The tea bagger craze, the grass roots anarchist movement which ironically began largely because veterans were angered over not receiving government health care for life, is showing signs of fracturing as its first "convention" begins today.

Amid infighting among members, a large number of local cells have pulled out of the convention as have two important former supporters. 

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding this convention. First, the cost of the convention is more than double the cost of similar national conventions, like CPAC and the liberal Netroots Nation.

Second, the organizer of the convention designated Tea Party Nation “for profit,”  threw up red flags for some activists and prompted some sponsors to back out.

And third, the organizer's personal financial history raised questions about how he has handled money in the past. As NBC News first reported, he filed for bankruptcy in 1999 and has had several federal tax liens against him.

Hundreds of delegates representing such groups as Smart Girl Politics and Surge USA  are set to gather today in a downtown Nashville hotel to hear Sarah Palin, the keynote speaker.

Noticeably absent among the attendees, however, will be Conservative congressswomen Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), two former supporters.

Politico got a statement from Blackburn's office and it cited consultation with the House Committee on Standards:

“After consulting with the Committee on Standards, Congressman Blackburn has decided not to participate in the Tea Party Nation Convention next week.”Standards advised Congressman Blackburn not to participate in the event due to uncertainty about how any proceeds from the event may be used. Convention organizers have not been clear about how those funds will be put to use. We have every indication that any profit could be put to work to advance grass roots causes and some of those uses could make the Congressman's participation improper after the fact.”

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune on Bachmann:

"Bachmann's office cited the same concerns that other Tea Party activists have voiced about the first-of-its-kind national gathering: namely, the for-profit model of organizer Judson Phillips, a self-described 'small town lawyer' with a history of financial problems."

Several groups and speakers have pulled out of the event in protest against the $549 ticket price. There have also been complaints about the top-down style in which the convention has been organised, which critics say iswholly out of keeping with this bottom-up phenomenon.

"This is an attempt by a national leadership to hijack the tea party movement in order to maintain control and stay in power," said Philip Glass, head of the National Precinct Alliance, which has withdrawn from theconvention.

A third bone of contention has been the invitation to Sarah Palin, the former Republican vice-presidential candidate, to make Saturday night's keynote speech in return for a reported fee of $115,000.

"If you have someone acting as if they are a great messiah and Hollywood figure, I have a problem with that," said Glass.

Guess they thought Sarah loved them so much she would do it for nothing!  Welcome to Sarah's "Bleed 'em For All You Can While You Can" greedy little real world, tea baggers  That and, of course, being able to see Russia from her back porch.

https://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/feb/02/tea-party-movement-national-convention

 https://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2010/01/28/2188201.aspx