Mark Meckler

Mark Meckler (born c. 1961) is an American political activist and attorney. He was a co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots before resigning from that group in 2012. Meckler currently serves as President of Citizens for Self-Governance.^[1][2]

Political activism

Tea Party movement

Following a call for protests from CNBC Business News editor Rick Santelli and others, Meckler and his family began promoting the idea of a Tea Party protest in Sacramento, California on February 27, 2009. They arrived at the planned protest location with homemade signs, but without an event permit, which they had to apply for on the spot. Approximately 150 people participated, and Meckler began planning further protests, which led him to make contact with other activists in the new Tea Party movement.^[3] Meckler co-founded the Tea Party Patriots organization in March 2009, along with Jenny Beth Martin and Amy Kremer. The organization became one of the largest in the movement, with more than 2200 local chapters and over 115,000 registered members on its website as of August 2010.^[4]

As a spokesperson for the Tea Party Patriots, Meckler was often quoted by journalists in articles about the Tea Party movement.^[5] Meckler was outspoken about the Tea Party being a grassroots movement and independent from traditional political parties. He said the movement was "neither left nor right", but consisted of "people of common sense who coalesce around the principles of fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government and free markets."^[6] He criticized the Tea Party Express organization for being too closely aligned with the Republican Party,^[7] and derided a Tea Party Nation event as the "usurpation of a grassroots movement" due to its high cost and fees paid to speakers such as Sarah Palin.^[4] In a later incident, he condemned radio personality Mark Williams, then chairman of the Tea Party Express, as "vile" and "racist" after Williams made blog posts about the NAACP that were criticized as racially insensitive.^[8][9]

Meckler and Martin co-authored a book, Tea Party Patriots: The Second American Revolution, which was published in February 2012.^[10] Shortly after the book was published, Meckler resigned from the Tea Party Patriots, citing differences with Martin and other board members over how the organization was being managed.^[11][12]

Citizens for Self-Governance

Meckler founded his own organization, Citizens for Self-Governance (CSG), to "focus on broadening the philosophical reach of the idea of 'self-governance' outside of the Tea Party movement".^[13] In April 2012, Meckler became an adviser to the Campaign for Primary Accountability, a SuperPAC.^[14]

Through his work with CSG, Meckler has helped to file a class action lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service, alleging violations under the Privacy Act as well as violations of constitutional rights guaranteeing free expression and equal protection under the law. The lawsuit stemmed from IRS targeting of conservative groups for more scrutiny as they applied for tax-exempt status.^[15][16]

Meckler has also been an active proponent of a Second Constitutional Convention. In his calls for a convention to propose amendments to the United States Constitution, Meckler has noted: "By calling a convention of states, we can stop the federal spending and debt spree, the power grabs of the federal courts, and other misuses of federal power. The current situation is precisely what the Founders feared, and they gave us a solution we have a duty to use."^[2][17][18]

Personal life

Meckler was born in Southern California and grew up in the Los Angeles suburb of Northridge.^[6][19] He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from San Diego State University, and in 1988 he received a law degree from the McGeorge School of Law.^[13]

In the early 1990s, he moved to Nevada County, California, where he and his wife opened a coffeehouse in Nevada City. After selling the cafe in 1997, he started a company that made equipment for the snow-skiing industry.^[3][6][20] For several years Mekler and his wife also worked together as distributors for Herbalife, where they qualified for the "president's team" of top sellers.^[21][22] Meckler next established a law practice focused on business law. He eventually specialized in Internet advertising law and worked as counsel for Unique Leads and Unique Lists, two closely related online marketing operations. In 2007, he worked with Opt-In Movement, a political marketing firm that solicited business from Republican-affiliated groups.^[13][21][23]

On December 15, 2011 Meckler was arrested at New York's LaGuardia Airport and charged with criminal possession of a weapon, a felony under the gun laws in New York. While checking baggage for a flight to Detroit, Meckler presented a Delta Airlines agent with a locked case containing ammunition and an unloaded Glock 27 pistol. He had a permit to carry the weapon in California, and incorrectly believed this allowed him to carry the gun in New York as well. He was released following arraignment.^[24][25] He subsequently plead guilty to disorderly conduct. He was sentenced to a $250 fine, and the pistol was destroyed.^[26]

Meckler is married and has two children.^[13]

See also

• Tea Party movement
• Citizens for Self-Governance
• Convention to propose amendments to the United States Constitution

References

v t e Tea Party movement Issues Constitutional conservatism Constitutional economics Contract from America Opposition to taxation Originalism American exceptionalism 9–9–9 Plan Flat taxation FairTax Free market History Right America: Feeling Wronged - Some Voices from the Campaign Trail Tea Party protests List of Tea Party protests, 2009 Taxpayer March on Washington List of Tea Party protests, 2010 Electoral history of the Tea Party movement Restoring Honor rally People Dick Armey Michele Bachmann Glenn Beck Herman Cain Keli Carender Ted Cruz Jim DeMint Karl Denninger Sean Hannity Matt Kibbe Charles Koch David H. Koch Amy Kremer Rush Limbaugh Mark Levin Mark Meckler Sarah Palin Rand Paul Ron Paul Rick Santelli List of Tea Party politicians Organizations Tea Party Patriots Americans For Prosperity Americans for Tax Reform National Taxpayers Union Club for Growth Heritage Action Senate Conservatives Fund Campaign for Liberty Young Americans for Freedom Young Americans for Liberty FreedomWorks Tea Party Express Tea Party Nation National Tea Party Federation Related topics Tea Party Caucus DontGo Tea Party Community The Blaze Breitbart.com 9-12 Project Conservatism portal