Notes on the Tea Party Movement-1/5

                                                October 6, 2010

                                                Michael Molenda

                                                Bloomington, Indiana, USA

.

.

1. Let us begin with some basic facts:

.

a. There is no American political party named The Tea Party.  There are numerous new organizations that use the term “tea party” in their name, such as Tea Party Patriots (which claims to have about 1000 affiliated local organizations), Tea Party Express, and Tea Party Nation, but there is no national political party with that name.

.

b. The Tea Party movement is not the only, or even the leading, source of opposition to the current Democratic administration.  The Republican Party, the Libertarian Party, other smaller right-wing political parties, the Fox News network, right-wing radio commentators, and a legion of right-wing think tanks and websites were offering a loud and effective opposition long before the Tea Party movement sprang up.  It suits the interests of the Republican Party to allow the Tea Partiers to serve as the “tip of the spear” for the Party, bringing volunteer workers and enthusiasm to get-out-the-vote efforts.

,

c. The Tea Party movement started in early 2009, shortly after the inauguration of Barack Obama as president, beginning with local demonstrations against various government policies (e.g. the federal economic stimulus program and the program to re-finance home mortgages).  Protest organizers used the symbols of the 1773 anti-colonial protest in which American protesters dumped boxes of tea into Boston harbor to protest the British imposition of a tax on tea; this early demonstration was called The Boston Tea Party.  Opponents of government taxation have been using the “tea party” symbolism ever since.