What is the 'tea party' and how is it shaking up American politics?
In recent months, the "tea party" movement has swept across the political landscape, sending shivers through both major political parties and shaking up this year鈥檚 midterm elections.
What began as a minor insurgency featuring protesters waving signs of dubious syntax, followed by racially tinged conspiracies about President Obama鈥檚 lineage and religion and ostentatiously displayed firearms 鈥� and cheered on by some conservative commentators and bloggers 鈥� is now winning elections that could determine the balance of power in the US Congress. (The main question here is, does the trend favor Republicans or Democrats?)
There is no such thing as the 鈥渢ea party.鈥� It is not organized as such, and in fact the movement in some sense is antiparty 鈥� even though most of its political pot-stirring has been within the GOP.
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The 鈥淭axed Enough Already鈥� movement took initial aim at federal government attempts to bail out and then stimulate a faltering economy 鈥� attempts that had begun during the Bush administration 鈥� as well as at the Obama administration鈥檚 push for health-care insurance reform.
If the movement had a symbolic beginning, it was in January 2009 with stock-trader Graham Makohoniuk鈥檚 call to mail tea bags to members of Congress. Conservative bloggers took up the theme, CNBC鈥檚 Rick Santelli made his famous rant against government help for underwater home mortgages, and public protests around the country began.
Since then, the movement has sprouted (although not been defined or controlled by) several major organizations.
says it has more than 1,000 community-based tea party groups around the country. The group鈥檚 mission is to 鈥渁ttract, educate, organize, and mobilize our fellow citizens to secure public policy consistent with our three core values of Fiscal Responsibility, Constitutionally Limited Government and Free Markets,鈥� according to its website.
, chaired by former US House majority leader Dick Armey, claims 鈥渉undreds of thousands of grassroots volunteers nationwide.鈥� FreedomWorks goes back to 1984, but has become a major source of the tea party movement鈥檚 promotion and activities. It was an organizer of last Sunday鈥檚 Taxpayer March on Washington.
The , based in Sacramento, Calif., was a major force behind the Republican primary victories of Sharron Angle in Nevada, Joe Miller in Alaska, and Christine O鈥橠onnell in Delaware. It was also a major donor to Scott Brown鈥檚 successful campaign for US Senate in Massachusetts.
There may not be a 鈥渢ea party鈥� per se, but its adherents' philosophy and aims are officially represented on Capitol Hill. In July, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R) of Minnesota formed the Fifty lawmakers quickly joined the group.
While national organizations and grass-roots groups have their own stated goals, there is a tea party manifesto of sorts, which candidates are being encouraged to endorse. It鈥檚 the launched by Ryan Hecker, an attorney and activist in Houston.
Meanwhile, a clearer picture of tea partyers is emerging.
In March, the Sam Adams Alliance, a Chicago-based nonprofit, based on a national survey of the tea party movement, its leaders, and their motivations.
Among the findings:
鈥� 86 percent oppose the formation of a third party.
鈥� 36 percent support a 2012 Sarah Palin presidential candidacy.
鈥� 81 percent have a website for their organization.
鈥� 90 percent cited 鈥渢o stand up for my beliefs鈥� when characterizing their initial reason for involvement.
鈥� 62 percent identified as Republicans, 28 percent as Independents, 10 percent as 鈥淭ea Party.鈥�
鈥淭ea Party activists are for the most part new to this role,鈥� the report states. 鈥淭hey are neither practiced nor polished in activism; but having experienced a taste of the empowerment that comes with action, they feel more than ever that this is their time to act. Above all, they are motivated by a fear of NOT acting.... Their diversity is their strength, and they are not a movement that can easily be defined by those jumping up to lead them. They are powerful and, in this sense, they are the 鈥榚arly adopters鈥� of a new type of political involvement.鈥�
More recently, the Sam Adams Alliance reports that significant numbers of newcomers to the tea party movement are with the GOP: Forty-seven percent changed their political affiliation to 鈥淚ndependent/unaffiliated,鈥� 20 percent changed to 鈥渙ther,鈥� 20 percent to 鈥淭ea Party,鈥� and 13 percent to 鈥淟ibertarian.鈥�
That's exactly why Republicans as well as Democrats are very concerned about this new movement in American politics.
