Insights Into the Tea Party Movement

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright Septembre 17, 2010
All Rights Reserved.                                

              Spawned in the ash heap of Republican losses in the last presidential election, the Tea Party movement cobbled together disgruntled conservatives, frustrated by Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) drubbing in the ’08 elections.  New York stock trader Graham Makohoniuk hosted the first event Jan. 19, 2009, ironically one day before Obama’s inauguration, urging followers to mail a teabag to members of the House and Senate.  Makohoniuk’s teabag harks back to the 1773 rebellion in the Massachusetts Bay Colony known as the “Boston Tea Party,” where protestors dumped British tea into Boston Harbor to protest King George’s unfair taxes.  While some think the Tea Party stemmed from Rep. Ron Paul’s (R-Texas) affinity toward the Libertarian movement, they should think again.  Tea Party folks stem directly from the GOP’s internecine warfare between conservatives and moderates.

              While there’s no one Tea Party leader, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), one of the most conservative members of Congress, emerged as the Tea Party’s biggest GOP advocate.  DeMint ruffled feathers within the GOP Senate backing candidates with solid conservative credentials, whose principles stemmed from the moribund Reagan Revolution, where former California Gov. Ronald Reagan served two terms trying to reverse the size and influence of the federal establishment.  Like most revolutionary movements, Reagan was launched during the stagflation days of former President Jimmy Carter, where the prime rate hit 21%, in the worst, most inflationary economy since the Great Depression.  Reagan led the crusade against the federal government while the Tea Party leads the current revolt against today’s staggering unemployment.  DeMint led the GOP charge against Obamacare.

            Today’s Tea Party movement has won primary victories for conservative candidates, promising, as DeMint has in the past, to shake up the federal establishment.  “I was told eye-to-eye . . . ‘DeMint can’t change the Senate,’” DeMint admitted in an interview on Capitol Hill.  “I said, ‘Well, we’ll see,’” finding the Tea Party protest movement the best path for change in the U.S. Senate.  DeMint led the Republican charge against Obama’s health care reform, telling followers that health care reform would become Obama’s “Waterloo,” marking the beginning-of-the-end for his second term.  “Some of my establishment friends are not real happy with me,” DeMint told cheering supporters at Values Voters Summit in Washington—a conference for social conservatives  “It’s got a lot of people here in Washington scared,” referring to his  intolerance of moderate Republicans.

            Tea Party organizers, like conservative blogger Keli Cavender, seek a rebellion against big government personified by Obama’s liberal policies.  Borrowed from the Libertarian principles espoused in the 2008 presidential race by Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), Tea Party supporters like former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin rant how today’s social welfare programs violate the framers’ intent of “limited government,” some railing against the IRS and current tax laws.  DeMint and his Tea Party friends often criticize former President George W. Bush for profligate spending and running up big budget deficits funding Medicare’s Part D prescription drug program.  What DeMint forgets is that more than any other line-item, Bush racked up debt funding the Afghan and Iraq Wars.  “We betrayed the trust of the American people, and I don’t want to be a part of a majority that does that again,” said DeMint.

            DeMint has given over $3 million to Tea Party candidates, helping conservative Delaware Tea Party candidate Christine O’Donnell beat GOP moderate Michael Castle.  He also helped Alaska’s Tea Party candidate Joe Miller defeat GOP establishment candidate Lisa Murkowski.  DeMint sees the Tea Party movement as the best leverage against remaining GOP moderates, wresting control of the GOP back to conservatives.  Bush’s religious conservatives no longer hold the same sway inside the GOP.  Tea Party folks are more social conservatives, focused on abortion, balanced budgets, tough immigration laws, and, most recently, repealing Barack’s health care reform.  DeMint’s fellow South Carolina Sen. Lindsay Graham worries that Tea Party candidates are too conservative in some states to beat Democrats.  When the general election comes up Nov. 4, the Tea Party may help the opposition.

            Tea Party movement stems from the Republican massacre in the last presidential election.  Conservative talk radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hanniity, Glen Beck, the folks at FOXNews all support the Tea Party conservative rebellion against Obama’s social liberalism.  Whether admitted to or not, the Tea Party thrives on a deteriorated economy where high unemployment among conservative white voters has led to today’s anti-immigrant sentiment.  Tea Party folks, led by DeMint and Palin, have led the way against the Ground Zero mosque, oddly silent about Rev. Terry Jones’ threats to burn Qurans on Sept. 11.  Graham and other moderate Republicans worry that DeMint and Tea Party folks turn the GOP too conservative to prevail on Election Day.  Too many disgruntled white folks could give independents, especially minorities, second thoughts about voting for Republicans.

About the Author    

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.