The Tea Party movement is rapidly becoming the most widely discussed political movement of our time. When you are written about in the New York Times, in however backhanded a fashion (with all the obligatory references to militia groups, right-wing extremists, racist wingnuts who hate the first black president, etc., ad nauseam), you know you have the mainstream media establishment’s attention.

The Tea Party movement did not begin with the election of Barack Obama, however. There isn’t a date we can pinpoint. Perhaps the movement began in incipient form back in late 2007 with supporters of libertarian-leaning Republican Ron Paul (R-Texas) in his bid for his party’s nomination for President. The treatment of Ron Paul by the GOP leadership supported the idea that the Republican Party was in the hands of an “establishment” hostile to anyone who hadn't been properly vetted. Not only that, Republicans nominated a Senator whom many at the grassroots level considered a RINO (Republican In Name Only), one who had co-sponsored major legislation just one year earlier that would have created a path to amnesty and eventual citizenship to uncounted millions of illegal aliens.

Or perhaps the Tea Party movement has its roots further back in the Bush years, with worries coming from both sides of the aisle about the direction the country had taken following the 9/11 attacks. Instead of efforts to secure our national borders, we had draconian legislation that allowed the suspension of habeas corpus rights for those accused of being “enemy combatants.” Evidence had emerged that U.S. citizens (José Padilla's is the best known case) who had been held in conditions amounting to torturous sensory deprivation for years at a stretch, deprived of their Constitutionally guaranteed right to legal representation and to confront their accusers. There were voices on both sides of the aisle pointing out what was going on, but since the mainstream media by and large paid no attention to them, it left the impression that the TMP started on January 29, 2009.

In fact, many were awakened by the Panic of ’08, we might call it (George W. Bush, obviously, was still in office) — the bailouts of Wall Street banks and insurance firms such as AIG (at taxpayer expense) deemed "too big to fail," which stood in stark contrast to what was happening to Main Street: tens of thousands of job losses, home foreclosures at record highs, and retirement funds jeopardized in what had become the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. The newly awakened turned their eyes on the federal government and out-of-control spending, as well as the greed that seemed to dominate Wall Street. 

Arousing public ire was the realization that the newly elected Barack Obama was going to be a bigger spender than George W. Bush had ever thought of being. By spring of 2009 we began hearing about Tea Parties. They seemed to appear almost out of nowhere — everywhere at once, helped by social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook that made communication by groups in opposite parts of the country almost instantaneous. Some were public protest-type events; others were more structured meetings. A few attendees obviously were disgruntled Republicans who resented the losses of 2006 and 2008. Many, however, were independents who wanted nothing to do with either major party. There was a wide range of emphases on what to do. Some speakers and attendees just wanted to chart strategies that would put Republicans back in control. Others advocated somewhat sterner measures, such as launching campaigns to replace every incumbent in Congress. Still others advocated buying precious metals, stockpiling water and nonperishables, or obtaining firearms and ammunition in preparation for what they see as impending economic Armageddon. 

What was clear was that this was largely a spontaneous uprising of civic unrest — born of fear for the future of this country on the part of a lot of ordinary people large numbers of whom had never been involved in politics before. What they had in common was a distrust of Washington, D.C. matched only by a loathing of Wall Street insiders who were paid six-figure bonuses while Main Street Americans were losing their jobs and homes.  Thousands had awakened in a country they no longer recognized. “I had no clue that my country was being taken from me,” states small businessman Darin Stevens of Spokane, Wash., who came to lead a chapter of Glenn Beck’s 9/12 Project — created to unite ordinary Americans as they were united right after the 9/11 attacks.

The unity, though, is at the grassroots level. Those at the top were not invited to the party. The Tea Party movement’s overall distrust of an “establishment” including insiders in Washington, Wall Street, and the Federal Reserve — which many Tea Partiers follow Ron Paul in wanting to abolish — opens them to what many observers, including many mainstream Republicans, contemptuously dismiss as “conspiracy theories.”

Here you will find a variety of worries, which doubtless have varying degrees of validity. A few Tea Party attendees are so-called “birthers,” the mainstream term for those who don’t think Obama is really a natural-born citizen and so doesn't meet constitutional requirements for the Presidency. Some look at supposed healthcare reform efforts led by Congressional Democrats and see efforts to deprive them of health choices, and possibly even eventually to create “death panels.” Others have counted the number of “czars” Obama has appointed since taking office. A few have set their sights on the Climate-gate emails from the research centers at East Anglia University and Penn State to pronounce global warming a hoax, and have further argued that the ultimate purpose of this hoax is to control shackle the planet, not save it, under a United Nations world government. Many see both major political parties as taking the country closer to socialism and tyranny. They are sympathetic to the idea that shadowy organizations such as the Council on Foreign Relations, the Trilateral Commission and the Bilderberg Group have a long-established globalist agenda for the country that is working against the best interests of average Americans like them. (The John Birch Society, of course, has been documenting these groups’ activities for decades.)

Finally, there are those who have watched with alarm the meteoric rise of the national debt and see ulterior motives. They have begun studying the Federal Reserve system for the first time, and see evidence of financial oligarchy operating not just shadowy organizations but virtually openly in corporations such as Goldman Sachs. This oligarchy, some Tea Partiers believe, is micromanaging the economy to enrich themselves while bringing about an end to the dollar. Those usually labeled the "extreme fringe" of the movement fear the economic anarchy that would come with a dollar crash resulting in hyperinflation and a declaration of martial law followed by dictatorship. With the country in the grip of the Panic of ’08, former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson actually was behind threats that the country’s financial system would collapse and make martial law necessary if Congress did not pass the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP).

A growing number even speak of fighting back by nullifying federal laws they see as unconstitutional. Nullification legislation against national healthcare legislation is about to be put before Arizona voters.

Many Tea Partiers are fierce about protecting their independence. They worry about being co-opted and neutralized. The selection of Sarah Palin, McCain’s running mate in 2008, as keynote speaker at a Tea Party Convention a couple of weeks ago in Nashville, Tenn., suggests that at least some of these fears are justified. Palin not only defended Bush’s foreign wars — which have been severely criticized by Ron Paul and his supporters — but rattled sabers against Iran. Many Tea Party activists do not want to be identified as Republicans, although many Republican organizations (including in my own state, South Carolina) are working to fashion alliances with Tea Party groups. Much of the Tea Party movement tends toward suspicion of all such partnerships, however. Some are Ron Paul-style libertarians; others have joined the Constitution Party, now the third largest political party in the country. Many Tea Partiers will just describe themselves as independents not affiliated with any political party. They would support their distrust of the GOP by noting that Ron Paul now has three GOP opponents in his home district all of whom have past associations with the Tea Party movement, suggesting a co-opting.

Several subgroups are loosely connected to the Tea Party movement. We already mentioned Glenn Beck’s 9/12 movement. Ron Paul’s supporters had already founded Campaign for Liberty, to keep attention focused on Dr. Paul's activities and on the congressional effort to require the Federal Reserve to submit to a full audit, including of its secretive dealings with foreign banks. Other groups include Friends for Liberty, who keep tabs on efforts to hijack or co-opted the movement; Oath Keepers, who call themselves “guardians of the Republic” and focus on recruiting law enforcement officers and military officials into refusing orders the group deems unconstitutional — such as orders to disarm law-abiding U.S. citizens, employ warrantless searches and wiretaps, arrest and deny the constitutional rights of anyone accused of being an “enemy combatant,” or imposing martial law on the civilian population.

Perhaps what many fear is the kind of scenario in which the economy not only does not recover but rather, the Big One hits: a huge market blowout in which Wall Street really does implode and precipitate an economic meltdown. Can the national debt continue climbing indefinitely, with Congress passing (and the president signing), every couple of years, a new law raising the debt ceiling? The Tea Party movement provides evidence of the gulf between Wall Street and Main Street, a gulf which is more than merely financial; how far can that gulf continue to widen? Are we on the brink of Great Depression II? Some would argue that the U.S. Treasury Dept./Federal Reserve money printing apparatus will bring about the same consequences here as it did in Argentina, as it desperately tries to resuscitate an economy that doesn’t make anything any longer but rather outsources jobs to third world nations for cheap labor. Is a Second American Revolution on the horizon?

None of us has a crystal ball, of course. Perhaps these visions of the near future will turn out to be too dark and extreme. The economy might recover, and seem to do well for a time. Although Austrian-based economic theory suggests that any recovery will be credit-based and therefore only postpone the inevitable for a few more years, if businesses begin hiring again and people are able to go back to work, they will relax a bit, and cooler heads may have a chance to prevail in explaining why we need sound economics (and a sound, noninflationary money system). Time will tell. What should be clear is that if the Tea Party movement continues to grow, as seems likely, and if it can keep from being hijacked and neutered by the GOP mainstream, the Western world’s financial elites and their minions in both government and in corporations will no longer be able to take it for granted that they are dealing with an uninformed, sleeping sheeple.

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Darryl Schmitz said:

It Began With Ron Paul Note the way the language in this USA Today article tends to minimize Dr. Paul's candidacy. http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2007-12-17-ronpaul-fundraising_N.htm Then notice how a mention of Dr. Paul in this New American article gives him just a passing nod without reporting any of the details about the record-setting grassroots fundraising event that took place on the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party. But they do plant words like "conspiracy theories" into the paragraphs where he is mentioned.

February 18, 2010

Brandon said:

Third largest political party? That would be the Libertarian Party, not the Constitution Party. The Libertarian Party has more elected officials than all other "third" parties COMBINED.

February 18, 2010

Flu-Bird said:

RON PAUL in 2012 We need RON PAUL to be our next president in 2012 we have had enough of OBAMAS change

February 18, 2010

Henry said:

It All Began with the John Birch Society This article does a nice job considering various aspects of the Tea Party movement but it misses something very important. Sure, this movement was around before it was called the "Tea Party" movement and it picked up a lot of steam with Ron Paul's recent presidential bid. I can confirm it because that's exactly what changed me into an activist. I was somewhat informed and absolutely aghast at the 2006 election process. When I first heard speculation that "Dr. No" was thinking of running for president, I immediately went from concerned to active. That's when I started running into members of the John Birch Society, holding events to educate the public on issues from the Federal Reserve to "Global Warming". It looked like they were providing solid leadership so I checked them out. I saw an organization with a fifty-year track record of both consistent action and dedication to truth and principle. The more I learned, the more I realized that the Tea Party movement really started in 1958 with the John Birch Society. Robert Welch saw and spoke out on most of the same problems fifty years before the first wave of modern Tea Parties last spring. He called attention to the dangerous direction we were headed in and time has proved him correct. He used his resources to form an organization to do something about it and today, that organization continues to be the core of the movement. It all began with the John Birch Society.

February 19, 2010

Dr. Ellen Brandt said:

Centrists We're preparing a story on the Tea Party - which we don't like! - and will publish it shortly. In the meantime, your Readers might consider joining our new Centrists Group at Linked In and might like to look at our new blog for and about Centrists, The Rest of U.S. Extremists have become so loud, they’re deafening. And because they shout in perfect sound bites, the media birddog their every rant, however irresponsible or outrageous. But we believe the political tide’s about to turn with a vengeance. No matter their party affiliation or lack thereof, Americans are disgusted with those who harass to harass, obstruct to obstruct, tear down to tear down. Compromise, consensus, bridge-building, and respect for differing viewpoints have been the hallmarks of American life as long as there’s been an America. We’re certain they will be again. Please read: The Rest of U.S. – Who We Are and What We Stand For http://newcentristera.wordpress.com/2010/01/06/the-rest-of-u-s-who-we-are-and-what-we-stand-for/ If you like it, please circulate to your family, friends, and colleagues. Or perhaps to your favorite extremist!

February 19, 2010 | url

Thomas Verzwyvelt said:

We're here and we're not turnimng back! As a local organizer I'm here to tell you we're going strong. We can take the criticism and keep on ticking! We don't care what they say. We're going to take our country back. I've been associated with JBS a good while. JBS didn't start the movement but it's a big help. People will embrace JBS as they become more knowledgeable. Feed them with milk first, then the meat of JBS. We're not lawyers or scholars, just common folk. We're tired of the elites running this nation because they haven't been doing a very good job. We're going to put the average God fearing patriotic working person in charge. We know how to get the job done with what we have, making ends meeting and doing it within the limits of the constitution. Later, Thomas

February 20, 2010 | url

Thomas Verzwyvelt said:

Dr. Ellen Brandt needs a realistic diagnosis With all due respect Dr. Brandt, I think you are reading the American people wrong. We're ready for this turning of the political tide that is supposedly coming with a vengance. The TEA Party people you apparently think are ignorant hicks are not running scared. True, many are not very astute concerning political matters but we're continually learning and preparing to get involved. I believe there's a lot more of us than there are of your kind. We're tired of what your kind has done to this nation. We have some good leaders and I'm not talking about Sarah Palin. The media is trying their best to discredit us by labeling us as Republicans, Fox News loyalists, ...etc. That's not true. I use JBS as one of my tools in this battle. You might want to consider what the cost will be before you decide to enter this battle.

February 20, 2010 | url

Thomas Verzwyvelt said:

John Birch Society is one of many contributing factors to TEA Party rise I first found out about JBS 20 years ago. I found it to be one of the most unbiased, non prejudicial, and courageous organizations I had ever come into contact with. But it was because of my open mindedness and willingness to put out the effort to know the truth that I associate with JBS. Unfortunately, for so long most Americans were doing well, fat and sassy, so they didn't really care to put out much effort. They just tolerated the few nuances or inconveniences. As time progressed and our leaders pulled us more and more into socialism and began to restrict our liberties all the while taking more and more of our money people began to get fed up, angry. Then we seen able people not working, smoking dope, acting like gangsters, getting in our face. And the government enabling this behavior and destroying the companies we work for. I'm a Christian man, but the bible says, "Let him who will not work, not eat" (paraphrase.) I've got an old redneck background, worked all my life and I'm fed up with the bull. Contrary to what the elites believe, myself and others like me are not stupid. We know what it takes to survive and defend what we love,: God, family, and country, and in that order. So, something is definitely a stirring. The natives are restless and I think we are readt to take our country back.

February 20, 2010 | url