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|url=http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6500/p/salsa/event/common/public/index.sjs?distributed_event_KEY=117|title=Saturday, March 13th is National Coffee Party Day}}</ref>
|url=http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6500/p/salsa/event/common/public/index.sjs?distributed_event_KEY=117|title=Saturday, March 13th is National Coffee Party Day}}</ref>


== Facebook membership ==
==History==
The Coffee Party had surpassed 9,200 fans on its Facebook page in the first few weeks, and over 141,000 fans during its first six weeks. Newsweek noted the Facebook membership had surpassed 200,000 in April, and every status update receives about a million views.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/03/13/coffee.party/index.html Coffee vs Tea: A political movement is brewing] CNN</ref><ref>[http://www.newsweek.com/id/236856 The Coffee Party Heats Up] Newsweek; May 3, 2010</ref> The Washington Post, comparing Facebook statistics, noted that the Coffee Party USA page had overtaken the DNC's [[Organizing for America]] fan pages in membership.[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/25/AR2010022505517_2.html Washington Post]</ref><ref>[http://motherjones.com/politics/2010/04/tea-party-coffee-party Tea Party, Meet Coffee Party] April 16, 2010</ref> According to the Louisville ''Courier-Journal'', by September 2010 the Coffee Party USA had almost 300,000 fans and the Tea Party Patriots had over 450,000 fans, both of them now having more than the national Republican and Democratic parties.<ref name="C-J Coffee Party convention"/>
The Coffee Party USA was established in January, 2010, on the social networking site [[Facebook]]. It was founded by documentary filmmakers and political activists [[Annabel Park]] and [[Eric Byler]].<ref name=AP-chat>
{{Cite news
|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2010/02/26/DI2010022602928.html
|title=Coffee Party movement: Alternative to tea
|publisher=''[[The Washington Post]]'' |date=February 26, 2010
| first=Annabel | last=Park | accessdate=April 30, 2010}}</ref><ref>
[http://www.9500liberty.com/filmmakers.html 9500 Liberty] The Filmmakers</ref><ref>
{{Cite news
|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/25/AR2010022505517.html
|title=Coffee Party activists say their civic brew's a tastier choice than Tea Party's
|publisher=''[[The Washington Post]]'' |date=February 25, 2010
|first=Dan |last=Zak |accessdate=April 30, 2010}}</ref>
After becoming increasingly frustrated with the incivility and obstructionism in political discourse, and the media narrative that the Tea Party represented America, Park vented her anger on her Facebook page. Numerous positive responses from friends prompted her to start a "Join the Coffee Party Movement" fan page. <ref name="C-J Coffee Party convention">[http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20100923/NEWS0106/309230066/1008/NEWS01/Coffee+Party++a+Tea+Party+alternative++to+meet+in+Louisville Coffee Party: a Tea Party Alternative to Meet in Louisville] Courier-Journal; August 25, 2010</ref>


The group rapidly grew to over 155,000 Facebook fans in size from word of mouth and social networking in under six weeks. Comparing the Coffee Party with the Tea Party, Park noted:<ref name=AP-chat/>
:"A key difference is in our emphasis on the democratic process, on respectful and civil engagement with one another and with our elected officials. In the current climate, too many Americans are afraid to participate, and find the process itself too alienating, because it is dominated by people with extreme opinions and extreme tactics. It's hard to speak up when others in the room are screaming. So in the end, we may want some of the same things, but we our{{sic}} hoping our journey getting there will be very different."

After collecting input from the first round of national gatherings, the Coffee Party outlined three initial steps to promote participatory democracy. "The first step is creating a public space for open and civil dialogue. The second step is collective deliberation, considering facts and values to arrive at a decision. The third step is working toward implementing the decision."<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2010/02/26/DI2010022602928.html Coffee Party movement: Alternative to Tea] Washington Post; February 26, 2010</ref><ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/03/12/coffee.party.people/index.html Meet the people who are percolating in the Coffee Party] CNN; March 13, 2010</ref><ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/03/18/park.coffee.party/ Why I Started Coffee Party USA] CNN; March 18, 2010</ref>
== Political positions ==
== Political positions ==
After holding a National Coffee Summit and several votes and polls utilizing internet technology, the Coffee Party has determined the overwhelming concern among its members is money in politics, with "95 percent of members voting for a specific course of action, based on support for the Fair Elections Now Act, the DISCLOSE Act, the Shareholder Protection Act and a constitutional amendment to reverse corporate personhood."
After holding a National Coffee Summit and several votes and polls utilizing internet technology, the Coffee Party has determined the overwhelming concern among its members is money in politics, with "95 percent of members voting for a specific course of action, based on support for the Fair Elections Now Act, the DISCLOSE Act, the Shareholder Protection Act and a constitutional amendment to reverse corporate personhood."

Revision as of 23:05, 29 September 2010

Coffee Party
FormationJanuary 26, 2010
Region served
United States
WebsiteCoffeePartyUSA.com

The Coffee Party USA is a grassroots political movement that was initially formed in January, 2010, as an alternative to the Tea Party movement, and has since grown into an increasingly diverse organization.[1][2]

Its mission states that it is based on the underlying principle that the government is "not the enemy of the people, but the expression of our collective will, and that we must participate in the democratic process in order to address the challenges we face as Americans." Its slogan is "Wake Up and Stand Up."[3] Its stated goals include getting cooperation in government and removing corporate influence from politics.

The organization's first National Coffee Party Day was held on March 13, 2010.[4]

Facebook membership

The Coffee Party had surpassed 9,200 fans on its Facebook page in the first few weeks, and over 141,000 fans during its first six weeks. Newsweek noted the Facebook membership had surpassed 200,000 in April, and every status update receives about a million views.[5][6] The Washington Post, comparing Facebook statistics, noted that the Coffee Party USA page had overtaken the DNC's Organizing for America fan pages in membership.Washington Post</ref>[7] According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, by September 2010 the Coffee Party USA had almost 300,000 fans and the Tea Party Patriots had over 450,000 fans, both of them now having more than the national Republican and Democratic parties.[8]

Political positions

After holding a National Coffee Summit and several votes and polls utilizing internet technology, the Coffee Party has determined the overwhelming concern among its members is money in politics, with "95 percent of members voting for a specific course of action, based on support for the Fair Elections Now Act, the DISCLOSE Act, the Shareholder Protection Act and a constitutional amendment to reverse corporate personhood."

Additional areas of concern involved issues of environment, clean energy and immigration reform.[9]

Events

The Coffee Party held their initial national coffee house day event on March 13, 2010. Some 370 events took place across the US and the world, including Tokyo and Jakarta, with the intent to "encourage our existing and soon-to-form chapters to facilitate informative and civil dialogue about issues that affect all of us, collectively. We will ask them to report back to us on what consensus they reach, and take action from there."[10][11]

On March 27, 2010, Coffee Party co-founder Annabel Park participated in one of approximately 500 Coffee Party meetings taking place in the United States. The meeting was crowded and Park observed that not all of the participants were behaving in a civil manner. Newsweek reported, "They were angry. They hated the Tea Party, and the Republican Party. They wanted to get even. One audience member said America was under the thumb of oligarchs and denounced 'moneyed interests.' A few people hissed when Sarah Palin's name was mentioned. Also on hand were the usual suspects drawn to the C-Span bat signal." Some in the crowd even decided they wanted a new leader for the movement, "not someone that says we can all work together." Park said later, "If they want to fire me, this may not be the group for them. We don't want conflict and confrontation."[12]

The First Annual Coffee Party Convention was held at the Galt House Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky from September 24 to 26.[13][14] Featured events included a "Mock Constitutional Convention" co-chaired by Republican communication strategist for Bush and McCain, Mark McKinnon, and Harvard Law School Professor Lawrence Lessig; Across the Political Divide: A Transpartisan Dialogue with Joseph McCormick and a roundtable with journalist Linda Killian of U.S. News and World Report on the question, "What Can We Do for Our Country?" There were also scheduled workshops and panel discussions with members of both major political parties and the chairwoman of Tea Party Express: Amy Kremer.[15][16][1]

Facebook membership

The Coffee Party had surpassed 9,200 fans on its Facebook page in the first few weeks, and over 141,000 fans during its first six weeks. Newsweek noted the Facebook membership had surpassed 200,000 in April, and every status update receives about a million views.[17][18] Reporters and bloggers comparing Facebook statistics noted the Coffee Party USA page had overtaken the DNC's Organizing for America and the one-year-old Tea Party Patriot fan pages in membership.[19][20][21] According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, by September 2010 the Coffee Party USA had almost 300,000 members who "like" the page and the Tea Party Patriots had over 450,000, both of them now having more than the national Republican and Democratic parties.[8]

References

  1. ^ Grab a Coffee Mug, This is no Tea Party Associated Press; September 24, 2010
  2. ^ Tom Eblen: Coffee Party prepares for national convention in Louisville Lexington Herald-Leader; August 15, 2010
  3. ^ Zernike, Kate (March 3, 2010). "Coffee Party, With a Taste for Civic Participation, Is Added to the Political Menu". New York Times. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
  4. ^ "Saturday, March 13th is National Coffee Party Day".
  5. ^ Coffee vs Tea: A political movement is brewing CNN
  6. ^ The Coffee Party Heats Up Newsweek; May 3, 2010
  7. ^ Tea Party, Meet Coffee Party April 16, 2010
  8. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference C-J Coffee Party convention was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ The Coffee Party's First Six Months Denver Post; July 29, 2010
  10. ^ Park, Annabel (February 26, 2010). "Coffee Party movement: Alternative to tea". Washington Post. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
  11. ^ http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2010/0313/Coffee-party-movement-Not-far-from-the-tea-party-message
  12. ^ The Coffee Party Heats Up Newsweek; April 22, 2010
  13. ^ coffeepartyusa.com, Coffee Party Convention in Louisville, KY in September!
  14. ^ Grab a Coffee Mug, This is no Tea Party Associated Press; September 24, 2010
  15. ^ Local Delegate Attends Coffee Party Event St. Augustine Record; September 29, 2010
  16. ^ First Ever Coffee Party Convention is in Louisville WFPL News; September 22, 2010
  17. ^ Coffee vs Tea: A political movement is brewing CNN
  18. ^ The Coffee Party Heats Up Newsweek; May 3, 2010
  19. ^ Coffee Party v. Tea Party Facebook Turf War The Political Cartel; March 9, 2010
  20. ^ Washington Post
  21. ^ Tea Party, Meet Coffee Party April 16, 2010

External links

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