What is the Tea Party?

Several people have told me they find it difficult to explain what exactly the ‘Tea Party’ is. It is difficult to define because there is no formal organization that defines its platform or strategies. Hopefully this will provide a (somewhat) succinct explanation of the origins and purposes of the ‘Tea Party’.

The Tea Party movement was started last year (2009) after Rick Santelli went on his, now infamous, rant on the floor of the Chicago Exchange. Santelli chided President Obama for his support of the mortgage bailout and exclaimed that we need to have a “Chicago Tea Party” to tell the government how we feel about excessive spending. On February 27, 2009 just days after Santelli’s call to action, grassroots activists hastily organized protests at state capitols, courthouse lawns and other public gathering spaces across the nation. Since then, nationwide Tea Party Protests have been organized on several dates. The first of these organized events was the 2009 Tax Day Tea Party, held on April 15, 2009. The focus of the Tax Day Tea Party was protesting the unprecedented spending levels in Washington DC, primarily the recently passed, one-trillion dollar, stimulus bill. The 2009 Tax Day Tea Party was tremendously successful at attracting the attention of conservatives who were not politically active or had become frustrated and disengaged over the failure of Congressional Republicans to adhere to conservative principles.

Building on the success of the Tax Day Tea Party, the owners of several well-read, conservative blogs began to call for a series of Tea Party events to lead up to the 2010 mid-term elections. Although there is no organized national leadership for the Tea Party movement, the dates and topics for the protests are often coordinated using social networking websites, like Facebook, and conservative blogs. The Tea Party protests are often quickly planned to coincide with important congressional votes and even with just a few days notice often attract thousands of protesters. The recent Kill the Bill rally at Capitol Hill in Washington DC is an example of one such quickly orchestrated protest.

The ‘Tea Party’ and other similar movements like the 9/12 rallies (often referred to under the Tea Party umbrella) is not a political party. Although some have suggested that it has the support to develop a national leadership and platform, most conservative activists feel that the Tea Party is best used as a means to return the Republican Party to its’ conservative and libertarian roots. Because the Tea Party is attractive to conservative-minded people who are not currently political active Tea Parties can serve as a gateway to other political activity. The Tea Parties of 2010 are beginning to stress the importance of political organization and participation. Many Tea Parties nationwide are working to incorporate their attendees into the local political culture by encouraging them to participate in political campaigns to unseat incumbent Democrats and left-leaning Republicans in the 2010 mid-term elections.

Megan Seda
Columbia County Young Republicans