The Republican class of
2010 was not by any means monolithic. Nearly 1/3 of them had never before held public office and were instead "citizen-politicians" sent here by the Tea Party. Even among the Republicans, America could be interpreted 435 different ways.
Obama is perceived by many Tea Partiers as a foreigner, an invader pretending to be an American, a 5th columnist. Obama's past as a community organizer is taken as evidence that he works on behalf of the undeserving poor and wishes to
mobilize government resources on their behalf. His academic achievements and social ties put him in league with the country's intellectual elite, whose disdain feels very real to many Americans, and whose cosmopolitan leanings seem unpatriotic.
Speaking these words after winning Kentucky's Republican primary in spring 2012,
I understood that my victory was part of a much larger movement.
Voters outraged by massive debt, spending and an out-of-control federal government had elected a candidate the media and political establishment had deemed too unconventional--precisely because they desired a more unconventional politics.
The status quo had failed. Big government had failed. On that warm May evening, Kentucky voters sent a message loud and clear: We've had enough.
Today's Tea Partiers are typically not accorded the same respect by our mainstream political and media establishment, even as they protest a government arguably more arrogant than that of 18th century England.
A tax on tea was an outrage to our ancestors. A $2 trillion deficit and $13 trillion debt has not become an outrage to their descendants. It wasn't unusual for British officials and the press to view colonists who resisted the ruling regime in
less-than-flattering terms. (Similarly, as representatives of the current ruling establishment today's political and media elite have little good to say about the Tea Party.)
Rubio became a welcome guest at Tea Party events across the state. At their urging, Dick Armey endorsed Rubio on July 4, 2009, describing Rubio as "an inspiring leader for the next generation of the conservative movement."
Yet despite the obvious
advantages these fiscal conservatives found in Rubio, Crist enjoyed an enormous lead in the first polls. But the Tea Party had a champion and got to work. Slowly, the Tea Party movement's support helped bring Rubio to the public eye.
Bennett was widely considered to be a "good guy" who was mostly reliable on
Republican issues. Most notably for the delegates from Utah, he had voted for the Wall Street bailout. As Bennett spoke to the gathering, the chant of "TARP, TARP, TARP" echoed across Convention Hall. Bennett was ultimately replaced by the Tea
Party underdog candidate Mike Lee, a staunch supporter of limited government and the very first signer of the Contract from America.
One pundit fumed, "It is a damn outrage." Another wailed, "It's almost a nonviolent coup." Get used to it, guys.
Notice that we call for a hostile takeover. We didn't say "join th
Republican Party." We need to take it over. The commonsense values that define the Tea Party movement, like the belief that government should not spend money it does not have, puts us in the broad middle of
American politics. That means the existing parties, if they covet the votes of this broad constituency, need to gravitate toward our values and our issues to get elected.
Source: The Tea Party: A Brief History, by R. Formisano, p. 40-41
, Apr 4, 2012
Grassroots activists: not just Republicans, even some Dems
Tea Party members became alarmed and angry over the massive growth of government, exorbitant new spending programs, and the government takeover of private companies and the health-care industry. These grassroots activists were not just Republicans; they
included Democrats, libertarians, independents, and many who had never been involved in politics. Americans from different backgrounds and political persuasions voiced grave concern over the troubling direction of their country.
It was the beginning of an American awakening.When I spoke at Tea Party events and made my way through the crowds, I would often hear 3 things: "Thanks for fighting. Don't back down," and "We're praying for you." And of course everyone would
ask, "What can we do?" These folks came from all walks of life, but they were all eager for political leadership from elected officials serious about stopping the federal government from bankrupting our nation.
Source: Now Or Never, by Sen. Jim DeMint, p. 12
, Jan 10, 2012
Bottom-up Tea Party differs from city to city
There is no one Tea Party group of Tea Party leader. The Tea Party is a bottom-up operation, not top-down, that differs from state to state, city to city, neighborhood to neighborhood. The label can rightly be used to describe thousands of citizen groups
who are concerned about--or actually fearful of--the out-of-control spending, borrowing, debt, and growth of the federal government. They demand a balanced budget and a return to constitutional limited government not because they are extreme, but because
they fear a truly extreme government.Tea Party groups are composed of a diverse mix of Americans representing a broad cross-section of political ideologies, and many people who have not been involved in politics at all. They are united by fiscal and
economic issues, and they are strongly opposed to the federal government's ever-increasing intervention into all areas of the private sector. For every official Tea Party member, there are hundreds of Americans who agree with their concerns and goals.
Source: Now Or Never, by Sen. Jim DeMint, p.189-190
, Jan 10, 2012
About 160,000 active participants in Tea Party movement
Our nationwide survey of local Tea Parties turned up about 1000 groups spread across all 50 states, including about 800 groups that appeared to be active in the spring and early summer of 2011.
Some local Tea Parties are very large, with online membership lists of 1000 people or more. But most local Tea Parties have much smaller contact lists, and the typical meeting has a few dozen people in attendance.
Overall, a generous assumption is that approximately 800 active local Tea Parties have, on overage, 200 members apiece--that is, people who sign up to be regularly notified and attend gatherings at least occasionally.
That multiplies out to 160,000 very active grassroots participants in Tea Parties across the US.
Source: The Remaking of Republican Conservatism, p. 22
, Jan 2, 2012
Tea Party Demographics: Mostly middle-aged and beyond
Although not every active Tea Partier is a senior citizen, most are middle-aged and beyond--a key social characteristic. Probably the age profile of the Tea Party nudges younger in urban areas, especially in locales where libertarian college students may
turn up. But at the Tea Party meetings we attended in rural and suburban venues, graying hair topped almost every head.Despite occasional efforts at intergenerational outreach, Tea Partiers do not seem anguished about their upward-tilted profile.
The paucity of younger participants is usually taken in stride. Tea Partiers are "older and wiser," one member in Arizona told us. Similarly, a
Virginia Tea Party member explained that older Americans are more attuned to Tea Party priorities. "28-year-olds are not paying the bills" and so they are not as attracted to the Tea Party as people over 50, who worry about fiscal matters.
Source: The Remaking of Republican Conservatism, p. 24-25
, Jan 2, 2012
Tea Party includes some astroturf and some grassroots
Many supporters proclaim the Tea Party to be purely a grassroots rebellion, a "mass movement of 'regular' Americans with real concerns about losing the right to live their lives as they choose." This view captures only a small part of the truth, ignoring
the fact that Tea Party participants are in many respects even more ideologically extreme than other very conservative Republicans. Similarly, the "mass movement" portrayed overlooks the fact that the Tea Party, understood in its entirety, includes media
hosts and wealthy political action committees, plus national advocacy groups and self-proclaimed spokespersons--elites that wield many millions of dollars in political contributions and appear all over the media claiming to speak for grassroots activists
who certainly have not elected them, and to whom they are not accountable. The opposite illusion is also there among those who proclaim the Tea Party to be nothing more than an "astroturf" phenomenon.
Source: The Remaking of Republican Conservatism, p. 11
, Jan 2, 2012
More Americans identify with Tea Party than Dems or GOP
On April 15, 2009, there were 700 sign-waving Tea Partiers filling Fountain Square Park in downtown Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was the largest political gathering I had ever witnessed in my town. I said to the people that day: 200 years ago
Sam Adams and his rabble-rousers threw tea in Boston's harbor. Sam Adams famously said, "It does not require a majority keen to set brushfires in people's minds."
That's right--an irate, tireless minority keen to set brushfires. Looks like we've got one hell of a brushfire to me.
And from that day forward the
Tea Party has been keen on fanning the flames, not simply as a tireless minority but as a potential majority, with some polls showing that more Americans identify with the Tea Party than either the Republican or Democratic parties.
Source: The Tea Party Goes to Washington, by Rand Paul, p. 8-9
, Feb 22, 2011
No national organization speaks for the Tea Party
In the beginning, the Left tried to argue that the Tea Party was little more than top-down organized publicity stunts fomented by FOX News. The reality was actually quite different.Statewide communication between different Tea Parties in each city is
spotty at best, and yet in city after city thousands of folks gather at local events. But when a so-called "national" Tea Party convention was held last year, state and local organizers issued statements to make it known that no national organization
spoke for them.
The Tea Party wasn't created by a billionaire. It came from the people. It has no single leader, is often adamantly against leadership and threatens the power structure of both political parties. It threatens the perquisites and
privileges of the establishment and, therefore, many on both sides of the aisle think it must be destroyed. That the Tea Party has so many enemies in the establishment media and government should tell its members they're doing something right.
Source: The Tea Party Goes to Washington, by Rand Paul, p. 10-11
, Feb 22, 2011
9/12/09 Coalition: fiscal restraint & Constitutional limits
FreedomWorks proceeded to assemble a large coalition of partner groups, including:- Tea Party Patriots
- ResistNet
- Institute for Liberty
- Glenn Beck-inspired 9/12 groups
- Tea Party Express
- Smart Girl Politics
- Let Freedom Ring
- Free
Republic
- Ayn Rand Institute
- ...and dozens of others.
The coalition created a broad net of anyone who agreed on the basic principles of the movement:- a belief in individual freedom, fiscal restraint, and respect for our Constitution's
limits on government power
- a working coalition that understood the need to organize and take to the streets in defense of liberty.
[In planning the march on Washington, we decided to forgo any big-name speakers, in part because we didn't have the
money. But we also wanted the event to reflect the leaderless nature of the Tea Party. So the emphasis was on the local leaders.Conservatively, you can say that at least one million people showed up for the Taxpayer March on Washington on Sep. 12 2009
Source: Give Us Liberty, by Rep. Dick Armey, p.102&117
, Aug 17, 2010
2009: Libertarians included in Massachusetts Tea Party
In 2009 the dedication of the local Tea Party members support for Brown was overwhelming.One week before the election, an e-mail entitled "warning to Tea Party activists: don't even think about voting for Scott Brown!" was sent from Carla Howell and
Michael Cloud, two prominent Libertarian members of the Tea Party movement.
In part, their e-mail read, "You have a radically better choice. A choice that will advance the Tea Party Cause. A choice that will give us REAL Tea Party candidates and allies
in November."
This, of course, is the constant tension in politics--deciding whether or not to let the unelectable "perfect" be the enemy of the electable "good."
most activists realized what was at stake and accepted the current reality of our
system. Many of the Tea Party citizens preferred the libertarian Joe Kennedy, but Scott Brown had the best chance to win, and the Tea Party people solidified their support behind Scott. The libertarians may generally be counted among the Tea Partiers.
Source: Give Us Liberty, by Rep. Dick Armey, p.150-151
, Aug 17, 2010
Feb. 2009: "It's time for another Tea Party"
In Feb. 2009, a movement was reawakened. Confused by the commonsense rhetoric and nonviolent, law-abiding tactics, political pundits and media observers were at a loss. The phenomenon needed a name.On Feb. 18, CNBC's Rick Santelli listened to news
coverage of Obama's proposal for yet another housing bailout. Santelli unexpectedly unleashed an impassioned rant: "The government is promoting bad behavior! This is America! How many people want to pay for your neighbor's mortgages that have an extra
bathroom and can't pay their bills? Pres. Obama, are you listening? It's time for another Tea Party. We're thinking of having a Chicago Tea Party in July, all you capitalists. I'm organizing."
Within hours, Santelli's rant had gone viral, earning more
than a millions views on YouTube and countless discussions across the country. The frustration that had been building, and which had begun to turn into street action, now had a name. The Tea Party was ready for the national stage.
Source: Give Us Liberty, by Rep. Dick Armey, p. 19-20
, Aug 17, 2010
Tea Party on Political Philosophy
Many people are Tea Partiers and don't know it
Many people are probably Tea Party people and they don't know it. Because if you believe in less taxes, less government, the free market system, more individual responsibility, and enforcing the Constitution, you are a tea party person. But you may not
know it. A lot of people don't know that they are Tea Party people because the political elites, as well as the media elites, have tried to marginalize this movement. It will not be denied. It is stronger and growing as much as ever before.
Source: Tea Party response to the 2012 State of the Union speech
, Jan 24, 2012
Stop the blame game; start common sense solutions
On behalf of the Tea Party, with all due respect, Mr. President, the state of the union is not good. We want common sense solutions. That's how we do it outside of Washington. The American people, the Tea Party people, we know that this nation is broke.
And Washington is broken. Mr. President, stop the class warfare. Discourage your surrogates from making racial innuendos. Stop the attacks on citizens by making government too big. And Mr. President, most of all, stop the blame game.
Source: Tea Party response to the 2012 State of the Union speech
, Jan 24, 2012
Tea Party message: we the people are coming
It was 1773 when the colonists got fed up with Old King George and the Brits, and their act of defiance was the Boston Tea Party. Two years later, we had the start of the American Revolution. Eight years later, we won.We can do it again.
We need another revolution. This time it will not be about bombs and bullets. It's going to be about brains and ballots. Washington is out of touch with the people because there are times they forget that they work for us. We must remind them.
We the people are coming. That's the Tea Party message to Washington, the President, and his administration. We the people are coming and we know that we are up against Goliath, but this is why the tea party movement will become not a single
David trying to slay Goliath. We will be an army of Davids. The Tea Party movement is alive and well, and it is going to continue to redefine the political landscape in 2012. We the people are coming. We want our power back.
Source: Herman Cain response to the 2012 State of the Union speech
, Jan 24, 2012
Tea Party includes both moral conservatives & libertarians
We've seen a number of traits that mostly unite engaged Tea Party supporters, including race, age, socioeconomic class, and, above all, very conservative political views. There is, however, one major dimension along which Tea Party activists show
diversity. Some Tea Partiers are social conservatives focused on moral and cultural issues ranging from pro-life concerns to worries about the impact of recent immigrants on the cultural coherence of American life, while others are much more
secular-minded libertarians, who stress individual choice on cultural matters and want the Tea Party as a whole to give absolute priority to fiscal issues.
When it comes to hammering out shared positions or setting priorities for local Tea Party activity, there can be significant friction between these two clusters, particularly about religion and the role of government in enforcing moral standards.
Source: The Remaking of Republican Conservatism, p. 35-36
, Jan 2, 2012
Borrow Alinsky's community organizing methods from the left
Some of the civic organizers we met were very savvy indeed about what it takes to get people involved and committed to a shared cause. [One organizer] worried that Tea Party meetings might become too focused on outside lecturers. He did not want people
to be mere "spectators" and urged his group to set aside time for discussion and decisions about joint endeavors. A Tea Party organizer like him could sit down and have a very fruitful conversation about community organizing with the best leftists
organizers we know. Indeed, some Tea Party members are explicit about borrowing from the left. A number of our interviewees cited the work of Saul Alinsky, the famed community organizer and author of "Rules for Radicals." Other Tea Party organizers
arrive at the same sorts of insights based on lifetimes of civic experience and their own instincts about what it takes to build a vibrant local Tea Party.
Source: The Remaking of Republican Conservatism, p. 41-42
, Jan 2, 2012
Defining book: The Five Thousand Year Leap
"The 5000 Year Leap" is a book popular with many Tea Partiers for its elucidation of ties between the Bible and the Constitution. Written in 1981 by ultra-right ideologue Cleon Skousen, this book explains the US Constitution and the founding of the US in
Biblical terms. All but forgotten for many years, the book found new life after Glenn Beck dubbed it "divinely inspired." One Arizonan Tea Party regular calls the book "one of our Bibles." Tea Party websites often refer to the books' conclusions in their
discussion of America's religious heritage. In South Carolina, the Greenville Tea Party's website claims that the Founding Fathers used "28 fundamental beliefs to create a society based on morality, faith, and ethics," and that "more progress was
achieved in the last 200 years than in the previous 5,000 years of every civilization combined"--2 claims drawn directly from Skousen's book. For these Tea Party members, Skousen provides proof that America is a "Republic with Christian-Judeo influences.
Source: The Remaking of Republican Conservatism, p. 51-52
, Jan 2, 2012
Separate Tea Party from GOP response to State of the Union
On January 25th, 2011, following the President's State of the Union address and the traditional response from the opposing party, President Obama duly delivered his address, and the officially designated GOP spokesman, Representative Paul Ryan of
Wisconsin, delivered his party's rebuttal. But then CNN teamed up with Tea Party Express to broadcast yet another response to the President--by Michelle Bachman, Republican from Minnesota and the self-appointed chair of the House Tea Party Caucus!
CNN's broadcast could give a casual viewer the false impression that the Tea Party was something apart from both major parties; consequently, in the aftermath, the network drew criticism from the right and the left for airing what was essentially a 2nd
GOP response to Obama. But CNN defended its choice, claiming that the Tea Party "has become a major force in American politics." This did not explain, however, why one GOP politician was an appropriate mouthpiece for the entire complex phenomenon.
Source: The Remaking of Republican Conservatism, p.150
, Jan 2, 2012
Tea Partiers are Constitutional Conservatives
Tea partiers are also sometimes called constitutional conservatives, because we put so much emphasis, and rightly so, on the Constitution as the basic source of legitimate governmental authority. Too many Washington brokers haven't much cared what the
Constitution stipulates--unless, of course, the issue is accused criminals and terrorists, in which case they tease out exaggerated theories of procedure to hamstring authorities. But constitutional conservatives do care.
Tea partiers and constitutionalists speak up for the common sense of ordinary Americans, who are instinctively suspicious of concentrated power and yet at the same time expect the government to be able to do a few things well,.
Rather than a lot of things badly. You don't need to be a constitutional expert to see the need for due process and fair play when it comes to dealing with the IRS or the EPA or OSHA.
Source: Core of Conviction, by Michele Bachmann, p.201
, Nov 21, 2011
OpEd: we love America & dislike what's happening to her
What I've learned from the Tea Party Express is this: the spark of patriotic indignation that inspired the Americans who fought for our freedom and independence has been ignited once again! Americans are reawakening to the ideas, the principles, the
habits of the heart, and disciplines of the mind that America great. It's an AMERICAN awakening. It's coming from real people--not politicos or inside-the-Beltway types. They've seen what is happening in America, so they've decided to get involved.
They feel like they're losing something good and fundamental about their country, so they've decided to take it back, because they love this country and are proud to be Americans!
I realized that the Tea Partiers ARE normal Americans who haven't
necessarily been involved in national politics before but are turned on to this movement because they love America and they don't like what they see happening to her. They're so concerned about the path we're on that they've decided to get involved.
Source: America by Heart, by Sarah Palin, p. xii-xiii
, Nov 23, 2010
Contract From America: Our liberties are inherent
A Tea Party leader in Houston launched a website called ContractFromAmerica.com in mid-2009. He received thousands of ideas; a national online vote resulted in ten positions, presented at our Tax Day Tea Party on April 15, 2009:The Contract From
America: Our moral, political, and economic liberties are inherent, not granted by government. The purpose of our government is to exercise only those limited powers that have been relinquished to it by the people. We call upon those seeking to represent
us to work to bring each agenda item to a vote during the first year:- Require each bill to identify its empowering provision of the Constitution
- Reject Cap-and-Trade
- Demand a Balanced Budget
- Enact fundamental tax reform
- Restore limited
government by eliminating unconstitutional agencies
- End runaway government spending
- Defund, repeal, & replace Government-run health care
- Pass an All-of-the-Above energy policy
- Stop the Pork: moratorium on earmarks
- Stop the Tax Hikes.
Source: Give Us Liberty, by Rep. Dick Armey, p.154-158
, Aug 17, 2010
Movement for change; including Alinsky Rules for Radicals
A whole new generation of eyeballs [have added] a few new classics to the activists' education. For instance, Saul Alinsky's "Rules for Radicals"--the original protestor's handbook from the 1960s--has found a surprising readership among thousands of Tea
Partiers. This transition may provide some insight into the political establishment devoted to change, not simple academic debate. The Tea Party movement understands the tenets of the philosophy so those principles can be put into practice.
This body of work has created the basis for a political framework for a new limited-government movement. The Left figured this out a long time ago. Theirs is not an idea-based movement; instead, they focus on organization and power.
As Saul
Alinsky teaches, "change comes from power, and power comes from organization. In order to act, people must get together." Today, the Tea Party has the power to change America for the better.
Source: Give Us Liberty, by Rep. Dick Armey, p. 92-95
, Aug 17, 2010
A social movement, not a political party,& hence sustainable
There was growing recognition that the millions of people who self-identified with the Tea Party movement represented a potentially significant political force that needed to be covered by the press. It is understandable why they got it wrong. The Tea
Party movement is decentralized. It is leaderless.The sole purpose of a political party is to get candidates elected. Principles, on the other hand, are different. Good ideas stand up to scrutiny. The right principles and the best ideas pass the test
of time.
The principle of individual freedom, fiscal responsibility, and constitutionally limited government are what define the Tea Party ethos. They bind us as a social movement. And that marked the Tea Party better than a political party--something
that can sustain itself the day after the first Tuesday in November. The Tea Party is a far more potent force for social change in America because it will sustain itself beyond the next candidate's election.
Source: Give Us Liberty, by Rep. Dick Armey, p.121-123
, Aug 17, 2010
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