since 1994—spoke less warily. "We love what the Tea Parties are doing, because that’s how we’re going to take back America!" she declared, as the crowd cheered. In a subsequent interview, she described herself as an early member of the movement, joking, "I was part of the Tea Party before it was cool!" She explained that the role of Americans for Prosperity was to help "educate" Tea Party activists on policy details, and to give them "next-step training" after their rallies, so that their political energy could be channelled "more effectively." And she noted that Americans for Prosperity had provided Tea Party activists with lists of elected officials to target. She said of the Kochs, "They’re certainly our people. David’s the chairman of our board. I’ve certainly met with them, and I’m very appreciative of what they do."
But one of the Kochs has Democrat John Salazar in his back pocket:
Rep. Salazar is in the middle of a questionable federal land swap deal. As reported in the Denver Post, the land swap will allow Fortune 400 member William "Bill" Koch to expand one of his ranches in Gunnison County. Koch will surrender smaller parcels and an option on land connected to Dinosaur National Monument. The vast majority of federal land swaps are done through an administrative process, requiring public hearings and comment before approval. Salazar`s legislation would allow William Koch to by-pass that process.
Bill Koch will gain access to potentially valuable mineral rights. The Denver Post reports that BLM officials expressed their concerns about losing control of the mineral rights in a leaked internal memo. Bill Koch owns Oxbow Industries, which in turn owns coal mines and natural gas wells.
So maybe the Kochs don't give a shit about the Tea Party after all. Maybe their selfishness and greed are self-evident. The failure of Dan Maes to raise but a pittance of funds for his run and the fact that John Salazar is willing to suck the teat of a local billionaire's wealth for his re-election bid (Koch is Salazar's largest donor this campaign cycle) might put this whole Tea Party thing in a much more realistic perspective.