Mother Jones: A Secret Tea Party Donor Revealed

[NNN0LHI]

http://motherjones.com/politics/2010/10/tea-party-donor-patriot-one-raymon-thompson

Movement leaders are jetting across the country in a donated plane to rally the tea party troops. Meet the deep-pocketed GOP donor who owns "Patriot One."

— By Stephanie Mencimer

Thu Oct. 28, 2010 3:00 AM PDT

If tea party leaders jet around the country in a plane donated by a big GOP contributor, are they still "grassroots" activists? It's a question some local tea partiers would like to put to the leaders of the Tea Party Patriots, one of the nation's largest tea party umbrella groups, which claims to represent 15 million people. Over the past week, national coordinators Mark Meckler and Jenny Beth Martin have been "flying for freedom" and "landing for liberty" across the country in a private jet they've dubbed "Patriot One" to help rally the tea party troops before the election. Along for the ride is an Atlanta filmmaker who's documenting the trip in videos posted on the group's national website. Like this one:

The videos, which show the tea party leaders traveling in the style of Wall Street investment bankers, are hardly a humble display of the usual tea party thrifty pluck. Instead, they show Martin and Meckler (wearing an oversized cowboy hat) getting on and off the jet, taking off in the jet, landing in the jet, even providing narration from inside the cockpit. "Patriot One: The Movie" has angered some tea party activists, especially because Meckler and Martin have not told their members who donated the sleek plane. snip

Temple posed a simple question: Who's paying for the plane? We at Mother Jones thought he deserved an answer. Using publicly available flight-tracking information on the Internet and the schedule posted on the Tea Party Patriots website, we were able to determine the owner of "Patriot One." As Temple suggested, he is not exactly what you'd call a "grassroots" donor. His name is Raymon F. Thompson, and he's the founder and former CEO of Semitool, a semiconductor company he recently sold for $364 million.

[laughingliberal]

1. K & R for visibility. eom

[CurtEastPoint]

2. Story also in FDL. Mr. Thompson is no SEMI-tool. He's a TOTAL tool

http://my.firedoglake.com/themediaconsortium/tag/raymond-f-thomson/

Interesting note: According to the Federal Aviation Administration, that jet is registered to Eagle III, a private company in Kalispell, Montana, a hotbed of tea party and other right-wing activity, including, in the past, armed militia groups. According to Montana corporation records, Eagle III belongs to Thompson.

[urgk]

15. Beat me to it :) Nicely said. n/t

[texastoast]

3. Kick for the billionaire connection to the teabaggers

Teabaggers: you are freaking FOOLS!

These people who have started this movement are so fucking wealthy. They WILL NOT do anything for you or your descendants. They will laugh are your stupid asses as you support them and say, "Got one!"

Trolls, you are unmitigated fools to believe in them.

[Hannah Bell]

13. footsoldiers for the borg, thinking they're fighting it. but aren't we all, in one way or another.

you can't live without working for it. we all feed the power that's destroying our own power.

[felix_numinous]

4. K+R

[Chimichurri]

5. This is both hilarious and sad. Hilarious because of the irony but sad

because the Tea Baggers are ruining our country with their stupidity.

[one_voice]

6. Kicked &

recommended.

[Skittles]

7. unbelievable

so, the local teabaggers are unaware their "grassroots" organization is financed by rich fatcats? :rofl:

[bobburgster]

22. Initial reaction...laugh.....

but I do feel badly for the grassroots teabagger, because they'll suffer as much as you and I.

[Bryn]

8. K&R ...a must read

[nc4bo]

9. Facebook peeps you can take a peek at their shennanigans....

Here: http://www.facebook.com/teapartypatriots?ref=search

Absolutely pathetic as are their followers, all 1/2 million of 'em.

[glinda]

10. K & R n/t

[Democat]

11. If these were Democrats, the media would call them "elites".

Is this just another movement of the elites?

[Sancho]

12. I hope Keith O. finds out about this..

Look up Kalispell, Mt. Thompson's home.

Looks cold to me. 96% white. Thompson sold his company for millions and bought a little restaurant downtown. He remodeled, but left the old floor under his favorite table untouched (everything is white except his square of floor that is red). What a nut!?!

[madokie]

14. If its not media hype then I don't know what it is

'cept'n of course the theft of another election.

[dotymed]

16. I would wager

that these people are not even on the FBI's "radar." Amazingly, if you are a peace activist you are subject to search and seizure at any moment........

[paparush]

17. K&R

[The Uncola]

18. Nice to see ...

.. the "common mainstream American" support for the Teabagger Bad Comedy Tour.

[Blue_Tires]

19. ttt

[ChiciB1]

20. THIS Info Is Waaaaaaay Too Late. So Many People Have Already Voted.

I AM one of them.

[byronius]

21. Crap, I unrecced by accident. !!!!! Sorry.

[Historic NY]

23. Were just little people to him......to be used & misused.

“I’ve never worked a day in my life; it’s all been fun,” Thompson said. “How do you retire from that?”

[LuckyLib]

24. So much for preaching to us about the sanctity and vulnerability of small businesses.

His semiconductor company recently sold for $364 million.
Yeah, he's looking out for the little guy.

[fascisthunter]

25. Tea Party=Suckers for the Elite

duh

[myrna minx]

26. K&R n/t

[Jeffersons Ghost]

27. K&R

[BrklynLiberal]

28. Real "grassroots", ain't they????????????

[Dawson Leery]

29. The tea nuts believe that these wealthy and powerful people

should control everything and they will take care of them.

[Major Hogwash]

30. Motherfucking snakes on a plane!

But then, that's just my opinion of those people.

Gotta keep your sense of humor people.

[IntimidatingEyebrows]

31. K&R