Tea Party Scheme A Scam, Say Investors

Today’s schadenfreude:

Middle TN investors file suit, claim they were tricked in Tea Party TV scheme

A group of Middle Tennessee conservatives is suing a California businessman for $19 million, claiming he tricked them into investing in a sham business idea for a television network devoted to the tea party movement.

Among those suing is Bill Hemrick, the Brentwood millionaire who is the Tennessee financial director for Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann. Hemrick has been active in tea party circles in Williamson County, helping to organize the National Tea Party Convention in Nashville in 2010 that was headlined by Sarah Palin. He worked briefly raising money for presidential candidate Herman Cain.

Aww, that’s too bad. No one could have anticipated this, really! A network devoted to the Tea Party? Who didn’t see that spectacular fail coming?

One of the things that amazes me about modern conservatives, and the Tea Party in particular, is their overarching sense of self-importance. I mean really, nobody could have anticipated that a TV network devoted to the Tea Party — in HD, no less, none of this crappy regular resolution will do — would go down in flames.

In a June 2010 presentation to investors at the Old Natchez Country Club in Franklin, Loiacono projected the business would make $19 million within three years, according to the lawsuit.

Really? How? The fact that one of those claiming he was defrauded is Michele Bachmann’s finance director is just too perfect. Look, folks: no one needs to see the creepy-crawlies who have been hiding under the conservative rock for the past 30 years in all their HD glory, misspelled signs and all.

Who Wants To See This In HD?