Tea Partiers now protest themselves?

The National Tea Party Convention scheduled for this week in Nashville has hit a major pot-hole in the road, threatening to knock the wheels off the controversial and sometimes confused political movement.

Fighting within the group over money and leadership has caused two of the main speakers for the event, Republican Reps. Michelle Bachmann from Minnesota, and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee to cancel their appearances, as Convention Organizer Judson Phillips (a Nashville DUI attorney), and other Tea Party activists continue to threaten each other with legal action.

Tea Party insiders are now wondering if keynote speaker Sarah Palin may be the next to make an exit from the potential flop. Tea partiers also seem upset about the hefty price-tag for the event. "RedState's" Erick Erickson said the whole thing "smelled scammy".

Palin is reportedly receiving over $100,000 to speak at the affair, and anyone who attends has to pay a $549 registration fee, and a separate $349 for a steak and lobster dinner where Palin will give her speech.

Some conservative activists who have already paid to attend are now demanding a refund and are urging Palin to cancel her speech to avoid an embarrassing public relations disaster. It's reported that her contract would allow her to send a representative if she can't make it, if she is sick or something. One event organizer confessed that most of the tickets for Palin's speech remain unsold, which leaves a couple of questions yet unanswered.

Will Sarah Palin happen to come down with a nasty case of the flu this week? And, Has the Tea Party movement now found a new "cause" to protest....themselves?