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The Tea Party is a
political movement in the United States that has sponsored locally and
nationally coordinated protests since 2009.[1][2][3] Its platform is explicitly
populist[4][5][6] and is generally recognized as conservative and
libertarian.[7][8] It endorses reduced government spending,[9][10] lower
taxes,[10] reduction of the national debt and federal budget deficit,[9] and
adherence to an originalist interpretation of the United States
Constitution.[11]
The name "Tea Party" is a reference to the Boston Tea Party, a protest by
colonists who objected to a British tax on tea in 1773 and demonstrated by
dumping British tea taken from docked ships into the harbor.[12] Their rallying
cry of "no taxation without representation" has become a slogan of the Tea Party
movement.[13]
As of 2010, the Tea Party Movement is not a national political party, does not
officially run Congressional candidates, and its name has not appeared on any
ballots, but it has so far endorsed Republican candidates.[14] The Tea Party
movement has no central leadership but is composed of a loose affiliation of
national and local groups that determine their own platforms and agendas. For
this reason, the Tea Party movement is often cited as an example of grassroots
political activity, although it has also been cited as an example of
astroturfing.[15]
According to pollster Scott Rasmussen, the bailouts of banks by the Bush and
Obama administrations triggered the Tea Party’s rise. The interviewer adds that
the movement's anger centers on two issues, quoting Rasmussen as saying, "They
think federal spending, deficits and taxes are too high, and they think no one
in Washington is listening to them, and that latter point is really, really
important."[16]
The Tea Party's most noted national figures include Republican politicians such
as Dick Armey and Sarah Palin. Nearly all Tea Party candidates have run as
Republicans. A Gallup poll shows almost 80% of Tea Partiers consider themselves
to be Republicans.[17][18] Some, including Gallup Editor in Chief Frank Newport,
have suggested that the movement is not a new political group but simply a
rebranding of traditional Republican candidates and policies.[17][19][20]