WHAT IS THE TEA PARTY MOVEMENT?
According to Wikipedia, the Tea Party movement can be described as follows:
The Tea Party movement is an American socio-political movement that emerged in 2009 through a series of locally and nationally coordinated protests. The protests are partially in response to several Federal laws: the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Federal Reserve Transparency Act and a series of health care reform bills.
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 by giving a cut on re-importation tax imposed on the East India Company. The colonists felt disenfranchised because of their lack of representation in the British Parliament, and resented the British government's efforts to control them. Tea Party protests have invoked themes, images and slogans similar to those used during the pre-revolutionary period in American history.
The Tea Party movement sprang up in earnest in February of 2009. Approximately 35 cities hosted tea party rallies simultaneously on February 27, 2009. Dallas Tea Party organized the rally in Dallas. Approximately 300 activists showed up at noon outside Victory Plaza.
Given the popularity of the name, it is perhaps no surprise that there are a number of coalitions and organizations making use of the 'tea party' name. This has caused considerable confusion within the public. Here is a partial list of the major organizations using the 'tea party' name at the national level:
Tea Party Patriots is a coalition of over 2,000 local tea party groups across the nation. The group proclaims itself to be the "Official Home of the Tea Party Movement." The organization is led by a leadership team including Mark Meckler and Jenny Beth Martin, two of the original founders of the tea party movement. Dallas Tea Party has been a local affiliate of Tea Party Patriots from the beginning.
The Nationwide Tea Party Coalition is a loose affiliation of approximately two-dozen local tea party groups which have cooperated and coordinated on an ad hoc basis. The Coalition was organized by Michael Patrick Leahy, one of the original founders of the tea party movement. Dallas Tea Party is a member of The Nationwide Tea Party Coalition, and several coordinators within the Dallas Tea Party are members of the national leadership team of the Nationwide Tea Party Coalition.
Tea Party Express is a national bus tour run by Our Country Deserves Better PAC, a conservative political action committee created by Sacramento-based GOP consulting firm Russo, Marsh, and Associates. Dallas Tea Party cooperated with Tea Party Express for a single event in Dallas in 2009, but distanced itself from Tea Party Express soon thereafter, owing to serious concerns coming to light about Tea Party Express leader Mark Williams and OCDB PAC.
Tea Party Nation is a for-profit corporation formed by Tennessee attorney Judson Phillips to organize and promote "tea party conventions." Tea Party Nation sponsored what it referred to as a "national tea party convention" to take place on February 4–6, 2010. The event advertised Sarah Palin as keynote speaker. The event was roundly criticized within the ranks of local tea party organizers for the for-profit nature of the organization and the $549 ticket price, which was considered an exhorbitant sum. Tea Party Nation organized a follow-up event to take place in July, 2010 in Las Vegas, but the event was ultimately cancelled. Dallas Tea Party is not affiliated in any way with Tea Party Nation.
The National Tea Party Federation is a coalition of Republican-aligned organizations and tea party groups formed on April 8, 2010. The Federation has incorporated the following national groups:
Dick Armey's FreedomWorks
Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform
Tim Phillips' Americans for Prosperity
Family Research Council
Judson Phillips' Tea Party Nation (see above)
Sal Russo's Tea Party Express (see above)
with several dozen local tea party organizations. Since the original formation, Tea Party Express and Tea Party Nation have left the group. The Federation was organized by Michael Partick Leahy and talk radio host Mark Skoda. Dallas Tea Party was invited to join the Federation as a charter member, but declined owing to the heavy involvement of traditional Republican-aligned groups and concerns about certain of the member groups involved.