The Tea Party Movement Essay -- Political Movement, American Social Is

The tea party has been a hot topic in the United States ever since the movement began in 2008, yet many people do not understand what exactly it is. Contrary to what some people may think, the tea party is not a true political party. It can broadly be defined as a gathering of libertarians, conservatives, and other people who want to change Washington. The common ideals of the tea party movement are cutting government spending, limiting taxes, and stopping excessive federal regulations. The most important thing one needs to know about the movement though, is that there is not a single tea party- the movement consists of hundreds of different autonomous groups, each widely varying in priorities and size. The tea party movement began as the result of conservative discontent after the presidential election in 2008. Before President Barack Obama took office, many conservatives went on online chat boards and expressed anger over the banks being bailed out and billions of their tax money being spent on government programs. As a form of protest, one individual suggested that everyone mail tea bags to their elected representative in Congress. The concept behind this idea was that what was happening to America at the time was like what had occurred in America during the colonial era. Revolutionaries had organized the Boston Tea Party because of the British policy of â€Å"taxation without representation†, and many conservatives felt as if this phrase described what the government was doing again. This was the birth of the tea party movement, and it has only greatly expanded since then. (Ed Pikington; Oct 5, 2010) Since the tea party movement is such a diverse mixture of groups, there is a large spectrum of ideals within it. Regardl... ..., P. (2010, July 14). Nasty 'Tea Party'-NAACP Racism Feud: Who's Right? Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved September 2, 2011, from SIRS Researcher. Knickerbocker, B. (2010, September 15). What is the 'Tea Party' and How is it Shaking Up American Politics? Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved September 2, 2011, from SIRS Researcher. Knickerbocker, B. (2010, September 12). Will the 'Tea Party' Take Over Congress. Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved September 2, 2011, from SIRS Researcher. Pikington, E. (2010, October 5). How the Tea Party Movement Began. In The Guardian. Retrieved September 12, 2011, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/05/us-midterm-elections-2010-tea-party-movement Sege, A. (2011, August 8). Third-Party Challenge in 2012? Not Likely, Experts Say. McClatchy-Tribune News Service. Retrieved September 2, 2011, from SIRS Researcher.