Talk:Tea Party Patriots
The Tea Party Patriots' website state that the group's core principles are three-fold.[1] They are:
- Personal Freedom, "so all Americans can live life the way they want as long as it does not harm others, or infringe on another’s rights."
- Economic Freedom, "which means a growing economy with reduced tax rates and reduced government spending so we all have a chance to earn more money and businesses can hire more people."
- Debt Free Future, "because it is only fair and right to pay the debt we have incurred so our children and grandchildren are not stuck with our bills."
TPP also supports privatized healthcare, preserving of the right to bear arms, lowering taxes and cutting public spending, improving accountability for government agencies, and increasing the implementation of federal regulations on immigration.[2][3]
Koch Connection
A 2013 article by Politico about Freedom Partners, which the website called "The Koch Brothers' Secret Bank", reported that the Tea Party Patriots received an undisclosed amount under $1 million from the organization in 2012.[4]
In June 2014, The Tea Party Patriots filed a complaint against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid with the Senate Ethics Committee to protest his repeated attacks against Charles and David Koch.[5] A spokesman for Reid dismissed the complaint as a publicity stunt. “We are shocked — shocked! — that a publicity-seeking, extremist Tea Party group which has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Koch brothers’ secret bank would attempt a frivolous publicity stunt to distract from the Kochs’ efforts to rig the system for billionaires like themselves,” Jentleson said. “The shadowy, billionaire Koch brothers are pulling out all the stops to get Senator Reid to stop shining a light on their efforts to buy our democracy, but he will not be silenced.”[6]
News
- On April 29, 2014, TPP initiated an effort to call for the repeal of the 16th amendment, which gives the federal government power to levy an income tax.[7] On its website, TPP asks supporters to participate in the initiative by signing a petition called "Dump the IRS" that reads:
- "It’s time to dump the IRS! The complexity, the extortion, the cronyism, the cost, the uncertainty, the corruption, the lack of transparency, and the targeting. These are just some of the reasons we must fundamentally alter our tax system with deep and systemic reforms. Attempts at reform in the past merely nibbled around the edges because they never went to the root of the problem: the 16th Amendment. America is ready for a fair, fixed, and flat tax code and with your help we can make it happen."[8]
- TPP is asking supporters to sign a petition with the intent of firing Speaker John Boehner for his compliance with the political aims of the Democratic Party. The petition reads:
- "Under Speaker Boehner, the House has repeatedly voted to increase the debt ceiling - pushing us deeper into debt than ever before, voted to fund Obamacare - a disaster which continues to get worse, and just agreed to a 1500+ page bill (most didn't read) that will cost $1.012 trillion in new federal spending for 2014. The American people are desperate for principled leadership in Washington, not "go-along-to-get-along" capitulation. Sign the petition now! Then contact your Representative and tell them you are ready for real leadership. Tell them to fire the Speaker!"[9]
