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Tea Party movement: the story on HearLore | HearLore
— Ch. 1 · Origins And Catalysts —
Tea Party movement.
~7 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
On the 16th of December 2007, supporters of Congressman Ron Paul held a 24-hour fundraising event on the Boston Tea Party's 234th anniversary. This moneybomb set off a chain reaction that would eventually birth a national political movement. The date was chosen specifically to echo the historical protest where American colonists threw tea into Boston Harbor in 1773. By early 2009, CNBC reporter Rick Santelli stood on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and called for a tea party for traders. He suggested dumping derivatives into the Chicago River as a form of protest against government bailouts. His rant became a viral video after being featured on the Drudge Report within hours. About 10 hours after Santelli's remarks, reTeaParty.com was bought to coordinate protests scheduled for Independence Day. Overnight, websites such as ChicagoTeaParty.com were live within 12 hours. A Facebook page developed on February 20 called for Tea Party protests across the country. A Nationwide Chicago Tea Party protest coordinated across more than 40 cities established the first modern national protest on the 27th of February 2009. Some local events began even earlier with Trevor Leach organizing the Binghamton Tea Party on the 24th of January 2009. Keli Carender organized what she called a Porkulus Protest in Seattle on Presidents Day, the 16th of February 2009. She did it without support from outside groups or city officials. Carender said 120 people participated in that initial gathering.
Ideology And Agenda
The movement advocates a national economy operating without government oversight. Participants called for lower taxes and for a reduction of the national debt and federal budget deficit through decreased government spending. Elizabeth Price Foley observed that opposition to bailouts and stimulus packages reflected proposals to amend the Constitution. These amendments included requiring a balanced budget and repealing the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Amendments. The movement also sought to give states veto power over federal laws under the so-called Repeal Amendment. Tea Party groups protested the Troubled Asset Relief Program and stimulus programs like Barack Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. They opposed cap and trade environmental regulations and health care reform known as the Affordable Care Act. Adherents cited the Constitution more as a cultural reference than out of commitment to the text they seek to alter. Some groups voiced support for right to work legislation and tighter border security while opposing amnesty for illegal immigrants. A legislative agenda created by Ryan Hecker resulted in the Contract from America with twenty-one non-social issues. One thousand agenda ideas submitted were narrowed down to these specific points before an online campaign released a ten-point platform. Many groups chose to focus their efforts away from social issues to avoid internal division. Still, some organizations like Glenn Beck's 9/12 Tea Parties acted on social issues such as abortion and gun control.
When did the Tea Party movement start and who organized the first events?
The Tea Party movement began with a 24-hour fundraising event on the 16th of December 2007 held by supporters of Congressman Ron Paul. Local protests started earlier in 2009 with Trevor Leach organizing the Binghamton Tea Party on the 24th of January 2009 and Keli Carender holding a Porkulus Protest in Seattle on Presidents Day, the 16th of February 2009.
What were the main policy goals and constitutional amendments proposed by the Tea Party movement?
The movement advocated for lower taxes, reduced national debt, and decreased government spending to operate without federal oversight. Participants sought to amend the Constitution by requiring a balanced budget and repealing the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Amendments while giving states veto power over federal laws under the Repeal Amendment.
How many seats did Tea Party supported candidates win in the 2010 midterm elections?
Tea Party backed Senate Republican nominees won five of ten contested Senate races and forty of one hundred thirty contested House races during the 2010 midterm elections. Republicans gained sixty-three House seats overall and took control of the U.S. House of Representatives after these elections.
Who funded the Tea Party movement and which organizations led its activities?
Americans for Prosperity was founded by David H. Koch in 2003 and FreedomWorks was led by Matt Kibbe with over one million members each. Jane Mayer asserted that brothers David H. Koch and Charles G. Koch provided financial support through Americans for Prosperity though a company spokesperson denied specific funding for tea parties.
What happened when the Internal Revenue Service reviewed Tea Party groups in May 2013?
The Internal Revenue Service flagged Tea Party groups for review of their applications for tax-exempt status during the 2012 election according to reports from the Associated Press and The New York Times in May 2013. Lois Lerner head of the IRS division apologized stating it was wrong and inappropriate before the Justice Department announced in October 2015 they found no evidence that any official acted based on political motives.
In the 2010 midterm elections, Republicans gained 63 House seats and took control of the U.S. House of Representatives. The New York Times identified 138 candidates for Congress with significant Tea Party support running as Republicans. A poll showed 35% of likely voters were Tea-party supporters who favored Republicans by 84% to 10%. The first Tea Party affiliated candidate elected into office was Dean Murray winning a special election for a New York State Assembly seat in February 2010. Overall, 32% of candidates backed by the movement won election in 2010. Tea Party supported candidates won 5 of 10 Senate races contested and 40 of 130 House races contested. In Colorado, Nevada and Delaware primaries, Tea-party backed Senate Republican nominees defeated establishment Republicans expected to win. These winners went on to lose in the general election to their Democratic opponents. Tea Party candidates were less successful in the 2012 election winning four of 16 Senate races contested. They lost approximately 20% of the seats in the House that had been gained in 2010. Michele Bachmann was re-elected to the House by a narrow margin after forming the House congressional Tea Party Caucus in July 2010. In June 2014, Dave Brat unseated the sitting GOP House majority leader Eric Cantor. Brat ran a grassroots conservative campaign espousing greater fiscal restraint. By November 2014, Tim Scott became the first African-American member of the U.S. Senate from the South since the reconstruction era.
Organizational Structure And Funding
The movement is composed of a loose affiliation of national and local groups determining their own platforms without central leadership. Americans for Prosperity was founded by David H. Koch in 2003 and led by Tim Phillips with over 1 million members in 500 local affiliates. FreedomWorks was an organization led by Matt Kibbe also having over 1 million members in 500 local affiliates. The group makes local and national candidate endorsements. Tea Party Patriots has more than 1,000 affiliated groups across the nation proclaiming itself the Official Home of the Tea Party Movement. Sarah Palin headlined four Liberty at the Ballot Box bus tours raising money for candidates and the Tea Party Express. One tour visited 30 towns and covered 3,000 miles. Following the formation of the Tea Party Caucus, Michele Bachmann raised $10 million for a political action committee named MichelePAC. She sent funds to campaigns including Sharron Angle, Christine O'Donnell, Rand Paul, and Marco Rubio. In September 2010, the Tea Party Patriots announced it had received a $1,000,000 donation from an anonymous donor. Jane Mayer asserted that the brothers David H. Koch and Charles G. Koch provided financial support through Americans for Prosperity. A Koch Industries company spokesperson issued a statement saying no funding had been provided specifically to support the tea parties.
Public Opinion And Demographics
A USA Today/Gallup poll found that 28% of those surveyed considered themselves supporters of the movement while 26% were opponents in March 2010. Polling by Gallup found that from 2010 to 2014 between 21% and 32% identified as supporters. Most Republicans and 20% of Democrats supported the movement according to one Washington Post, ABC News poll. The Bloomberg National Poll showed that 40% of Tea Party supporters are 55 or older compared with 32% of all respondents. Seventy-nine percent are white and 61% are men. Forty-four percent identify as born-again Christians compared with 34% for the general population. Surveys show they are more likely to be married and a bit older than the nation as a whole. They believe that the federal government has become too large and powerful. A University of Washington poll reported that 73% of Tea Party supporters disapprove of Obama's policy of engaging with Muslim countries. Eighty-eight percent approve of the controversial Arizona immigration law enacted in 2010. In April 2010, a Gallup Poll found that 47% of Americans had an unfavorable image of the movement. By August 2011, support for the Tea Party had fallen sharply even in places considered strongholds.
Controversies And Decline
In May 2013, the Associated Press and The New York Times reported that the Internal Revenue Service flagged Tea Party groups for review of their applications for tax-exempt status during the 2012 election. Lois Lerner head of the IRS division apologized stating it was wrong and inappropriate. Senator Orrin Hatch rejected the apology demanding ironclad guarantees from the agency. The resulting Senate subcommittee report ultimately found there had been no bias though Republican members filed a dissenting report. According to the Treasury inspector general for tax administration, 18% of conservative groups flagged had no evidence of political activity. After a two-year investigation, the Justice Department announced in October 2015 they found no evidence that any IRS official acted based on political motives. On the 25th of October 2017, the Trump administration settled with a Consent Order for the case Linchpins of Liberty v. United States. The IRS consented to express its sincere apology for singling out plaintiffs for aggressive scrutiny. Tea Party activities began to decline in 2010. Harvard professor Theda Skocpol noted chapters slipped from about 1,000 to 600 between 2009 and 2012. By 2016, Politico noted the movement was essentially completely dead as some ideas were absorbed by mainstream Republicans. By 2019, the conservative wing of the Republican Party had basically shed the Tea Party moniker.