Tea Party movement

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This article is about the Tea Party movement. For the protest events themselves, see Tea Party protests.
Tea Party protesters fill the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol and the National Mall on September 12, 2009.

The Tea Party movement is a United States movement that emerged in 2009 through a series of locally and nationally coordinated protests.[1][2][3][4] The protests are partially in response to several Federal laws: the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 ("bailout"),[5] the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 ("stimulus package"),[6][7] and the 2009–2010 health care reform bills.[8]

The name "Tea Party" is a reference to the Boston Tea Party of 1773—a protest by American colonists against various acts by the British Government which, among other things, attempted to establish a monopoly on the importation of tea into the colonies, and imposed a tax on the tea. The colonists felt disenfranchised because of their lack of representation in the British Parliament, and resented the British government's efforts to control them.[9] Tea Party protests have invoked themes, images and slogans similar to those used during the pre-revolutionary period in American history.[10][11][12]

Background and history

See also: Tax revolt
See also: List of Tea Party protests, 2009 and List of Tea Party protests, 2010

The theme of the Boston Tea Party, an iconic event of American history, has long been used by anti-tax protesters.[13][14][15] It was part of Tax Day protests held throughout the 1990s and earlier.[16][17][18][19]

A Tea Party protester holds a sign saying "Remember: Dissent is Patriotic" at a Nashville Tea Party on February 27, 2009.

The 'tea' in Tea Party has been used as an acronym standing for Taxed Enough Already.[20][21][22][23][24] The Libertarian theme of the "tea party" began with Republican Congressman Ron Paul supporters as a fund raising event during the 2008 presidential primaries to emphasize Paul's fiscal conservatism, which laid the groundwork for the modern-day Tea Party movement. On December 16, 2007, the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, Ron Paul supporters raised 6 Million dollars in 24 hours in individual donations.[25][26][27][28]

On January 19, 2009, someone on FedUpUSA posted an invitation "to a Commemorative Tea Party" protest in Boston on February 1.[29] On February 11, talk radio host and Fox Business Network personality Dave Ramsey appeared on Fox and Friends, waving tea bags and saying, "It's time for a Tea Party."[30]

But the dominant theme seen at some of the earliest anti-stimulus protests was pork rather than tea.[31] The term "porkulus" was coined by radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh on his January 27, 2009, broadcast[32] in reference to both the 2009 stimulus bill, which was just introduced to the House of Representatives the day before, as well as to pork barrel spending and earmarks.[33] This proved very popular with conservative politicians and commentators,[34] who began to unify in opposition to the September 2008 bailout package.

Early local protest events

On January 24th, 2009 Trevor Leach and members of the Young Americans for Liberty held a Tea Party in January, 2009, in response to a proposed 18% tax increase in New York on non-diet sodas.[35][36]

According to FreedomWorks state and federal campaigns director Brendan Steinhauser[37][38], activist Mary Rakovich[39] was the organizer of a February 10, 2009 protest in Fort Myers, Florida, calling it the, "first protest of President Obama's administration that we know of."[40]

New York Times journalist Kate Zernike reported that leaders within the Tea Party credit Seattle blogger and conservative activist Keli Carender with organizing the first Tea Party in February 2009, although the term "Tea Party" was not used.[41] Other articles, written by Chris Good of The Atlantic[42] and NPR’s Martin Kaste,[43] credit Carender as, "one of the first," Tea Party organizers and state that she, “organized some of the earliest Tea Party-style protests."

Carender first organized what she called a "Porkulus Protest" in Seattle on Presidents Day, February 16, the day before President Obama signed the stimulus bill into law.[44] Carender said she did it without support from outside groups or city officials. "I just got fed up and planned it." Carender said 120 people participated. "Which is amazing for the bluest of blue cities I live in, and on only four days notice!! This was due to me spending the entire four days calling and emailing every person, think tank, policy center, university professors (that were sympathetic), etc. in town, and not stopping until the day came."[45][46]

Carender also contacted conservative author and Fox News contributor Michelle Malkin, and asked her to publicize the rally on her blog.[45] Carender then held a second protest on February 27, 2009, reporting "We more than doubled our attendance at this one."[41] On Tax Day, six weeks later, 1,200 people gathered for a Tea Party protest.[45]

First national Tea Party protests

On February 19, 2009,[34] in a broadcast from the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, CNBC Business News editor Rick Santelli criticized the government plan to refinance mortgages, which had just been announced the day before. He said that those plans were, "promoting bad behavior,"[47] by, "subsidizing losers' mortgages." He suggested holding a tea party for traders to gather and dump the derivatives in the Chicago river on July 1.[48][49][50] A number of the derivative traders around him cheered on his proposal, to the apparent amusement of the hosts in the studio. Video of Santelli's 'rant' went viral after it received a "red siren" headline on the news aggregation website, Drudge Report.[51]

In response to Santelli, websites such as ChicagoTeaParty.com (registered in August 2008 by Chicago radio producer Zack Christenson) were live within twelve hours.[11] About 10 hours after Santelli's remarks, reTeaParty.com was bought to coordinate Tea Parties scheduled for July 4 and, as of March 4, was reported to be receiving 11,000 visitors a day.[11]

According to The New Yorker writer Ben McGrath[34] and New York Times reporter Kate Zernike[41], this is where the movement was first inspired to coalesce under the collective banner of "Tea Party." By the next day, guests on Fox News had already begun to mention this new "Tea Party." [52]

As reported by The Huffington Post, a Facebook page was developed on February 20 calling for Tea Party protests across the country.[53] Soon, the "Nationwide Chicago Tea Party" protest was coordinated across over 40 different cities for February 27, 2009, thus establishing the first national modern Tea Party protest.[54][55]

Composition of the movement

The "Second Revolution" flag, first passed out during Scott Brown's Senate victory, is often used by Tea Party advocates.
The Gadsden Flag is a favorite among the Tea Party movement nationwide.

The movement has been supported nationally by prominent individuals and organizations[56], including:

  • Tea Party Nation sponsored a national tea party convention February 4–6, 2010. The event featured Sarah Palin as keynote speaker, but was criticized for charging $549 per ticket,[61][62][63][64] as well as the fact that Palin was apparently paid $100,000 USD for her appearance.[65] In the face of criticism by Tea Party activists, Palin has said she plans to donate the fee to unspecified conservative causes.[66] Former Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo at the Tea Party convention in Nashville stated to applause, "People who could not even spell the word 'vote' or say it in English put a committed socialist ideologue in the White House..his name is Barack Hussein Obama."[67]
  • Tea Party Patriots is an organization with members across the nation.[68] The group proclaims itself to be the "Official Home of the Tea Party Movement.[69]
  • The National Tea Party Federation was formed on April 8, 2010 by several leaders in the Tea Party movement to help spread its message and to respond to critics with a quick, unified response.[70]

Tea Party symbol

The Gadsden Flag has become a symbol of the American Tea Party movement.[71] Nationwide it is a popular alternative to the stars and stripes[72], for protesters upset at the current government, but still feeling patriotic, there’s a whole alternative iconography, the idea of a Revolutionary War flag that matters its simultaneous and half-contradictory messages of a more-American-than-America conservatism and an armed radicalism.[73] Lawmakers have dubbed it a political symbol due to Tea Party.[74]

Tea Party agenda: Contract from America

The Contract from America was the idea of Houston-based Tea Party Patriots national leader Ryan Hecker. Hecker states that he developed the concept of creating a grassroots call for reform prior to the April 15, 2009 Tax Day Tea Party rallies. To get his idea off the ground, he launched a website, "ContractFromAmerica.com," which encouraged people to offer possible planks for the contract. Hecker told The New York Times, "Hundreds of thousands of people voted for their favorite principles online to create the Contract as an open-sourced platform for the Tea Party movement. The agenda had the imprint of everyday citizens every step of the way (in the online voting process.)" Hecker said the Republicans’ 1994 Contract with America represented the nation’s last intellectual economic conservative movement, but the new list, he said, was “created from the bottom up. It was not crafted in Washington with the help of pollsters."[75]

From the original 1,000 ideas which were submitted, Hecker reduced it to about 50 based on popularity. He then narrowed that list down to 10 items with the help of former House Republican Leader Dick Armey, whose conservative group, FreedomWorks, has established close ties with many Tea Party activists around the country.[76]

Ideas to be included in the contract were proposed and debated on a website designed for that purpose and the resulting statements were voted on online, with 454,331 votes being cast. The resulting document including the vote percentages for the statements included was posted online on April 12, 2010.[77]

The Contract lists 10 agenda items that it encourages congressional candidates to follow:[78][79]

  1. Identify constitutionality of every new law: Require each bill to identify the specific provision of the Constitution that gives Congress the power to do what the bill does (82.03%).
  2. Reject emissions trading: Stop the "cap and trade" administrative approach used to control pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of pollutants. (72.20%).
  3. Demand a balanced federal budget: Begin the Constitutional amendment process to require a balanced budget with a two-thirds majority needed for any tax modification. (69.69%)
  4. Simplify the tax system: Adopt a simple and fair single-rate tax system by scrapping the internal revenue code and replacing it with one that is no longer than 4,543 words -- the length of the original Constitution.(64.9%).
  5. Audit federal government agencies for constitutionality: Create a Blue Ribbon taskforce that engages in an audit of federal agencies and programs, assessing their Constitutionality, and identifying duplication, waste, ineffectiveness, and agencies and programs better left for the states or local authorities. (63.37%)
  6. Limit annual growth in federal spending: Impose a statutory cap limiting the annual growth in total federal spending to the sum of the inflation rate plus the percentage of population growth. (56.57%).
  7. Repeal the health care legislation passed on March 23, 2010: Defund, repeal and replace the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. (56.39%).
  8. Pass an 'All-of-the-Above' Energy Policy: Authorize the exploration of additional energy reserves to reduce American dependence on foreign energy sources and reduce regulatory barriers to all other forms of energy creation. (55.5%).
  9. Reduce Earmarks: Place a moratorium on all earmarks until the budget is balanced, and then require a 2/3 majority to pass any earmark. (55.47%).
  10. Reduce Taxes: Permanently repeal all recent tax increases, and extend permanently the George W. Bush temporary reductions in income tax, capital gains tax and estate taxes, currently scheduled to end in 2011. (53.38%).

The Tea Party Patriots have asked both Democrats and Republicans to sign on to the Contract. No Democrats have signed on, and the contract has met resistance from some Republicans who have since created "Commitment to America." Brendan Buck, a spokesman for that agenda said, "We totally are on board with what they did." Buck explained that it (the contract) is too narrow in focus, and not exactly what the (Republican) party would include in its own top-10 list of priorities. "We just want to have as big and open process as we can," he said, while making sure to add, "The tea party people will have a seat at the table." [80]

Candidates who have signed the Contract from America include Utah's Mike Lee, Nevada’s Sharron Angle, U.S. Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.). Other Republicans who have signed on include Newt Gingrich and Dick Armey. [81]

Political responses

2010 election cycle

On June 8, 2010, in the Super Tuesday primary election, several tea party backed candidates won including:

  • Sharron Angle won the Nevada U.S. Senate GOP primary race and will face Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in November. Angle, who has been called an outsider even in the GOP, believes in small-government and lower taxes. She has said, "I am the tea party." Angle beat out the Republican favorite, Sue Lowden, the one-time front runner.[82]
  • Tea party backed candidate, Nikki Haley, a 38-year-old Indian-American state representative, beat out three prominent Republican rivals in the South Carolina primary race for Governor capturing 49 percent of the vote. She defeated the second-place finisher, U.S. Representative Gresham Barrett, in a run-off election on June 22.[83]
  • In Maine, tea party backed candidate Paul LePage won the GOP primary for Governor.[84]
  • In New Jersey, Tea Party approved candidate Anna C. Little defeated Republican "establishment" candidate Diane Gooch in the Republican congressional primary for the 6th Congressional District on June 8, 2010. Little will face Democratic Congressman Frank Pallone in November.[85]
  • Rand Paul from the conservative Tea Party movement, won the Super Tuesday GOP Senate primary in Kentucky. Paul is the son of Republican Congressman, Ron Paul, of Texas. Mr Paul comfortably beat Republican establishment favorite Trey Grayson with 60% of the vote. He was quoted saying, "The Tea Party Movement is about saving our country from a mountain of debt.”[86]
  • In the Republican primary in South Dakota for the At Large Congressional seat, Kristi Noem, a Tea Party approved candidate, defeated incumbent Secretary of State Chris Nelson and state representative Blake Curd.[87]
  • In the South Carolina First Congressional district Republican primary, Tim Scott, who was specifically endorsed by the Tea Party movement,[88] defeated two "establishment" Republicans with long family histories in the Republican politics, Paul Thurmond (the son of the former South Carolina U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond)[89] and Carroll Campbell, the son of former South Carolina governor Carroll A. Campbell, Jr.[90]

Tea Party candidates who lost their primary bids on Super Tuesday included,in California, Chuck DeVore, who lost the GOP senate primary to Carly Fiorina who had backing from Sarah Palin.[91]

On May 8, 2010, U.S. Senator Bob Bennett (R - Utah) lost his bid to be renominated by his party for another term in the Senate. His defeat is seen as a victory for the Tea Party Movement whose supporters were against Bennett’s return.[92][93][94]

Support from the local tea party in Boston helped make U.S. Senator from Massachusetts Scott Brown a contender in what turned out to be an upset election in January, 2010.[95] Many politicians in the 2010 election cycle are riding on grassroots support from the Tea Party movement, including Republican Pennsylvania gubernatorial contender Sam Rohrer, Texas gubernatorial contender Debra Medina and US Senate candidate Rand Paul.[96][97][98]

Tea Party activists succeeded on April 13, 2010, in helping to nominate two Republican candidates for the Texas House of Representatives from two Lubbock-based districts. Charles Perry unseated 86-year-old incumbent and fellow Republican Delwin Jones in District 83 and is unopposed in the November 2 general election. John Frullo won the nomination for the District 84 seat vacated by the retiring Carl Isett, also a Republican. Frullo defeated businessman Mark Griffin, a former Texas Tech University regent.[99]

In Florida, two different groups sparred in federal court after one registered the name "Florida Tea Party" with the state Division of Elections. At a June 23, 2010 hearing in West Palm Beach, one "tea party" group asked the court to order the other to amend its filing and to use a different party name.[100]

In February, 2010, Dean Murray, a Long Island businessman, won a a special election for a New York State Assembly seat. He is believed to be the first tea party activist to be elected into office.[101]

In July, 2010, Rep. Michele Bachmann filed paperwork to form what she calls the House Tea Party Caucus. This congressional caucus, which Bachmann intends to chair, will be devoted to the Tea Party's principles of "fiscal responsibility, adherence to the Constitution, and limited government," she said.[102]

Obama administration responses

Obama signs bill at desk while others look on.
Barack Obama signs the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act at the White House, March 23, 2010.

On April 29, 2009, Obama commented on the Tea Party protests publicly during a townhall meeting in Arnold, Missouri, saying: ". . .(when) you see folks waving tea bags around, let me just remind them that I am happy to have a serious conversation about how we are going to cut our health care costs down over the long term, how we're going to stabilize Social Security. . .We are going to have to tighten our belts, but we're going to have to do it in an intelligent way. And we've got to make sure that the people who are helped are working American families, and we're not suddenly saying that the way to do this is to eliminate programs that help ordinary people and give more tax cuts to the wealthy. We tried that formula for eight years, and it did not work, and I don't intend to go back to it."[103]

On April 19, 2009, Senior White House Adviser David Axelrod, when asked about the Tea Party protests on CBS News, said "I think any time that you have severe economic conditions, there is always an element of disaffection that can mutate into something that’s unhealthy." He also noted, "The thing that bewilders me is this President just cut taxes for ninety five percent of the American people. So I think the tea bags should be directed elsewhere, because he certainly understands the burden that people face."[104]

On April 15, 2010, President Obama touted his administration's tax cuts, noting the passage of 25 different tax cuts over the past year, including tax cuts for 95% of working Americans. He then remarked, "So I’ve been a little amused over the last couple of days where people have been having these rallies about taxes. You would think they would be saying thank you. That’s what you’d think."[105][106]

Public opinion polls and demographics

Several polls have been conducted on the demographics of the movement. [citation needed] According to a New York Times/CBS poll, 18 percent of Americans identify themselves as Tea Party supporters. Tea Party supporters tend to be "white, male, married and older than 45." In general, they are "wealthier and more well-educated" than the general public, and hold conservative views on a range of issues. Although most are registered Republican, they tend to be more conservative than Republicans at large.[107][108] The poll was said to be the “first reliable look at the tea party supporters” by the Los Angeles Times.[109] However a broader base of inquiry from a variety of polling sources is more likely to gain deeper and more substantive understanding to the makeup of the Tea Party demographics.[citation needed] The results showed that:

A Tea Party protest in Hartford, Connecticut, on April 15, 2009.
  • Tea Party supporters were 89% white and 1% black, compared to 77% and 12% of all respondents, respectively.
  • 18% of Americans consider themselves Tea Party supporters.
  • 90% of Tea Party supporters think the country is headed in the wrong direction.
  • Tea Party supporters tend to be Republican, white, male, married and older than age 45.
  • 54% of Tea Party supporters have a “favorable opinion” of the Republican party compared to 38% of the general public.
  • 6% of Tea Party supporters have a favorable opinion of the Democratic party compared to 42% of the general public.
  • 30% think President Obama was born outside the United States compared to 20% of the general public.
  • More than half (52%) told the pollsters they think their own "income taxes this year are fair."
  • 25% think that the administration favors blacks over whites — compared with 11% of the general public.
  • 7% approve of how President Obama is doing his job compared to 50% of the general public.
  • 92% feel that President Obama's policies are moving the US towards "socialism", compared to 52% for the general public.

The telephone poll was conducted April 5–12 of 1,580 US adults. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points for all adults and for Tea Party supporters.[110]

Gallup "Tea Partiers are fairly mainstream in their Demographics. Tea Party supporters skew right politically; but demographically, they are generally representative of the public at large. That's the finding of a USA Today/Gallup poll conducted March 26–28.

  • 28% of U.S. adults call themselves supporters of the Tea Party movement.
  • Tea Party supporters are decidedly Republican and conservative in their leanings. Also, compared with average Americans, supporters are slightly more likely to be male and less likely to be lower-income.
  • In several other respects, however—their age, educational background, employment status, and race—Tea Partiers are quite representative of the public at large."[111]

TheHill.com. One report of a political composition which was found to be 57 percent Republican, 28 percent Independent and 13 percent Democratic, concluded that "four in ten tea party members are Democrats or independents."[citation needed]

CNN A CNN poll[112] of 1023 adult Americans (with a sampling error of +/- 3%), conducted on February 12–15, 2010, found that:

  • 35% of the sample either strongly or moderately supported the Tea Party
  • 19% strongly or moderately opposed the Tea Party
  • 16% would vote for a Tea Party candidate for Congress
  • 2% have given money to the Tea Party Movement
  • 5% have attended a rally or meeting associated to the Tea Party movement

In surveying only those who had participated in Tea Party activities (with a sampling error of +/- 9%), the CNN poll found that:

  • 80% were white,[113] compared to 71% of all respondents
  • 60% were men, compared to 50% of all respondents
  • 40% were college graduates, compared to 28% of all respondents
  • 4% described themselves as Democrat, compared to 32% of all respondents.

Quinnipiac A Quinnipiac University poll of 1,907 adult Americans conducted in March 2010, found that of those who identified themselves as part of the Tea Party movement:[114][115][116]

  • 88% were white
  • 55% were women
  • 77% voted for 2008 GOP presidential candidate John McCain
  • 74% identified themselves as Republicans or independents who lean Republican
  • 16% said they are Democrats or Democratic-leaning independents
  • 60% have a favorable impression of the Republican Party
  • 82% have an unfavorable opinion of the Democratic Party

University of Washington According to a University of Washington poll of 1695 registered voters in the state of Washington, published on June 2, 2010:[117][118]

  • 74% of Washington Tea Party in supporters agree with the statement "[w]hile equal opportunity for blacks and minorities to succeed is important, it's not really the government's job to guarantee it."
  • 88% of Washington Tea Party supporters approve of the controversial immigration law recently enacted in Arizona.
  • 52% of Washington Tea Party supporters said that "compared to the size of their group, lesbians and gays have too much political power."
  • 82% of Washington Tea Party supporters do not believe that gay and lesbian couples should have the legal right to marry.
  • 73% of Washington Tea Party backers disapprove of President Obama's policy of engaging with Muslim countries.

Bloomberg News A Bloomberg News poll found that Tea Partiers are not against increased government action in all cases. Seventy percent want the federal government to aid in job creation. Also, nearly half think the government should limit Wall Street bonuses, according to the nationwide poll which was conducted between March 19 and March 22, 2010.[119]

Rasmussen Reports An April 3, 2010 Rasmussen Reports poll of 1000 likely voters found.[120]

  • 48% said that the views of an average Tea Party member were closer to their own than President Obama's.
  • 44% said President Obama's views were closer to their own.
  • 87% of members of the political class felt closer to Obama.
  • 63% of mainstream Americans stated that their views were closer the Tea Party Movement

Angus Reid Public Opinion A survey of 1,021 American adults conducted on June 9 and 10, 2010, found.[121]

  • 39% of Americans agree with the core policies of the National Tea Party movement
  • 68% of Republicans agree with the core policies of the National Tea Party movement.
  • 29% of respondents believe the National Tea Party movement will have a positive effect on American politics.
  • 56% of Republicans believe the National Tea Party movement will have a positive effect on American politics.

Study on "Tea Party supporters"

A seven state study conducted from the University of Washington suggests that Tea Party movement supporters were more likely to be "racially resentful" than the population as a whole within the states surveyed.[122] Of white poll respondents who strongly approve of the Tea Party, 35% believe that blacks are hardworking, compared to 55% of those strongly opposed to the Tea Party, and 40% of all respondents.[123][124] Critics of this study suggest that while it's possible that agreement with statements like "Blacks should do the same without special favors" reflects a resentful spirit, it also could reflect a respectful one—a confidence that blacks are as capable as anyone else.[125]

Commentaries on the movement

Matthew Continetti of The Weekly Standard has said: "There is no single Tea Party. The name is an umbrella that encompasses many different groups. Under this umbrella, you’ll find everyone from the woolly fringe to Ron Paul supporters, from Americans for Prosperity to religious conservatives, independents, and citizens who never have been active in politics before. The umbrella is gigantic."[126]

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's political activist group American Solutions supports the protests, saying on its website that they are "our chance to communicate our anger and opposition to the irresponsible policies of politicians in Washington who have failed to solve problems." Gingrich spoke at the New York City protest on April 15.[127]

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich speaks at the New York City Tea Party, April 15, 2009.

Dan Gerstein, a former Democratic Party political advisor, argued in Forbes that the protests could have tapped into real feelings of disillusionment by American moderates, but the protesters put forth too many incoherent messages.[128]

Tea Party protesters at United States Capitol during the Taxpayer March on Washington, September 12, 2009.

Ned Ryun, President of American Majority, an organization that offers training for many Tea Party activists, believes this movement is not about political parties, stating, "It's very much anti-establishment at both parties....They don't care about party labels." He has also said that "I think we're getting to the point where you can truly say we're entering a post-party era. They aren't going to be necessarily wed to a certain party — they want to see leadership that reflects their values first.....They don't care what party you're in; they just want to know if you reflect their values — limited government, fixing the economy."[129]

In 2010, the British magazine The Economist described the Tea Party movement as "America's most vibrant political force."[130]

Thomas B. Edsall, writing in The New Republic, concludes that the findings of Robert D. Putnam that diversity has resulted in a withdrawal of many from varied community life provides valuable insight into the Tea Party movement's "explosive growth".[131]

Political historian Rick Perlstein has observed that "the story they're telling is that somehow the authentic, real America is being polluted."[132]

According to president of the American Enterprise Institute, Arthur C. Brooks, America is locked in a culture war in which either America will continue to be an exceptional nation organized around the principles of free enterprise, limited government, a reliance on entrepreneurship and rewards determined by market forces, or America will move toward European-style statism grounded in expanding bureaucracies, a managed economy and large-scale income redistribution. Brooks states that while some have tried to dismiss the "tea party" demonstrations and the town hall protests as the work of extremists, ignorant backwoodsmen or agents of the health-care industry, this movement reveals much about the culture war that is underway, and it is not at all clear which side will prevail.[133]


Allegations of media coverage bias

US News and World Report reported that the nature of the coverage of the protests has become part of the story.[134] On CNN's Situation Room, journalist Howard Kurtz commented that "much of the media seems to have chosen sides." He says that Fox News portrayed the protests "as a big story, CNN as a modest story, and MSNBC as a great story to make fun of. And for most major newspapers, it's a nonstory."[134] There are reports that the movement has been actively promoted by the Fox News Channel, indicating a possible media bias.[135][136]

Tea Party protesters walk towards the United States Capitol during the Taxpayer March on Washington, September 12, 2009.

In April 2010, responding to a question from the media watchdog group Media Matters posed the previous week, Rupert Murdoch, the chief executive of News Corporation which owns Fox News, said, “I don’t think we should be supporting the Tea Party or any other party.” That same week Fox News canceled an appearance by Sean Hannity at a Cincinnati Tea Party rally.[137]

Following the September 12 Taxpayer March on Washington, Fox News claimed it was the only cable news outlet to cover the emerging protests and took out full-page ads in The Washington Post, the New York Post, and The Wall Street Journal with a prominent headline reading, "How did ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, and CNN miss this story?" [138]

CNN news anchor Rick Sanchez disputed Fox's claim pointing to various coverage of the event.[139][140][141] CNN, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, and CBS Radio News provided various forms of live coverage of the rally in Washington throughout the day on Saturday, including the lead story on CBS Evening News.[139][141][142][143]

James Rainey of The Los Angeles Times said MSNBC's attacks on the tea parties paled compared to Fox's support, but Olbermann, Maddow and Matthews were hardly subtle in disparaging the movement.[144] Howard Kurtz has said that, "These [FOX] hosts said little or nothing about the huge deficits run up by President Bush, but Barack Obama's budget and tax plans have driven them to tea. On the other hand, CNN and MSNBC may have dropped the ball by all but ignoring the protests."[145]

Criticism

Various politicians, political commentators and columnists have called critics of Obama's health care reform racist.[146][147] This has included assertions that the color of Obama's skin is behind the opposition to his policies.[148] The White House has downplayed the accusations and said that the President does not believe he is being criticized because of his race.[149]

Prominent black conservative, Ward Connerly, decried accusations of tea party racism and defended the movement in a National Review column saying that, "race is the engine that drives the political Left. In the courtrooms, on college campuses, and, most especially, in our politics, race is a central theme. Where it does not naturally rise to the surface, there are those who will manufacture and amplify it," Connerly said. "Such is the case with the claims that the 'Tea Partiers' are a bunch of racists and that many of them spat upon members of the Congressional Black Caucus. . . . I am convinced beyond any doubt that all of this is part of the strategic plan being implemented by the Left in its current campaign to remake America."[150]

Three black Tea Party protesters, when interviewed by the Washington Times, said that they have not experienced or witnessed any racial hostility. Charlene Freedman from New Jersey, who had attended four different Tea Party protests, including the health care protest on March 20, 2010, said "I didn't see color. They didn't see my color. We're just American citizens, and we're here to say, 'Keep America free.' I’ve heard nothing about racism ... nothing at all."[151]

Tea Party protesters during the Taxpayer March on Washington, September 12, 2009.

Other black conservatives have questioned the Tea Party's inclusiveness. Brandon Brice, a primary black speaker at a tax-day Tea Party rally, said he was worried about the movement, noting that "It's strayed away from the message of wasteful spending and Washington not listening to its constituents, and it's become more of this rally of hate." Lenny McAllister, a Republican commentator, author and tea party supporter said he has seen racism within the Tea Party and has confronted it, and like Brice, thinks leaders of the Tea Party movement must not ignore the issue. McAllister told the Washington Post, "The people are speaking up and becoming more educated on the issues, but you have fringe elements that are defining this good thing with their negative, hateful behavior."[152]

Jean Howard-Hill, leader of the National Republican African American Caucus, wrote that, "Any movement which cannot openly denounce racism, calling it out as wrong troubles me. To attack President Obama on his policy is one thing, but to do so on his race or some hysterical pretext of socialism is yet another."[152] During an interview on NPR with Michel Martin, columnist Cynthia Tucker and Lenny McAllister discussed racism and the tea parties; Tucker wrote about the interview, concluding that McAllister's take on racism was that he’d seen enough racist signs at other tea party gatherings to know that racism is associated with the movement.[153]

About 61 percent of tea party opponents say racism has a lot to do with the movement, a view held by just 7 percent of tea party supporters.[154] Some Tea Partiers blame the media for casting them as racists.[155] Allen West, one of 32 African-Americans who are running for Congress in 2010 as Republicans, says the notion of racism in the Tea Party movement has been made up by the news media.[156]

Reports of inappropriate incidents

On March 20, 2010, before the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Bill was voted on by lawmakers, it was reported that protesters against the bill used racial and homophobic slurs at a rally at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.. Several black lawmakers said that demonstrators shouted "nigger" at them.[157][158] Congressman Emanuel Cleaver said he was spat upon, and Congressman Barney Frank, who is gay, was called a "faggot."[159][157] Representative André Carson said that as he walked from the House office building with Representative John Lewis, amid chants of "Kill the bill" he heard the "n - word at least 15 times".[160] One man "just rattled it off several times." Carson quoted Lewis as saying, "You know, this reminds me of a different time."[161][161]

Economist and prominent black conservative Thomas Sowell told the Washington Post, "This is a serious charge — and one deserving of some serious evidence... But, despite all the media recording devices on the scene, not to mention recording devices among the crowd gathered there, nobody can come up with a single recorded sound to back up that incendiary charge. Worse yet, some people have claimed that even doubting the charge suggests that you are a racist."[150] The National Tea Party Federation sent a letter to the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) denouncing racism and requesting that the CBC supply any evidence of the alleged events at the protest on March 20, 2010.[162] House Republican leaders criticized the use of slurs against the Democratic congressmen by the protesters, but said they were isolated incidents that shouldn't overshadow the health care debate. House Minority Leader John Boehner, called the incidents "reprehensible", and House Minority Whip Eric Cantor said, "Nobody condones that at all. There were 30,000 people here in Washington yesterday. And, yes, there were some very awful things said." As demonstrators gathered the following day outside the Capitol to rally against the bill again, one held a sign saying, "All tea partiers: If you hear a racial slur, step away, point, boo and take a picture of the rat bastard."[163]

On March 21, 2010, Springboro Tea Party founder Sonny Thomas posted racist slurs against Hispanics on the group's Twitter webpage, including one post that said, "Illegals everywhere today! So many spics makes me feel like a speck. Grrr. Wheres my gun!?". The posts triggered cancellations by several local and statewide political candidates scheduled to speak at a Springboro Tea Party rally on April 17. Other Tea Party officials say the posts were "classless" and way out of line, but say they don't represent the Tea Party movement as a whole.[164]

On March 22, 2010, a Lynchburg, Virginia Tea Party activist, attempting to post the home address of Congressman Tom Perriello on his blog, incorrectly posted the address of Perriello’s brother, who also lives in Virginia, and encouraged readers to "drop by" to express their anger against Rep. Perriello’s vote in favor of the health care bill. The following day, a severed gas line was discovered in Perriello's brother's yard which connected to a propane grill on the home’s screened-in porch. Local police and FBI investigators determined that it was intentionally cut as a deliberate act of vandalism. The website issued a response saying the Tea Party member's action of posting the address "was not requested, sanctioned or endorsed" by the group.[165][166][167]

Tea Party Express leader Mark Williams referred to Allah as a "Monkey God". Williams' comments elicited strong rebukes from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, NY State Senators and Muslim leaders. In a subsequent blog posting, Williams wrote, “I owe an apology to millions of Hindus who worship Lord Hanuman, an actual Monkey God. Hanuman is worshiped as a symbol of perseverance, strength, and devotion ... Those are hardly the traits of whatever the Hell (literally) it is that terrorists worship.” When questioned by The Washington Post about his comments about Islam and Obama, Williams has claimed the controversy has "been fantastic for the movement." [168][169]

On July 14, 2010, a Tea Party group in Iowa removed a billboard comparing President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler and Vladimir Lenin after receiving sharp criticism from other tea party leaders. North Iowa tea party co-founder Bob Johnson admits the sign was wrong and offensive, and misrepresents the intentions of the Tea Party group.[170]

Astroturfing allegations

Tea Party protest in Hartford, Connecticut, April 15, 2009.

In a New York Times op-ed column by economist Paul Krugman, writing that "the tea parties don't represent a spontaneous outpouring of public sentiment. They're AstroTurf (fake grass roots) events, manufactured by the usual suspects. In particular, a key role is being played by FreedomWorks, an organization run by Richard Armey."[171]

On tax day April 15, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi stated "It's not really a grassroots movement. It's astroturf by some of the wealthiest people in America to keep the focus on tax cuts for the rich instead of for the great middle class."[172]

According to Atlantic Monthly, the three main groups that provide guidance and organization for the protests FreedomWorks, dontGO, and Americans for Prosperity state that the demonstrations are an organic movement.[173] Law professor and commentator Glenn Reynolds, best known as author of the Instapundit political blog, argued in The New York Post that: "These aren't the usual semiprofessional protesters who attend antiwar and pro-union marches. These are people with real jobs; most have never attended a protest march before. They represent a kind of energy that our politics hasn't seen lately, and an influx of new activists."[174] Conservative political strategist Tim Phillips, now head of Americans for Prosperity, has remarked that the Republican Party is "too disorganized and unsure of itself to pull this off."[10]

Use of term "teabagger"

The term teabagger emerged after protesters displayed placards using the words "tea bag" as a verb,[175][176] juxtaposing the sexual meaning with mailing tea bags to Washington, DC in protest.[177] The label has prompted additional puns by both commentators and protesters[178] based on the pre-existing sexual meaning of the term.[179]

Marvel Comics controversy

In February 2010, an outcry from Tea Party activists erupted when a Tea Party protest sign, based on a photo[180] taken by journalist David Weigel, was added to a comic panel proclaiming, "Tea Bag the Libs before they tea bag you!" in an issue of Captain America.[181][182] The comic drew criticism from Tea Party leaders, and Marvel Comics editor Joe Quesada later apologized for specifically identifying characters as associated with the Tea Party movement. Quesada said the edition will be changed in further printings and the trade paperback.[183][184]

See also

References

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  166. ^ Brian McNeill Severed gas line found at home of Perriello brother The Daily Progress; March 24, 2010
  167. ^ Tom Perriello gas line 'intentionally cut' Politico; March 25, 2010
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Additional reading

O'Hara, John M. (2010). A New American Tea Party: The Counterrevolution Against Bailouts, Handouts, Reckless Spending, and More Taxes. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. p. 336. ISBN 978-0470567982. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

External links

Media related to 2009 Tea Party protests at Wikimedia Commons

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