We often hear of different wings of the Republican party, corporate, tea party and libertarians.  But there is another wing, the Grifter wing. [icopyright one button toolbar]

 Practical Politicking asks is Is the Tea Party Express Just a Fundraising Scam?  Looking at the data they have obtained it certainly looks like it.

$9.5 million raised, at a cost of $8 million, with less than $400,000 going to candidates.

What would you consider a charity that raised almost $10 million, but actually used less than 5% of that total on its mission and programs? By every reasonable definition, you’d have to consider it woefully ineffective, at best, a fraud, at worst.

Consider then that the Tea Party Express has raised just over $9.5 million between January 1, 2013 and June 30, 2014, but has spent barely $380,000 directly, or indirectly, to benefit the candidates they support. Also, as they spent more than they received, their cash-on-hand decreased by almost $350,000; from $848,000 on January 1, 2013 to $498,000 on June 30, 2014.

The direct costs for raising that $9.5 million were more than $8 million, or 85% of total receipts, with more than $3.6 million paid out to Tea Party Express founder, Sal Russo’s consulting firm Russo, Marsh and Associates.

You can see where the money went in the chart below:

Notice the first item on the chart, Russo Marsh & Associates which got the lions share of the money. It should come as no surprise that Sal Russo is a confounder of the Tea Party Express and this is not the first time he has been a grifter.

The driving force behind Move America Forward is Sal Russo, 67, the longtime political consultant who is listed on the 10-year-old charity’s tax returns as chief strategist.

Russo is better known for helping to form the Our Country Deserves Better PAC, also known as the Tea Party Express, one of the largest Tea Party groups in the country.

Charities like Move America Forward, which accept tax-deductible donations, are not allowed to engage in partisan politics like other nonprofits, such as trade associations and social-welfare groups. Charities are also not allowed to pay excessive fees or wages to staffers or consultants, according to federal tax rules.

But an examination of Move America Forward’s tax returns shows that it is deeply intertwined with Russo’s political enterprises and businesses, paying millions of dollars to him and his consulting firm.

According to its five most recent tax returns, Move America Forward paid out more than $2.3 million to Russo or Russo, Marsh and Associates for services including “program management and advertising.” That’s about 30 percent of the charity’s overall expenditures over that time.

It kind of reminds me of the TV evangelists who asked for money form ignorant rubes daily or weekly and primarily used it to enrich themselves.  Now I must admit I don’t really have a lot of sympathy for the people who give money they don’t have to grifters like Sal Russo or even Sarah Palin.