Tea Party Patriots leader warns of primaries against debt-deal supporters

Tea Party Patriots co-founder Mark Meckler warned he was "not finding a lot of people who are happy" with the bipartisan debt-ceiling deal, and that the local groups he helps coordinate might go after incumbents who vote for it.

"When it comes time to decide whether to primary folks this will be a factor," Meckler told The Hill Monday afternoon.

The Tea Party Patriots is an umbrella organization for more than 3,500 local Tea Party groups around the country. While the larger organization does not raise or spend money on campaigns, where it stands is a good indicator of how vociferous local grassroots organizers will be on a given issue — and whether local candidates might get fired up enough to run against an incumbent.

Meckler says his members are paying close attention to the debt-ceiling debate. "People on the ground, in the individual districts, are keeping track of this like never before," he said.