The Tea Party:
A Brief History,
by Ronald Formisano


(Click for Amazon book review)

BOOK REVIEW by OnTheIssues.org:

This book is another in OnTheIssues.org's continuing series attempting to define the Tea Party (see list of Tea Party books at bottom of page). This book does a great job outlining the Tea Party's issue stances, in particular on social issues. Most analysts point out that the Tea Party really has no stances on social issues, since the movement is primarily devoted to economic issues. The author here instead cites polling data to describe where large majorities of Tea Partiers stand on one side or the other of social issues, or where they are mostly split.

The author's personal take on the Tea Party is not a purely positive analysis. He repeatedly describes the Tea Party as "astroturf," which means they receive funding from large organizations to pay for signature gatherers and event attendance. The term "astroturf" is a negative contrast to "grassroots," which means that Tea Partiers are self-motivated enthusiastic volunteers. The author does acknowledge the Tea Party's mix of astroturf funding and grassroots volunteerism.

The book outlines the history of the Tea Party including its historical reference to the 1700s Boston Tea Party (which evidently was not called that until decades later). The book also differentiates the Tea Party movement from its conservative cousins, the religious right and libertarians. The author notes for many candidates and members of Congress which received Tea Party support in addition to Christian conservative support, and which received Tea Party support without the religious right. The author differentiates libertarianism too, labeling most conservatives as preferring "Libertarianism With Benefits" (a charming term we believe this book coined).

The author's personal opinion on the Tea Party is exemplified by this excerpt: "The contemporary antitax climate is not hospitable to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis's observation that taxes are the price we pay for civilization." (p. 105) Citing Brandeis usually indicates a progressive viewpoint; but in this context we'll assume the author is a mainstream observer of the Tea Party--this book is a solid outline from that perspective.

-- Jesse Gordon, jesse@OnTheIssues.org, May 2012

OnTheIssues.org excerpts:  (click on issues for details)

Civil Rights     Lynn Westmoreland: Display the Ten Commandments in public historical settings.     Michele Bachmann: Homosexuality is a dysfunction and reversible by prayer.

Environment     Paul LePage: OpEd: Pro-business assault on environmental regulations.

Government Reform     Paul LePage: Replaced same-day voter registration with photo ID rule.

Health Care     Joe Walsh: Opted out of Congress' health insurance plan.

Principles & Values     Tea Party: 2010: 52 Tea Party Caucus members among 87 GOP freshmen.

Tax Reform     Ross Perot: Increase taxes on the wealthy.

Click for quotations from other sources by: Joe Walsh Lynn Westmoreland Michele Bachmann Paul LePage Ross Perot Tea Party

The above quotations are from The Tea Party:
A Brief History,
by Ronald Formisano.

Books about the Tea Party Movement: America the Beautiful, by Dr. Ben Carson, 2012 The Second American Revolution, by the Tea Party Patriots, 2012 The Remaking of Republican Conservatism, by Theda Skocpol & Vanessa Williamson, 2012 An American Son, by Marco Rubio, 2012 The Rise of Marco Rubio, by Manuel Rogi-Franzia, 2012 The Tea Party: A Brief History, by Ronald Formisano, 2012 Michele Bachmann: Why She Will Win, by Ron Paul Jones, 2011 Core of Conviction, by Rep. Michele Bachmann, 2011 Take the Risk, by Dr. Ben Carson, 2007 The FairTax Book, by Rep. John Linder, 2006 Give Us Liberty: A Tea Party Manifesto, by Rep. Dick Armey Troublemaker, by Christine O`Donnell The Tea Party Goes to Washington, by Sen. Rand Paul The Freedom Agenda, by Sen. Mike Lee Now Or Never, by Sen. Jim DeMint

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Page last edited: Feb 25, 2019