Tea Party movement

A highly visible but recent factor is the Tea Party Movement, initially targeted for anti-tax protests on the U.S. tax day of 15 April 2009; it was named for the Boston Tea Party in the American Revolution. Many participants say it is a genuine bottom-up movement, whose members learned from the community organizing of groups on the left, especially citing Web-inspired groups such as MoveOn.org. It is characterized, however, by opposition and anger more than specific recommendations. Subsequently, it held national protests on 4 July 2009 and 12 September 2009, and its supporters have been visible at both local and national events.

Formation

As mentioned, its first major protest was on 15 July 2009, but the movement considers that "Round 2". "Round 1" was a protest on 27 February, resulting from a conference call on 20 February, moderated by Michael Patrick Leahy.

Three conservative groups have been involved in organizing, "FreedomWorks, the conservative action group led by Dick Armey; dontGO, a tech savvy free-market action group that sprung out of last August's oil-drilling debate in the House of Representatives; and Americans for Prosperity, an issue advocacy/activist group based on free market principles." All three insist they are assisting a genuine grass-roots movement. DontGO did create the original website, http://taxdayteaparty.com/. There is a Tea Party National Advisory Team, associated with a subsequent protest on 4 July 2009, the U.S. national independence day.

Some have compared the Tea Party movement and their political allies to Richard Hofstadter's conception of "the paranoid style", which Hofstadter argued surfaces with some regularity in U.S. politics. A number of the signs at the Tea Party rallies have compared President Obama with Hitler or with Communism.

A National Tea Party Convention is scheduled for February 2010, a production of Tennessee lawyer Judson Phillips. Phillips has said he expects to make a profit on it, but many activists are complaining about the $550 ticket price and the $100,000 speaker fee to be paid to Sarah Palin.

Affiliated leadership

While its original focus was on taxes, its scope has broadened, although it continues to be characterized more by protests and anger than an actual platform. Three national figures associated with it are Sarah Palin, Fox News host Glenn Beck, and Rep. Michele Bachmann. CNN contributor John Feehery said while it energizes the Republican base, it also presents problems.

The Tea Party combines the best elements of civic activism with some of the worst elements of fringe extremism...While most Tea Party activists are genuinely concerned about the future of the country, some others see conspiracies around every corner and use unacceptable rhetoric to communicate their displeasure with the president."

Bachmann invoked it against the H.R. 3962 Democratic health care reform legislation. After calling for a protest on Sean Hannity's television show the previous week, saying "she hoped viewers would come to her press conference and then walk through the congressional office buildings, "up and down through the halls, find members of Congress, look at the whites of their eyes and say, 'Don't take away my health care.'" Officially, her 5 November 2009 event, at the U.S. Capitol, was a press conference and not a rally, since there was no demonstration permit; an estimated 5 to 10,000 supporters attended. Appearing with her was House minority leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), U.S. House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, and Republican representatives Todd Akin (R-Missouri ), Steve King (R-Iowa), Paul Broun (R-Georgia), Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio) and Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana).

While Bachmann and Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) had been scheduled for the National Tea Party Convention, they have withdrawn, saying they were concerned how the convention's revenues would be spent.

Positioning

One of the major questions is whether the movement will stay in the Republican Party or form a new party. Fox News reports that the Tea Party could well influence the 2010 U.S. Congressional election, with most commenters assuming it will focus on Republican primaries. Groups are establishing political action committees for the financial support of candidate.

A Rasmussen poll in December 2009 indicated there was greater support for Tea Party than Republican congressional candidates, although it was not a formal party. When 1,000 likely voters were asked, without knowing specific candidates, who they were most likely to select

• Tea Party: 23%
• Republican: 18%
• Democrat: 36%

The poll, with a margin of error of 3%, showed that the Tea Party would split the Republican vote.

The poll of 1,000 likely voters was conducted Dec. 4-5 and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points. Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele recognized the potential threat, saying

"we can all come together...This is the conservative party of the country...We offer that ... political infrastructure, if you will, if you want to run for office or if you want to be involved politically. This is the best place to do it.

A national convention is planned in February, with Sarah Palin as the featured speaker. The event will be organized by Tea Party Nation, of which Sherry Phillips is vice president. Republican Representatives Michele Bachmann (Michigan) and Marsha Blackburn (Tennessee) also will address the event.

Phillips said Tea Party Nation opposed a third party, preferring to take over the Republican Party. She was joined by FreedomWorks' Matt Kibbe, who said that Conservative candidate Doug Hoffman, who drove Republican Dede Scozzafava out of the race but lost to a Democrat, Bill Owens, was an "anomaly". said the special election in upstate New York last month -- in which Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman drove the Republican candidate out of the race with the help of tea party activists -- can be considered an "anomaly." He said "I think a more practical solution is to take over the GOP... explaining that the tea party movement can have the most impact by directing volunteers and money in support of GOP candidates who reflect their small-government values. " Kibbe mentioned candidates Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania and Marco Rubio in Florida as examples of conservative challengers within a Republican framework.

Rep. Mark Souder (Indiana) is one Republican expecting a primary challenge from a Tea Party activist. "It's hard to tell if this will help the Republican Party win...What it's done is energize people. The question is what will happen with the energized people: Are we going to maintain an effective two-party system or are some of them going to split off?"

Criticism on the right

Writing in the conservative National Review, Jim Geraghty questioned the possible irony of "The Tea Party movement in all its myriad forms — free-market groups, little old ladies, crusty in flag hats, fans of Beck’s 9/12 Project — have done everything one could possibly ask to derail a government takeover of the health-care system. It will be a perverse irony if their high-visibility protests end up persuading Democrats to damn the torpedoes in the face of near-certain electoral doom." He suggested that while some Democrats might lose their seats if they vote for the bill, if they fail to do so, they might enrage the Democratic base, with the Republican base already activated, and lose control of the House in the 2010 elections.