Tea Party Movement

From Conservapedia

The Tea Party Movement (TEA being an acronym for Taxed Enough Already) held its first scheduled nationwide protest on "Tax Day," April 15th 2009, a day that became known as the Tax Day Tea Party. Subsequent rallies include the Independence Day Tea Party, and Operation: Can You Hear Us Now protests against bias media coverage, which occurred on October 17, 2009. In the spirit of the founding fathers Boston Tea Party, the rallies used themes from the American Revolution.^[1][2] Local organizers, Top Conservatives on Twitter, and thousands of ordinary citizens collaborated by using various social media sites, and created a massive grassroots movement.

The Tea party Movement is an ongoing, nationwide effort, which include protests that are locally organized with loose coordination of citizens nationally. In general, all of the rallies are in protest of the generational theft of public tax monies, the tremendous extensions of United States Federal debt and authority, the apparent restructuring of the Federal government with the intent to contravene the system of checks and balances for which the United States Constitution provides, and the attempt, which some movement leaders say has been in progress for several decades, to sacrifice liberty for permanent dependency.

Contents 1 Beginnings 1.1 Shout Heard 'Round the World 1.2 February 27th Tea Parties 2 Schedule 2.1 Tax Day 2.1.1 Commemorations 2.2 Independence Day 2.3 Labor Day 2.4 September 12 March on Washington 2.5 Operation: Can You Hear us Now? 3 Themes 4 Characteristics 4.1 Autonomy of local organizers 4.2 Individual comportment and deportment 4.3 Symbols 5 News coverage 5.1 Mainstream media 5.2 Alternative media 6 See Also 7 References

Beginnings

On January 27, radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh criticized the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, commenting, "This 'porkulus' bill is designed to repair the Democratic Party's power losses from the 1990s forward, and to cement the party's majority power for decades."^[3]

On February 10, a Cape Coral woman named Mary Rakovich led a small protest outside President Barack Obama's townhall meeting in Fort Myers, Florida.^[4] Then in late March of 2009, faced with the prospect of heavy fines from the city for not having the proper permitting or insurance, Mary Rakovich moved forward with future protests but with the backing of national organization Freedom Works. Rakovich said Freedom Works will provide the insurance per the city's rules.^[5]

The first anti-spending protest, organized by Liberty Belle, occurred in Seattle, Washington on February 16, 2009.^[6][7] Another protest was held the following day, held in Denver on February 17,^[8] and a protest in Mesa, Arizona on February 18 brought 500 protesters.^[9]

Shout Heard 'Round the World

The Tea Party Movement gained support when on February 19, on live TV, CNBC reporter Rick Santelli argued about the bailouts and shouted, "The government is promoting bad behavior."^[10][11] Standing in the middle of the Chicago Stock Exchange, Santelli declared that America needed "a new kind of tea party," so that citizens can express their discontent with "the government's support of fiscal irresponsibility".^[12][13][14] With the help of DontGo, Top Conservatives on Twitter (TCOT), Smart Girl Politics (SGP), The American Spectator, Americans for Tax Reform, Freedom Works, and The Heartland Institute, the Chicago Tea Parties were scheduled to happen nationwide on February 27, 2009.^[15]

February 27th Tea Parties

Americans across the country gathered in 50 cities to protest the newly-passed Stimulus Bill of 2009.^[16] Over 30,000 people made it to this event.^[17] Many at the event were upset over the economic stimulus packages and bailouts for Wall Street pushed through by both President Bush and President Obama's administrations.^[18][19]

Location	Sponsors[20]	Details
Atlanta, Georgia	TCOT, SGP, Don'tGo	A reported 300 to 400 protesters gathered outside the Georgia Capitol in protest of a $787 billion recovery bill.[21][22]
Chicago, Illinois	Don'tGo[23]	Approximately 300 people braved the 25 degree cold and wind in Chicago.[24][25][26]
Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas	Americans for Prosperity,[27] TCOT, SGP, Don'tGo, Dallas County Young Republicans	A "Texas-sized Tea Party" of 300 or more Texans met in Fort Worth, protesting big government and taxes.[28] One sponsor, TCOT, collected over 800 signatures during the event.[29]
Denver, Colorado	TCOT, SGP, Don'tGo	At the East Capitol Steps, 100 "Atlas Shrugged" fans braved cold temperatures for a "Nationwide Chicago Tea Party" to protest the Obama Administration's bailout plan.[30][31]
Houston, Texas	TBD	Large groups, not entirely made up of Republicans, tried to create a modern day version of the Boston Tea Party.[32][33]
Washington, D.C.	Americans for Prosperity, Americans for Tax Reform, Young Conservatives Coalition, The Heartland Institute	The American Tea Party made some noise outside the White House.[34][35] Several hundred taxpayers showed up at the DC Tea Party protest in Lafayette Park,[36][37] including "Joe the Plumber".[38]

Schedule

Tax Day

Main Article: Tax Day Tea Party

Success from the Chicago Tea Parties on February 27, as part of a concerted nationwide effort, led to the Tax Day Tea Party rallies held on April 15, 2009. Following the Chicago Tea Party protests, a group called Americans for Prosperity of North Carolina began implementing plans for a "Tax Day" Tea Party rally in Raleigh on the tax filing deadline.^[39] Leading up to the Tax Day Tea Parties, the events were organized and promoted by volunteers, activists, and Political action committees across the United States.^[40] By taking advantage of online viral marketing to get the word out,^[41] the speed and scope with which the Tax Day Tea Party protests were organized can be attributed to the use of Twitter #TCOT feeds,^[42] on blogs,^[43] and the social networking Web site Facebook.^[44]

Commemorations

President Obama is seen to have responded to the tea parties with requested budget cuts of $100 million on April 20, 2009.^[45] Rush Limbaugh contended, "I'm sure they've got internal polling data that shows these tea parties are successful and these tea parties are a problem. So they're responding to the tea parties here. That's all this is." According to a Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey on April 20, 2009, the poll found that fifty-one percent (51%) of Americans had a favorable view of the tea parties held nationwide, including 32% who said their view of the events were "Very favorable." Thirty-three percent (33%) held an unfavorable opinion of the tea parties. Fifteen percent (15%) were not sure.^[46]

Independence Day

Main Article: Independence Day Tea Party

The same organizations decided to repeat their performance on Independence Day (July 4, 2009). Even more people attended; the largest such rally was held on the grounds of the Southfork Ranch (scene of the television series Dallas), in Plano, Texas, which drew 37,000 attendees. The themes that organizers and participants sounded at these events were much the same as were those at the Tax Day events: advocacy of limited government, decrying of high levels of taxation, and refusal to countenance plans for socialism and especially socialized medicine.

Labor Day

Several organizations also organized Tea Parties on Labor Day, once again sounding the same limited-government, low-tax, and anti-socialistic themes. Those organizations that did not plan such events often referred people to those that did.

September 12 March on Washington

Main Article: September 12 March on Washington

By far the largest single event thus far has been the September 12 March on Washington, DC. This was an event organized initially by the FreedomWorks Foundation, but nearly all Tea Party organizations decided to participate in this event, primarily by chartering buses and registering people for transportation to Washington. FreedomWorks estimates that 600,000 to 800,000 persons attended, and base that estimate on the number of persons who responded when their Master of Ceremonies asked all attendees within earshot to send the text message "Freedom" to a designated five-digit telephone number. However, the London Daily Mail estimates attendance at as many as a million persons, on the basis of eyewitness accounts and aerial-photographic evidence.^[47] Estimates of total attendance are difficult to obtain, primarily because the size of the crowd far exceeded the estimates by the event planners, with the result that many attendees were never able to get within earshot of the stage or even the sound system, and the temporary sanitary facilities were hopelessly jammed, with fifty persons standing in line to use each portable "necessary."

Operation: Can You Hear us Now?

TEA party demonstrations have targeted local and national media outs across the country to oppose massive government spending. In a press release, the movement was led by FaxDC in about 100 cities across the U.S. on September 17th. ^[48] Rush Limbaugh has previously spoke for the need for such media targeted TEA protests.

• NBC studios in Burbank
• CNN in Atlanta and
• Affiliate stations of NBC, ABC and CBS
• The New York Times
• Los Angeles Times
• Other prominent newspapers.

Themes

The Tea Party Movement began with a protest against two aspects of current public policy:

1. Excessive taxation
2. Special privilege

Rick Santelli specifically cited the mortgage bailout policies of early 2009 as a prize example of the government doing special favors for certain classes of voters, in return for their continued support, and also of the "moral hazard" in which such policies inevitably place anyone who "buys on time," i.e., buys any sort of asset, from a home appliance to a parcel of real estate, using borrowed money.

As the movement has progressed, it has begun to sound broader themes, which one may best summarize as:

1. Self-responsibility
2. Self-autonomy
3. Limited government
4. A requirement that government live within its own means, just as individuals must live within theirs
5. Capitalism
6. Freedom of all varieties of production and trade
7. Respect for the United States Constitution

Characteristics

Autonomy of local organizers

Most organization of Tea Parties and similar events is local. Typical of the movement is the Morristown Tea Party Organization (Morristown, New Jersey), which has a five-member board of trustees and about fifty dedicated volunteers who handle operations, communication, and logistics without assistance or direction from any regional or other organization. State-wide co-ordinating bodies do exist (for example, New Jersey Tea Parties United), but local organizations are responsible for most of their activities, fund-raising, and legal functioning. In this regard, the Tea Party Movement is similar to the Independent Baptist Fellowship of North America, which never seeks to dictate to individual churches how they must conduct their affairs.

Individual comportment and deportment

Event participants, and especially event planners, are urged to comport themselves in a manner respectful of the rights and feelings of others. Organizational leaders consciously endeavor to distinguish their movement from many liberal protest movements, which often characterize themselves by rude behavior, vandalism, and even physical assaults against their opponents. Any person who persistently suggests that Tea Party Movement participants engage in activities remotely similar to this may usually consider themselves excluded, and in some cases organizers have summoned law-enforcement authorities to deal with provocative behavior by attendees at planning and other meetings.

Symbols

By far the most prominent symbol at Tea Parties today is the Gadsden Rattlesnake Flag.^[49] The Come And Take It Flag has also appeared, most notably at the September 12 March on Washington.

Aside from this, Tea Party participants almost always use home-made and home-decorated signs and other artifacts, in sharp contrast to the uniform, professionally printed signs carried at liberal demonstrations. Some of the signs that have been seen and photographed at these events have provoked cries of outrage from Tea Party Movement opponents, alleging bad taste, e.g. a picture of Barack Obama with the square mustache affected by Adolf Hitler and bearing the caption "I've Changed," and a sign bearing the message "Bury ObamaCare with Kennedy." But most of the signs bear lampoons of the most highly publicized Obama Administration policies, from "Czars" to socialized medicine. Nor is Barack Obama the only target of criticism; the Mainstream Media also receive a share of criticism, both for their failings in their coverage of the Tea Party Movement and what most participants regard as a collective decision by Mainstream Media organs to function as de facto government and/or Democratic Party organs rather than the objective and disinterested commentators on events that they pretend to be.

News coverage

Mainstream media

Coverage by the Mainstream Media of the Tea Party events has been noticeably lacking, both in quantity and in quality. The three traditional broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC) have attempted repeatedly to discredit these events as corporate-sponsored or sponsored by the Republican Party and other conservative or reactionary groups.^[50] Furthermore, several news anchors working for CNN and MSNBC coined the phrase "tea-baggers," a term that has an off-color connotation, to refer to Tea Party Movement leaders and participants.

In fact, Tea Party organizers are not affiliated with the Republican Party, nor do they accept any funding or especially any advice, let alone orders, from the Republican Party, the United States Chamber of Commerce, or any industry trade association or similar group.^[51]

Alternative media

By far the most industrious news organ that has covered the Tea Party Movement since its inception has not been CNBC Business News, but Fox News Channel, and especially its commentators Neil Cavuto and Glenn Beck. As the movement has progressed, participants have returned the favor by singling out Fox News Channel as one of the few outlets that they can trust.

See Also

• Tax Day Tea Party
• Independence Day Tea Party
• 9/12 March on Washington D.C.
• Boston Tea Party

References