Judson Phillips

Founder, Tea Party Nation

(Melina Mara, TWPost)

Why He Matters

Phillips, a Nashville-area defense lawyer who specializes in drunk-driving cases, is credited with founding Tea Party Nation, the group that organized the tea party's first national convention but also sparked a backlash within the movement by organizing it as a for-profit venture that charged members high entry fees.

Other tea-party groups accused Phillips of trying to hijack the conservative grassroots movement for personal gain, saying the $549 entry fee to the Nashville convention and the estimated $100,000 speaking fee paid to its keynote speaker, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R), was not in keeping with the group's grassroots character. Amid the controversy, several sponsors and speakers withdrew from the event.

Read more

Corrections?

Background

At a Glance

Career History: Attorney, (2000-Present); Assistant Prosecutor, Williamson County, Tenn., (1999-2000); Assistant Prosecutor, Shelby County, Tenn., (1989-1999).
Hometown: Memphis, Tenn.
Alma Mater: University of Memphis.
Spouse: Sherry

Tenn. Office: 209 Tenth Avenue South, Suite 426Nashvillle, TN 37203
Email
Web site

Path to Power

Judson Wheeler Phillips grew in Memphis, attended high school in suburban Raleigh, Tenn., and, after six years as a full-time student, earned a bachelor's degree in international relations from the University of Memphis. He later received his law degree from the university and became an assistant district attorney at the Shelby County prosecutor's office, handling routine criminal cases against drug dealers and pedophiles.

After about 10 years as a prosecutor, Phillips, a self-described small-town lawyer, opened his own practice in the Nashville suburb of Franklin, Tenn., specializing in drunk-driving and personal-injury cases. Phillips is pictured on his firm's web site standing on a dock and holding a wooden oar. "Up The Creek?" the firm's slogan reads, "Judson Wheeler Phillips can steer you through rough water."

Read more

Law Career

Phillips struggled in private practice. In 1999, after his first year, Phillips filed for Chapter 7 personal bankruptcy with three federal tax liens totaling $22,000 levied against him, an episode that would later raise questions about how he might handle Tea Party Nation funds. Phillips said the IRS liens had been paid.

By 2000, Phillips had returned to being an assistant prosecutor, this time with Williamson County though he left two years later to resume his private practice.

Joining the Tea Party

Phillips attempted his own foray into local politics in 2002 when he ran as a Republican for the Williamson County Board of Commissioners. There were three candidates for two seats and Phillips came in third.

Seven years later, Phillips reemerged on the political scene by organizing a tea party protest in Memphis in February 2009. It was one of hundreds of protests held around the country in the name of the Tea Party, a decentralized grassroots movement of conservatives upset with President Obama and what they see as out-of-control government spending and high taxes.

Inspired by the movement, Phillips had the idea to create a Facebook-style social networking web site for conservatives and, with help of friends and family, he spent most of 2009 building it. What came of that effort was Tea Party Nation, the for-profit group that organized the February 2010 convention in Nashville.

Infighting at Tea Party Nation

Conflict soon arose between Phillips and some of those he recruited to help, particularly after Phillips shocked his colleagues by abruptly announcing that Tea Party Nation would be a for-profit group. Colleagues had all assumed it would be run as a non-profit. Moreover, Phillips' colleagues learned that Phillips was listed in the group's incorporation papers as the sole owner of Tea Party Nation.

Web designer Kevin Smith, who built Tea Party Nation's web site, also raised concerns about a contribution box on the site that was linked not to the Tea Party but to the personal account of Phillips' wife, Sherry. Accusations began to fly that Phillips had used his colleagues to create a new source of income for himself.

Phillips denied any wrongdoing and Sherry Phillips fired back at critics in a lengthy statement that claimed the former Tea Party Nation members didn't quit the group but were "unanimously banned from our site for reasons running the gamut from antagonism to passing on confidential information."

Tea Party's National Convention

The accusations against Phillips nearly derailed the convention.

One of the convention's sponsors, the conservative National Precinct Alliance, withdrew its support over concerns of "the appearance of T.P.N. profiteering." The American Liberty Alliance also withdrew from participation. And Erick Erickson, editor of the conservative blog RedState.com, called the whole event "scammy." Two of the convention's marquee speakers, Republican Reps. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, both withdrew, citing House Ethics Committee concerns over aiding a for-profit organization.

Other Tea Party groups and leaders, including former Republican Majority Leader Dick Armey's group FreedomWorks, complained that the high ticket prices contradicted the populist, regular-Joe character of the grassroots Tea Party.

Still, the Phillipses declared the three-day event a sell-out success, claiming it had attracted 600 delegates to the convention with an additional 500 attending the steak-and-lobster dinner at which Palin spoke. Judson Phillips didn't reveal how much the convention netted but joked that it was "just enough to take a few of the volunteers out for a lunch on the dollar menu."

Tea Party Nation's Future

Phillips has already announced a second Tea Party "unity convention" to be held in July 2010 in Las Vegas.

Tea Party Nation also announced that it was forming a political action committee, called Ensuring Liberty, to raise $10 million for tea party-backed candidates in the 2010 elections. The group will be led by Mark Skoda, leader of the Memphis Tea Party and a spokesman for the Tea Party convention.

Though tea-party members revel in the movement's lack of a national leader as evidence that it is a true grassroots movement, Phillips expects someone to eventually take over. "The tea party movement will eventually chose a leader for national office," he said. "But the movement will chose the leader. The leader will not chose themself!"

The Issues

Phillips, like most tea party-members, believes the federal government - with its bailouts for Wall Street and proposals to increase the government's role in the nation's health-care system - is growing exponentially and spending far too much. And while the Tea Party movement is largely about returning fiscal discipline to Washington, Phillips has also voiced opinions on issues as varied as NASA and illegal immigration.

Illegal Immigrants

Phillips claims illegal immigrants have taken jobs away from Americans and supports Draconian measures to reduce their number. "I know the solution," he said. "Take a plane load of them and dump them in Somalia. Make no secret of it and tell the illegals, every time we catch them, that is where they are going. 99% of them will head back to the border on their own."

Read more

The Network

Phillips brought in Mark Skoda, the president of the Memphis Tea Party, to work with the media at the convention. Skoda now will lead Tea Party Nation's political action committee, which will support conservative candidates in the 2010 congressional elections.

Additional Resources