Thread: Tea Party: What is it/what does it stand for

The Tea Party. What is it? Where did it come from? What does it stand for? What caused it? Do you consider yourself a part of it or opposed to it? If you consider yourself a part of it, why? Opposed to it, then why?

Given all of the media surrounding the Tea Party, I'm curious as to the general consensus of the forum regarding this group of people. Personally I am in complete agreement with the standards of the Tea Party. I'm Taxed Enough Already. Smaller government. A government that is beholden to the people, and not a people that is beholden to the government.

what say you, Tea Party the scourge of the Nation, or is it We The People finally saying to the government enough is enough?

I would appreciate an explanation as to why you voted the way you did in the poll.

Mhailey-Since you asked, I think I agree IN THEORY with the Tea Party. Lots of disenfranchised voters out there feel that they are being ignored, and that their money is being spent at a frightening rate on some extremely dubious projects. I totally get that, and fully agree that we are on a runaway train going downhill with no brakes, and a big turn is coming up...

The problem is that, like a lot of political groups that have some potential to be good for the country, they are being defined by their most radical elements: guys who show up at rallies armed (why?), and some others that seem pretty far outside the American mainstream. Should be interesting to see the effect they have on the upcoming election, and then in the 2012 presidential race.

For what it's worth, I don't identify with either political party. I have voted for my share on both sides, and have felt equally betrayed at various times by both, so am proudly and fiercely independent.

My feeling/experience is that people who paint themselves into ideological corners often find themselves hard put to defend a hard-line position in the real world. Just my 2 cents.

Tea is good but I prefer black coffee

I think it's the corporate-funded, commercialized shell of what Ron Paul's success was based on. It has also divided the Republican party, which I guess is good because it separates me from the ultra-conservatives who I disagree with.

What politician best embodies what the Tea Party currently stands for? It certainly seems that the people who I hear and read speaking on behalf of the Tea Party; Palin, O'Donnell, and various FOX pundits, are not in line with my interests.

Where's the option for: "something that started out as an exciting political movement, and then was hijacked and bastardized by Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck"???

I'll be the first to admit that I don't really follow politics, and actually refuse to vote until I find candidate deserving of my time and approval, but I agree with what has already been stated here. The movement had good intentions but has morphed into a more vocal form of the GOP. It also seems that they want to stand for the little guy, the working class people and then vote for people who are pro big business and anti little guy. Additionally anger is not an appropriate platform for governing. Anger is good when politics are as screwed up as they are but it should not be the only thing that defines you as a politician, you should have an actual plan for solving things. Just my slightly uninformed two cents.

Originally Posted by commiecat

I think it's the corporate-funded, commercialized shell of what Ron Paul's success was based on. It has also divided the Republican party, which I guess is good because it separates me from the ultra-conservatives who I disagree with.

What politician best embodies what the Tea Party currently stands for? It certainly seems that the people who I hear and read speaking on behalf of the Tea Party; Palin, O'Donnell, and various FOX pundits, are not in line with my interests.

Are you saying that the corporations started it? corporations hijacked a non-corporate movement. could you please cite where you get the information that the Tea Party is corporate funded. From what i can tell it is a grass-roots movement that was born out of the people, and the frustration caused by a government that completely disregards the will of the people, and that disgregards limitations imposed upon the government by the people.

I would agree that Palin and Glenn Beck are the personalities that embody the tea party movement.

Originally Posted by mhailey

Are you saying that the corporations started it? corporations hijacked a non-corporate movement. could you please cite where you get the information that the Tea Party is corporate funded. From what i can tell it is a grass-roots movement that was born out of the people, and the frustration caused by a government that completely disregards the will of the people, and that disgregards limitations imposed upon the government by the people.

I would agree that Palin and Glenn Beck are the personalities that embody the tea party movement.

The movement has always been funded by the likes of Koch Industries, Freedomworks, and AFP. These industries and groups pump millions of dollars into backing candidates and staging protests with paid participants. Politics as usual and I'm certainly not saying that they're unique, just that it's far from grassroots.

I disagree with much of what Beck and Palin represent.

From what I've seen of Tea Party members, they're all demographics, but united in being opposed to the oppressive intrusion of government into our lives, our pockets, our minds. Today were 3 good examples: Juan Williams gets fired for admitting what many people feel. If there wasn't some rationale behind his thoughts....then why do we have TSA screeners at the airports? Second example: now government is dictating what you can eat and drink. We've all heard about government plans to tax soft drinks to discourage sugar consumption....today the government announced that people on food stamps can no longer purchase any POTATOES or potato product with food stamps or WIC because potatoes are a starch and fattening. Example 3: my son-in-law learned today that his health care premiums just jumped $200/MONTH! With the health care reform we knew this was coming, his $200 is going to amortize the costs of the government saddling consumers with the 34 million people who didn't carry health insurance. There's simply too much of this government intrusion going on and just like the tax revolt of the first Tea Party, is the reason for the new Tea Party. Unfortunately, there is a movement afoot to paint them as bigots or racists or whatever simply because they're opposed to bigger government.

There is an excellent article in FT on the subject:

FT.com / Comment / Opinion - The Tea Party will prove transient