Tea Party Nation, the for-profit company behind the country’s fourth largest Tea Party faction, was recently ordered to pay a massive Las Vegas hotel bill.
The bill stems from a July 2010 attempt by Tea Party Nation to lure Tea Partiers to Las Vegas for a conference. It was to be a follow-up to the big Tea Party Nation national convention in Nashville that February. Expecting big crowds, the group reserved 1,637 room nights at the Venetian Casino Resort for the event.
Despite a speaking lineup of Tea Party favorites, the timing of the conference became problematic. Local Tea Party activists were already in the heat of election year campaigning. The conference flopped. Judson Phillips, head of Tea Party Nation was forced to announce its cancellation just weeks before the event.
Last month, a Clark County District Court Judge ruled that the Tea Party Nation corporation owes the Venetian Casino Resort more than $748,000 – the unpaid bill of $554,000 plus nearly two years of interest charges of $194,300.
Even before the ruling came down, Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips was already abandoning ship. On March 22, 2012 Phillips joined the staff of the new 501(c)4 group, TheTeaParty.net, as an Associate Director. TheTeaParty.net was the lead organizing group behind the Tea Party Unity Rally in Tampa last weekend.
The question emerges; do Tea Partiers really practice fiscal responsibility and pay their debts?
