The Notorious Tea Party

By: Alex Bishop

New Rochelle, NY - The most traditional and popular political parties in the U.S.A. are the democratic and republican parties. Though the Tea Party is not a national political party, it is still influencing American politics.

The name “Tea Party” is a direct reference to the 1773 Boston Tea Party, which was when a protest was conducted by American colonists. The colonists were opposed to a British tax on tea. As a result of the British tax, the colonists disposed of tea into the harbor once it was taken from British ships. One of the popular chants that emerged from colonists because of the Boston Tea Party was “no taxation without representation.” This phrase has become a slogan for the Tea Party movement.

The Tea Party movement has assisted local and national protests since 2009. Since then, the Tea Party has gained much recognition but many people do not know what exactly the Tea Party movement is or what it stands for.

An American opinion pollster, Scott Rasmussen, says that the bailouts of banks by the Bush and Obama Administration have caused the Tea Party’s movement. Rasmussen explains two issues that anger the Tea Party: “They think federal spending, deficits and taxes are too high, and they think no one in Washington is listening to them, and that latter point is really, really important.”

The Tea Party’s political philosophy is populist- based and contains mostly conservative and libertarian views. In terms of what issues mean the most for the Tea Partiers, the Tea Party has publicly endorsed the reduction of government spending, the reduction of the national debt, the lowering of taxes and a reduction of the federal budget deficit. The Tea Party movement also focuses attention on an originalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution.

The Tea Party has several aspects attributed to them that make it hard to really classify what kind of group the Tea Party is. For example, the Tea Party does not have a central leadership base. However, it does have relationships with certain groups that determine their own platforms and agendas. For this reason, the Tea Party movement has been identified as grassroots political activity which means the movement is driven by politics within a community.

In a July 2010 Washington Post article, written by Chris Cillizza, there is mentioning that some opponents of the Tea Party believe that the Tea Party is a marketing tool for the Republican policies and candidates. Because of similar views on the Tea Party, observers have also categorized the Tea Party as an example of astroturfing. Astroturfing is a formed campaign that has been planned by an organization but listed as grassroots political activity.

The Tea Party’s role in American politics greatly favors the Republican Party. Though the Tea Party has not officially run congressional candidates or appear on a ballot, 80% of the candidates that classify themselves as Tea Partiers are registered Republican.

So how popular is this movement? Google issued the top searches according to its search engine for the year 2010. The list has shown that Tea Party notables Rand Paul and Marco Rubio have gained interest due to their political ties with the Tea Party. As for the Tea Party as a whole, Google has declared that “tea party” has been an increasingly searched term especially as the year has proceeded. Google indicates that the Tea Party will continue to be an area of interest among users.

The Tea Party is still a movement that is developing. Though the Tea Party has made definite strides to become involved in the political system in America, the true impact of the Tea Party remains to be seen.

Below (in order) are three notable members of the Tea Party: Sarah Palin, Rand Paul, and Marco Rubio






Expand Your Knowledge:
- Google's 2010 List of "Rising Searches"
- Washington Post Article
- The overlapping relationship between Tea Party members and Republicans