What is the Tea Party?

You will have to excuse me on posting this in 'breaking news' but it is really a question on US politics for an ignorant Brit.

What is this Tea Party I hear you Americans talk about so much? This has intreagued me for like ever.

I can tell you how strange it sounds to someone that associates tea parties with Buckingham Palace Lawn Parties with tea and cucumber sandwhiches, so is this the US equivalent hosted by the US political royals?

or is it more like an Alice in Wonderland type Tea Party?

Please educate us Brits

Strawberry wrote:You will have to excuse me on posting this in 'breaking news' but it is really a question on US politics for an ignorant Brit.

What is this Tea Party I hear you Americans talk about so much? This has intreagued me for like ever.

I can tell you how strange it sounds to someone that associates tea parties with Buckingham Palace Lawn Parties with tea and cucumber sandwhiches, so is this the US equivalent hosted by the US political royals?

or is it more like an Alice in Wonderland type Tea Party?

Please educate us Brits

hi Straw, no it's more like we don't like republician or democrat BS and want to get back to grass roots policys. I actually agree.

It was originally supposed to be a grassroots movement that didn't fall in line with either party. However it has turned into a far right-wing conservative movement. Here's a couple links to give you a broader understanding. I agree with most of the original ideals of the Tea Party, but am disgusted with what it has turned into.

Forgot, no links if not a member. Check the Wikipedia page for the Tea Party Movement.

cab123 wrote:

Strawberry wrote:You will have to excuse me on posting this in 'breaking news' but it is really a question on US politics for an ignorant Brit.

What is this Tea Party I hear you Americans talk about so much? This has intreagued me for like ever.

I can tell you how strange it sounds to someone that associates tea parties with Buckingham Palace Lawn Parties with tea and cucumber sandwhiches, so is this the US equivalent hosted by the US political royals?

or is it more like an Alice in Wonderland type Tea Party?

Please educate us Brits

hi Straw, no it's more like we don't like republician or democrat BS and want to get back to grass roots policys. I actually agree.

I like the sound of grass roots policies

Me wrote:It was originally supposed to be a grassroots movement that didn't fall in line with either party. However it has turned into a far right-wing conservative movement. Here's a couple links to give you a broader understanding. I agree with most of the original ideals of the Tea Party, but am disgusted with what it has turned into.

Hi Me

thanks for stopping by and helping me out. I wanted to hear it from you and your fellow Americans because on GLP you are all so passionate about the subject and reading it at Wiki isnt the same.

It is a shame from what you say that this Tea Party has moved away from its own grass roots. Why is this?

OK folks

... why did it get called The Tea Party?

This has intreagued me. What is its history as it sounds British or Indian Colonial??

It comes from the "Boston Tea Party" during the American War for Independence from Britain, during which colonists destroyed a shipload of tea by tossing it into the harbor, rather than import and consume goods upon which they believed an inordinately high tariff was placed.

The current "Tea Party" is largely fiscal-libertarian, and anti-taxation.

The name "Tea Party" is kind of a play on words, recalling the historical Boston "Tea Party" ( a cynical reference to destroying tea instead of having an uppity tea-and-crumpets party event with it), and likening the current movement to a political party.

It isn't a political party, but started out as something of the fiscal-libertarian wing of the Republican party, self-identifying with the "old" Republican party of 1960s Senator Barry Goldwater.

The tea-partiers are mostly conservative Christians, and as such are distinctly not social libertarians. Some strongly endorse a "Biblically-based" legal system.

The movement strongly self-identifies with the Founding Fathers of the US, and is very nostalgic for what they believe were more austere times of higher morality and Christian virtues. (although they seem to totally gloss over the fact that many if not most of the Founders were Deists, and not Christians).

Tea Partiers are some of the finest people one could ever hope to meet, as friends, associate, or neighbors.

The movement has evolved, and continues to evolve. My take on it is that the Tea Party movement started out as a true grassroots movement of fiscal conservative libertarianism, which has been co-opted by fundamentalist Christians.

Tea Party events are very patriotic, full of open display of Christian faith, and are largely populated by middle- and upper-middle-class persons of Anglo-Saxon heritage, although there is a vibrant outreach to people of other heritage.

They are good people. That said, I am not a Tea Partier, for reasons of religious faith -- more specifically -- lack thereof.

For the most part I agree with Goodmockingbird. Some people say it started with this guy, on CNBC, a cable business network.



Santelli makes a good (and entertaining) point. Those recently elected congressmen associated with the Tea party have been flexing their muscle in the House lately. The movement may grow beyong the control of the current Republican leadership, which might be a good thing, except that so many of them strike me as narrow minded provincials in the George W. Bush mold.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/11/house-republicans-unveil-dramatic-spending-cuts/

Me wrote:It was originally supposed to be a grassroots movement that didn't fall in line with either party. However it has turned into a far right-wing conservative movement. Here's a couple links to give you a broader understanding. I agree with most of the original ideals of the Tea Party, but am disgusted with what it has turned into.

I have to agree with "me" on this one. I had such high hopes for the Tea Party when they first started. The name implies a return to the originals ideals of our founding fathers. They seem to have turned to a far right/Christian fundamentalist type platform.

Just for you Brits Because I believe history is the key to understanding.

The original Tea Party was as much a battle against corporate monopoly as it was against the Crown. Here is a good little essay on the subject:

"The real Boston Tea Party was a protest against huge corporate tax cuts for the British East India Company, the largest trans-national corporation then in existence. This corporate tax cut threatened to decimate small Colonial businesses by helping the BEIC pull a Wal-Mart against small entrepreneurial tea shops, and individuals began a revolt that kicked-off a series of events that ended in the creation of The United States of America.

They covered their faces, massed in the streets, and destroyed the property of a giant global corporation. Declaring an end to global trade run by the East India Company that was destroying local economies, this small, masked minority started a revolution with an act of rebellion later called the Boston Tea Party."


Read the entire article here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thom-hartmann/the-real-boston-tea-party_b_187189.html

I still have hopes for the Tea Party...perhaps in the way it could evolve in the future. The libertarian, anti-tax, anti big government themes still resonate strongly with many, many people in this country. I agree with Goodmockingbird that Tea Partiers are some of the finest people you would want to have as a neighbor or friend. Honest, hard-working, patriotic and amazing organizers. I actually spoke at a couple of Tea Party rallies here in Nashville during the birth of the movement. So, I know a lot of people here who are involved. Tea Partiers are very much against the global elite. I think the far right has made a huge attempt to co-opt the movement, but I still have faith in the pragmatists who want the party to return to it's (young) roots. Those roots brought many from across the political spectrum together. I think whether it is CALLED the Tea Party, the ideas and ideals birthed with the movement are not going away any time soon.

Joe Bese wrote:For the most part I agree with Goodmockingbird. Some people say it started with this guy, on CNBC, a cable business network.



Santelli makes a good (and entertaining) point. Those recently elected congressmen associated with the Tea party have been flexing their muscle in the House lately. The movement may grow beyong the control of the current Republican leadership, which might be a good thing, except that so many of them strike me as narrow minded provincials in the George W. Bush mold.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/11/house-republicans-unveil-dramatic-spending-cuts/

Man, I never get tired of this clip, lol. I watched this live and I was like HELL YEAH BROTHER!!

snark wrote:

Joe Bese wrote:For the most part I agree with Goodmockingbird. Some people say it started with this guy, on CNBC, a cable business network.



Santelli makes a good (and entertaining) point. Those recently elected congressmen associated with the Tea party have been flexing their muscle in the House lately. The movement may grow beyong the control of the current Republican leadership, which might be a good thing, except that so many of them strike me as narrow minded provincials in the George W. Bush mold.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/11/house-republicans-unveil-dramatic-spending-cuts/

Man, I never get tired of this clip, lol. I watched this live and I was like HELL YEAH BROTHER!!

Yeah I also saw it live. You could tell from the reactions he really hit a nerve.

There's some great stuff here and I will read it through properly when I have time. Thanks guys and I'm moving the thread to the USA now we have a room here.