Tea Party Movement is an acronym for "Taxed Enough Already". The movement is an ongoing movement and the majority of its members are from grass root level. The group comprises of millions of people and self-made group uniting with the aim of achieving a common goal. According to Zernike, the origin of the party more than often is thought to have been formed on February 2009. During this time, it is believed that Rick Santelli's speech on the CNBC acted as a catalyst to Tea party gatherings all over the nation. Rick was against the idea by the government to help mortgage owners pay their loans. However, Abramowitz argues that the movement was already in place before even Rick made his speech. It is believed that the Boston Tea party of 1773 gave birth to the Tea party.
Some of the Americans were unhappy with the policies the ruling class was making at that time but they did not go public about it. With time, the Tea party movement started to be formed. The rise of Tea party movement is thought to be Americans indictment against those in power. Most of the Americans were unhappy with the ruling class. This was as a result of policies they considered to be bad and were meant to help only few of the Americans. They felt the amount of taxes they are paying were way far too much. Despite this, the Americans lacked the courage to stand up and say no publicly. But with time, people could no more keep it a secret and they started going public. Rick, a news anchor gave a speech on radio that is believed to have shaped the pace of Tea Party emergency. After Rick gave his speech, Tea Party gained popularity throughout America. The party organized several protests especially the anti-tax protests. The idea of Obama health care was highly criticized by the organizers. The epitome of the protests according to the Tea party members was at the mall in Washington. At the moment, many things have transpired in the Tea party movement. The paper seeks to discuss the reasons that led to the emergence of the Tea Party movement.
According to Madestam, one of the key reasons that led to the emergence of the Tea Party movement was the victory of democrats in 2008. Since the Republicans were the major elite people who were believed to be supporting the Tea Party movement indirectly, they needed to oppose the policies made by the democrats. To do it effectively and portray to the public that the democra's policies were not meant for the good of common American citizen, they decided to fund the Tea Part movement. This led to sudden emergence of the movement. In addition, the election of Barrack Obama to state house worsened the situation. The fact that Obama is an African-American president did not settle well with some of the white Americans. Obama was also the first non-southern democrat and this played a vital role in the resurgence of the Tea Party.
In addition, Leboff reports that other factors such as the mixed racial origin of Obama, the over ambitious policy of the democrat government, the diverse coalition of liberals that Obama formed, the great command over the youths, and the support from the minorities during the 2008 election led to a negative reaction from the conservatives supporting the Republicans. More so, it is possible that some whites were not happy with the idea of having a black president. All this factors are considered to have played a great role in the emergence of the Tea Party movement. It was also alleged that Obama is of varied heritage. This meant his values were different from most Americans. As a result, he will not fulfill the Americans interest. Some allegations that Obama is a Muslim might have made many whites have fears leading to the formation of the movement. The discussed factors, coupled with great opposition to Obama's policy like the healthcare and the economic stimulus policies played a role in creating a group of individuals who responded to the call of conservatives to take actions. This increased numbers of the Tea Party movement.
The Tea party movement is thought to have emerged in the year 2009. During this time, the economies of the world were experiencing financial crisis. As a result, many Americans were keen on the kind of policies formulated by the government. The increased tax rates among the citizens of Americans are considered to have angered many citizens. This partly led to people ganging up against the idea. The policies made by the Obama's government were at most opposed by the people. For instance, the idea by the government to pay loans for some citizens who were not able to pay for themselves did not settle well with most people. In fact, it is during this time that Rick, news anchor of CNBC stood up and made it public that they do not welcome such an idea. He planned to organize the Tea party rallies to sensitize people. The Obama healthcare plan did not settle well with some American citizens. This is also believed to have had a role in the emergence of the movement.
The secrecy within the party is also considered by some to have played a role in its emergence. The party at no given time has it stood openly and declared its aim. The parties organizational structure, its motivation and its rationale of action is continue to be ambiguous to many Americans. Furthermore, the Tea Party has remained independent and is not associated with any organization. This is considered to have played a key role in the emergence of the party since it has helped in fostering unity among its members. The members do not know exactly what the intention of the party is. They only believe that is meant to protect
The common citizens without necessarily knowing how it does. As a result, the part has gained popularity especially at the grassroots level where it enjoys the superiority.
The continuous funding from conservatives has also played a role in the emergency of the party. The high class people who support Republicans do supply funds to the movement to organize its activities. They do so with the main aim of opposing the democrats. Wealth individuals are believed to have also been supplying the movement with cash. They believe that is through the movement where government policies that do not favor them will be opposed. In addition, the media airs a lot of information regarding the plans of the movement. This helps in passing information to those at grass root level where the venue of rallies will be. The Fox News in particular publicizes and encourages people to attend the rallies. People will then gather in large numbers for the protests and rallies hence growth of the Tea Party movement.
The types of people who are assumed to be the leaders of the Tea party movement also have an influence on the number of people attending the gathering. For instance, prominent persons such as Sarah Palin, who was Republican's vice presidential nominee on occasions has addressed the Tea Party movement. This makes her followers of Republican to start attending the rallies organized by the Tea Party movement. Sarah Palin after resigning as the governor of Alaska, she became an unofficial spokes person of the Tea party movement. Because of her popularity, many people will turn up in large numbers. This partly resulted to the emergence of the Tea Party Movement. Beck, another prominent person known for his 9/12 projects and September 9 attacks, also on occasions would deliver speeches at the Tea Party Movement. On September 12, 2009, Beck attracted many Tea Party movement supports in the capital city of U.S. Beck could offer daily affirmations on television and radios and this is believed to have had a great impact in winning more people to the Tea Party Movement.
Freedom Works, a supply side economic group under the stewardship of Dickey Armey provided logistical support and advice to the Tea Party gatherings. By the virtue that Dickey Armey was a former Republican Majority leader meant that he could command a crowd of people. His association with the Tea Party movement will enable the party to win more followers. This contributed greatly to the growth of the Tea Party.
Tea Party Movement also involved itself in politics. This meant that the candidates it supported will also join the party and this also had a major impact in the emergence of the party. For instance, Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina endorsed the Tea party candidates originating from the Republican strongholds. The diversity in the collection of groups and individuals who formed up the Tea Party Movement was a source of strength to the party. The differences in parties and individual ideas enabled the movement to win more supporters.
In conclusion, the Tea party movement actually does not have an exact goal they intend to achieve. Their main aim is to oppose government policies they deem are meant to favor a few citizens at the expense of others. They are majorly opposed to the tax policies, the health plan policies among other factors. They believe by doing so, they will be cushioning themselves. Also, the leadership of the party is not well defined.
