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During my trip to Orlando last month, I had the opportunity to meet Sal Russo, an alumnus of the Reagan campaign team who helped organize the Tea Party Express tour. So when the liberal blog TPM portrayed the involvement of Russo's firm in the Tea Party movement as scandalous, I blogged in Russo's defense. Today I received this e-mail from Joe Wierzbicki of the Tea Party Express organization:

What's disgusting about the TPM Muckracker hit on us is that it's a totally bogus story - and the author knows it.
The $800,000 they cite was NOT paid to Russo Marsh + Associates.  The vast majority of that money was to reimburse Russo Marsh + Associates for the efforts where we fronted the money in our capacity as the organizers of the Tea Party Express.
To explain...
The monies that were paid to Russo Marsh + Associates was mostly to pay for subvendors such as Newsmax, Human Events, Southwest Airlines, the companies that did the "wrap" of the Tea Party Express buses, the Nevada TV and radio stations where we've aired our "Defeat Harry Reid" ad campaign, Fox News & CNN where we've run our national Tea Party Express ads.
And, Zachary Roth, the author of the TPM piece knew this information - and he acknowledged it with his line:  "The services for which Russo, Marsh was paid appear to be legitimate campaign needs."
But instead they decided to run with the headline and spin that the money was PAID to a GOP Firm.  To most every person reading that story the perception would be that Russo Marsh + Associates pocketed $857,000 of the Tea Party Express money.
That simply is not true.  Not even close.
And then Rachel Maddow of MSNBC last night (and the CBS blog, and dozens of other liberal blogs) have run with the story.  I'm not sure how much these people in the secondary chain of this viral promotion understand that their advancing a bogus story.  Maybe some of them do and they don't care.
What seems obvious is that the only reason someone would advance a bogus story like this if they knew it to be bogus, would solely be to try to take a shot at the tea party movement in general, and smear the Tea Party Express in particular.
Again, thank you for your kind words of defense on this issue.
What you should know from our end is that our approach on this is to keep moving forward, and not be deterred from the work we are doing to organize Tea Party Express III (March 27-April 15), our planned participation with organizers of the Tea Party Convention in February, and the commencement of Round 2 of our "Defeat Harry Reid" television ad campaign on January 11th.
All the best to you,
Joe Wierzbicki
Coordinator, Tea Party Express

View all comments (29) | Leave a comment

Pingback| 12.30.09 @ 4:34PM

Twitter Trackbacks for The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog : Official: Liberals Use links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

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Lullaby's, Legends and Lies| 12.30.09 @ 9:47PM

The Left is grasping at straws now, because it’s the only thing they have left. They lost all the momentum, that they may have had last year, and the People are turning against them, and they know it. They’re afraid of this Tea Party movement, terrified of it, and they’re going to attack it, in anyway possible. The American people have woken up to the lies from the Left, and it’s going to take a lot more work on their part, to fool us again. So just grow some thicker skin, because, you’re in the bull’s-eye now.

And don’t worry about the Rachel Maddow show, she’s a joke, and they only people who watch her, are the exact same people, who want to hear a negative story on this movement, because they’re nervous, and a friggin' joke too. Have you checked out the rating for MSNBC recently? They’re a complete train wreck, the whole network is, they’ve lost all momentum, and they’re not getting it back.

bluecollarbytes| 12.30.09 @ 11:20PM

The more the Left tries to change perceptions of its power-mad motivations and goals, the more they reveal. Attacks on everything Republican and on all forms of honest earnest opposition isn't going to work as intended. We've been hearing it since Bush 'stole' the election and Democrats are running it into the ground especially against the background of 'trans formative' goals now opposed by a majority.

Democrats and Obama in particular have essentially promised solutions to every crisis real and imagined. This includes the ongoing birthings of an ever-expanding number of crises. They're incapable of simple governance as needed.

Folks are getting fed up being preached to that we don't do enough to prop up the bloat of govt. interference, mandates, restrictions, and bottomless appetite for tax dollars.

philfl63| 12.31.09 @ 12:22AM

Do not sweat what the liberals blog. The liberal males (they can not be called men) are all flaming homosexuals and the liberal women are all carpet-munchers. Thus, because the men put their winkies in other men's butts and the women, well the women, lick box their minds and world view are twisted and warped. Nothing they say has any merit. It is syllogistic. What I wrote is crude, but think about it. These liberals are sick, vile, evil, twisted creatures a la Barney Frank, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, et al. Why would any rational normal person put any stock in what they say.

Pingback| 12.31.09 @ 3:28AM

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Tim| 12.31.09 @ 9:50AM

Hard to say what scares them more-tea parties or a Palin run in 2012.

Ret. Marine | 12.31.09 @ 10:18AM

Worthless as the days are long. Think about this for a moment, if it were not for all the nonsense they drivel, the hatred they precieve, the lies and deciet the spawn on a daily basis. Where would we get ideas for our jokes living their lives. Who cares what the liberal thought process is. I believe my dog has more sense than the average talking points liberal friend does. At least he knows who feeds him and does not bite the hand that does, cant' say that about lib's.

Kansas Native| 12.31.09 @ 10:29AM

The Tea Party Express is a bogus organization which is trying to hijack the real Tea Party movement. Don't let them do it! It's astroturf, a fake grass-roots movement run out of Fox News. The real Tea Party movement doesn't exist to line the pockets of party insiders.

Ken (Old Texican)| 12.31.09 @ 11:49AM

We are certainly not in Kansas anymore, ToTo. heh.

Kansas Native has certainly gone to OZ. heh.

The "real" tea-party movement is moving in EVERY direction. I visit with them all across the country almost every day. Each of the local parties have their own mix of flavors. I sorta' like the tea party express...because it explodes the heads of the twits on the left.

Oldefarte| 12.31.09 @ 2:01PM

Robert, As far as I'm concerned, ANYONE who either watches MSNBC or its imbicilic political [so called 'news'] hosts [ie Maddow, Ed, Matthews, and, last but also least, the moron Olbermann] is a moron, or at least, acting ''''STUPIDLY'''''!!!!!!!!!!!

Osamas Pajamas| 12.31.09 @ 6:10PM

The anti-TeaPartiers are the modern-day Tories. At the time of the American Revolution, the loyalist Tories and royalists sided with King George against the First American Revolution. The Second American Revolution is not yet upon us, but when it arrives, it would be wise to restore the American Constitution and to repeal all laws and regulations at every level of American government which contradict the Constitution. We might also expand the prohibition against involuntary servitude to prohibit conscription, tighten-up drastically on the use of eminent domain and every other government seizure of property, snd, generally speaking, nail the testicles of every level of American government to the floor with 7-inch railroad spikes.

Osamas Pajamas| 12.31.09 @ 6:11PM

The anti-TeaPartiers are the modern-day Tories. The loyalist Tories and royalists sided with King George against the First American Revolution. The Second American Revolution is not yet upon us, but when it arrives, it would be wise to restore the American Constitution and to repeal all laws and regulations at every level of American government which contradict the Constitution. We might also expand the prohibition against involuntary servitude to prohibit conscription, tighten-up drastically on the use of eminent domain and every other government seizure of property, snd, generally speaking, nail the testicles of every level of American government to the floor with 7-inch railroad spikes.

Pingback| 1.1.10 @ 3:37AM

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