I don’t think there is a tea party anymore.
Did you join one? If not, therein lies the problem.
” don’t think there is a tea party anymore. “
The problem is that, what started out as a MOVEMENT of individuals that cut cut across Political Lines and Identifications, has been shoehorned, by the Media abetted by any number of persons (using the term very loosely) purporting to be ‘Leaders’, into the comfortable mold of a monolithic, lock-step, PARTY - a poor-cousin (or ‘crazy uncle’, if you prefer) splinter of the Pubbies...
They’ve even taken away our CAPS and periods — Tea, as in a ‘weak beverage’, instead of T.E.A. standing for Taxed Enough, Already!!
A couple of months ago I went to the 912 Project NJ boards to see what was up.. There hadn’t been a new post since 2010.
“I don’t think there is a tea party anymore.”
There is. Unfortunately it is trapped under the carcass of a big, dead, elephant that just keeled over onto it. Lift the elephant corpse away and the Tea Party will be freed. Leave the dead elephant in place much longer and the Tea Party too will suffocate and die.
“I don’t think there is a tea party anymore.”
They had faded from public view by 2010, but I’m sure they played a part (as individuals and small groups) in handing the Dems’ asses to them in the mid-terms. Part of what attracts people to the TEA Party idea is that there is no “establishment”; they are localized groups born of a tax revolt that probably plays a more important role on the state, county, and municipal level than the federal one.
The mindset is certainly out there (especially since the expiration of the federal “making work pay” credit just added hundreds of dollars to many peoples’ federal income tax bills). I don’t doubt that the TEA Party will play a key role in 2012; it spoke for many independents.
If you add up the votes for Gingrich and Santorum, they amounted to more than Romney's in a lot of the states that have voted already in the primary. Unfortunately, the Tea Party seems to be divided between those with Christian values who wholeheartedly supported Santorum, and those who are purely financial conservatives like those who wholeheartedly supported Gingrich. I myself supported Santorum mostly due to his unwavering stance against the global warming fraud. But if reading FR threads is indicative of the trends in the Tea Party nationwide, a lot of Gingrich supporters hated Santorum for his Christian beliefs, calling him Saintorum, cultist, etc.
The Tea Party is strong but there is a strong divide that exists and can be exploited when there is a choice between two types of conservatives.
Yeah. No Doubt. Over 40% of all American voters and their lifelong, deeply held convictions have all just disappeared.
Just kidding. If you doubt that The Tea Party is still here, let's discuss it after the November elections. If the Dems win back the House, or keep the Senate, then you might be right. On the other hand, if we strengthen the House Majority and take over the Senate, it'll pretty much prove that we're still right here, biding our time, watching the candidates with a microscope.
I didn't read the replies on this thread until a few minutes ago. We have three or four TEA Party candidates running in TX District 25 to replace lord dog nuts in Congress. It is now a 60% Conservative district and most of Austin is out of the picture, which should make it a easy pickup for our side. Texas got four additional congressional seats since 2010.