There is a new political force sweeping the nation, a force that’s united, organized, and very passionate. And today it proved to the political establishments and institutions that it has the ability to influence a campaign like the NRCC and DCCC, except it has no deep pockets and no national leadership.
It did it with principles. Specifically, conservative principles.
The media first paid attention to the Tea (“taxed enough already”) Party movement when demonstrators staged multi-city protests across the nation on tax day, April 15, 2009. More demonstrations came on Independence Day and September 12, 2009 in Washington, D.C. Tea Party members continue to be active in organizing local events or even volunteering nationally, for example, in get-out-to-vote efforts for the upcoming NY-23 special election.
Then during Congress’ summer recess when elected representatives went to their hometowns to hold town hall meetings and reconnect with constituents, many Tea Party members made sure to attend these meetings and voice their concerns. To the disbelief of some members of Congress, the temperature inside town hall facilities seem hotter than the summer heat as many of their constituents spoke passionately and angrily against the current administration and Congress. Clearly, many voters were fed up with the excessive and irresponsible spending from the federal government: bank bailouts, car maker bailouts, cap and trade, health care reform, etc. These voters understood that any rescue money from the government could only mean heavier tax burden on the taxpayers, and worse yet, burdening their future generations. The Tea Party continued to gather steam.
With Dede Scozzafava’s suspension of her NY-23 campaign, the Tea Party conservatives realized their first material victory. (After all, they still haven’t stopped the ridiculous federal spending.) To every progressive critic of the Tea Party movement (allegations of “astroturfing”), you’d better pay close attention to what happened in New York. As a grassroots organization, Tea Party members are moving in the right direction of focusing on electing conservative candidates to office. It’s all about building an influence from the bottom up.
The rise of the Tea Party is inspiring to conservatives but does not bode well for the Republican Party, the de facto political party of choice for most conservatives. However, in recent years the Republican Party has blurred its principles with the liberal Democrats, and after the election of 2008 conservatives are no longer willing to let the GOP hijack and tarnish the conservative movement. Conservatives today care less about a Republican minority or a Democrat majority — we want to see a conservative majority in Congress.
What’s in the future of the Tea Party movement? After winning the battle (not yet the war) in NY-23, will there be serious thoughts on converging its local leaders to form some sort of national leadership committee? In other words, will the movement evolve into another political party in America? Considering that the majority of Americans identify with conservatism and how disenchanted many are with the GOP, a new political party — the Tea Party — could very well serve the nation with great interest.
