FOLIO LINE
As tea partiers shake up GOP politics, what’s the tea party all about?
Q: Is the tea party a political party?
A: No. The name plays on the 1773
Boston Tea Party, when colonists protest-
ed British efforts to tax tea imports and
dumped tea into Boston Harbor. The mod-
ern tea party movement brought together
Americans who were angry, among other
things, about tax dollars going to federal
bailouts of banks, automakers and mort-
gage holders, as well as massive stimulus
spending in the wake of the financial cri-
sis. When the movement first began, some
tea party activists mailed tea bags to mem-
bers of Congress to express their anger.
Q: What’s their platform?
A: There’s no universal platform.
Common themes among tea party groups
are deficit reduction, opposition to spend-
ing “earmarks,” reducing the size of gov-
ernment, eliminating mandates and
repealing Obama’s health care expansion.
In recent months, there have been some
efforts to rally tea party activists against
global warming policy. Social policy has
not been central to the tea party move-
ment, although there have been some
efforts, including Fox commentator Glenn
Beck’s recent rally in Washington, to con-
nect religion to the tea party movement.
Q: Who started the tea party move-
ment and when?
A: There’s no one founder. The move-
ment came together in January and
February of 2009, as President Obama took
office. Rick
O L I V I E R D O U L I E RY / A B AC A / M C T
FOLIO LINE
BY MARGARET TALEV
McClatchy Newspapers
hen the tea party movement rose in early 2009, it
seemed more a sign of the times — a backlash to
the recession and President Barack Obama’s
election — than a lasting force.
The movement has outlived many expectations.
Thousands of tea party groups have sprung up across the
country, and tea party activists are having a significant
impact on shaping Republican primaries across the country.
How the candidates they favor will fare against
Democrats in November, and how their victorious candi-
dates perform in office, could determine how big a force
the tea party movement can be going forward, including in
the 2012 presidential election.
Here’s a question-and-answer primer on the tea party
movement.
Santelli of CBNC on Feb. 19 delivered a And a Seattle-based blogger in February
commentary from the Chicago Mercantile 2009 organized an anti-stimulus protest.
Exchange that went viral on the Internet, in The tea party moniker took off after
which he ranted against federal mortgage what became known as the Santelli rant.
refinancing, said the federal government The movement swelled as April 15, 2009,
was rewarding irresponsible consumers, “tax day” protests were organized, and
compared the U.S. to Cuba, and proposed a activists campaigned against Obama’s
“Chicago Tea Party” to dump derivative health care overhaul before turning atten-
securities in Lake Michigan. tion to the 2010 elections.
Conservative talk radio hosts already
were condemning the proposed fed- Q: Who’s in charge, and where
eral stimulus, tagged at $787 does the movement get
billion when it passed. A its money?
stock trader in January A: There’s no one
had posted a message leader. Umbrella
on the Web urging groups such as the
that tea bags be Tea Party Patriots, and
mailed to lawmak- social networking sites
ers in protest including Teabook.org, link
of federal activists who are members of
bailouts. hyper-local tea party organiza-
tions. It also has become a cot-
tage industry for campaign con-
sultants, T-shirt makers and con-
vention organizers.
Sal Russo, a California-based
Republican political strategist behind
the Tea Party Express, says there are
roughly 4,000 tea party groups in
the United States and hundreds
being formed in other countries.
Some pre-existing advocacy
groups that push fiscal conser-
vatism or pro-business agendas,
such as FreedomWorks, led by
former GOP House Majority
Leader Dick Armey, have been
active in organizing tea party
members.
Financing for the move-
ment comes from a variety of
private sources, from grass-
roots small-dollar donations
to backing from wealthy
business leaders including the
billionaire Koch oil family.
Q: What are Glenn Beck’s
and Sarah Palin’s roles?
A: Neither is a formal leader of a spe-
cific tea party group, but both have active-
ly courted and built fans among tea party
audiences. Beck organized the recent
“Restoring Honor” rally in Washington
that drew thousands of tea party activists.
Tea party Palin spoke there at his invitation, as she
activists were has at other rallies, including one in
Boston earlier this year. Palin also has
among the
backed several winning candidates with
thousands who tea party support in congressional and
gathered for a gubernatorial contests this year.
“Restoring Honor”
rally Aug. 28, 2010,
Q: How do establishment
Republicans and Democrats view the
in Washington. tea party movement?
A: With a sense of apprehension and
curiosity. Rather than run candidates as
TEA PARTY
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M c C l a t c h y - Tr i b u n e
independents, the tea party movement
largely has inserted itself into Republican
Party politics. In some cases its candidates
toppled GOP incumbents in primaries, such
as Sens. Bob Bennett in Utah and Lisa
Murkowski in Alaska. In Kentucky, the tea
party movement helped Rand Paul win the
GOP nomination for the open Senate seat
over the Republican favored by Senate
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
Both parties are waiting to see whether the
tea party movement ultimately empowers
or hobbles the Republican Party.
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, chair-
man of the Republican Governors
Association, said that if the movement
had run independent candidates and split
the conservative vote, “that would have
been far, far worse for us” than challeng-
ing establishment Republicans in primar-
ies. “We welcome them in our primaries,”
he said. “I am glad that the tea party
movement recognized that the Republican
Party is where they ought to be.”
Tea party people
Profile of Americans who support the
populist tea party movement:
(All U.S. adults)
Republican 49% (28%)
Independent 43% (40)
Democrat 8% (32)
Conservative 70% (40)
Moderate 22% (38)
Liberal 7% (21)
Men 55% (49)
45%
Women (51)
Income less
than $30,000 19% (25)
$30,000-49,000 26% (25)
$50,000 or more 55% (50)
Non-Hisp. white 79% (75)
Non-Hisp. black 6% (11)
Other 15% (15)
Source: Gallup/USA Today poll of 1,033 adults, March
26-28, 2010; margin of error: +/-4 percentage points
Graphic: Judy Treible © 2010 MCT
Q: Which November elections with
tea-party backed candidates are worth
watching?
A: There are dozens. Among the most-
watched races will be the Nevada Senate
race pitting tea-party backed Republican
Sharron Angle against Senate Democratic
Leader Harry Reid; and Rand Paul’s bid
for the Senate in Kentucky.
Both Angle and Paul have made rookie
missteps and controversial statements on
issues ranging from gun rights to affirma-
tive action. Their bids in states where
Republicans should be strong this year
may be seen as tests of whether the tea
party movement is helping or hurting the
Republican Party.
In Colorado, several Republicans have
yanked their support for the party’s guber-
natorial nominee, tea-party backed Dan
Maes, after several campaign problems
including misstatements about his work
history. Tea party activists also could play
important roles in Senate and gubernatori-
al races in big states such as California,
Colorado and Florida, as well as in many
House races across the country.
“The big question that needs to be
answered, and will be answered on
Election Day, is whether or not they nom-
inated candidates who are, in fact, too
conservative for general election voters,”
said Jennifer Duffy, senior editor for the
nonpartisan Cook Political Report. “Is
there going to be some
buyers’ remorse and
rethinking, and does
the party survive that?
On the other hand, if
they’re successful in
places like Nevada
and Kentucky, then
you have to call them
a force in 2012.”