Date: Oct. 1, 2011 Who Are The Tea Party?

Tea Party members were once, mostly, faithful Republican Party members. They felt, increasingly, that the way of life they had become accustomed to was under threat, economic and cultural. They became filled with a sense of governmental injustice against fellow citizens, the loss of the U.S. manufacturing base, increased involvement in free trade speeding, the loss of U.S. jobs, a dwindling sense of respect among the young, and the creeping spread of everything politically correct, all of which they believed was happening without the peoples consent. These are not trivial matters. These are passionate matters. The Tea Party Members see these as survival issues, survival of their people, their country, and their very way of life. And when you ask, most Tea Party members will express, with anger or sorrow, that they waited for years for someone in government to do something about this. And when they realize that, they vocalize that unless they themselves do something about it, no Republican or Democrat is going to. There is no use waiting any more. Tea Party members have been dismissed alternately as neo-fascists, idiots and bigots, lunatics, poorly educated thugs, or politically nave. The problem is, the media has portrayed them as a fringe minority, irrational thinkers, people with psychological problems, and, in the end, they are portrayed as nothing like the rest of us. Nothing could be further from the truth. When you talk to Tea Party members they come across as regular people, well connected to their local communities (not fringe members), and rather than irrational, they joined the Tea Party to pursue a clearly defined set of goals. They are, in short, focused, articulate and determined. Hardly the attributes of a lunatic fringe. Okay, there are clearly some exceptions. And you can expect those exceptions to make the news. But go beyond the sensational 2 percent of the Tea Party faithful and you will find serious, determined opposition to most of what the Democratic, Liberal, Conservative and Republican parties stand for. More than anything, most Tea Party members are concerned about immigration. They are deeply anxious about the speed and scale of immigration and label immigration as illegal principally because they feel so-called legal immigration was, again, done without the peoples consent. Immigration is not just about economic worries although it is easy to pretend that is the prime objection. The real concern is about the change of the American way, that the national red, white and blue ethic is under threat. They quote birth rates of immigrants being more than regular Americans and because the main immigrant target is from Mexico, they lump the minority, especially Hispanic, birthrates into their argument as proof that immigrants have children faster than we Americans and will soon outnumber us.

Given that immigration is the core issue on their battlefront, the eight fruitless years under Bush pushed them over the edge. These people rebelled as only the previous faithful could. The media thought they were rebelling against Obama when, in fact, their rebellion was born under their previous hope, the Republican Party. Is it any wonder that the Republican Party is now so desperate to re-enter them into the conservative fold? As a loose cannon targeted against the left for now, given the failure of the right, the Tea Party loyalty to the Republican Party is very much in doubt. And Tea Party members have more alienation to deal with. The more they are vilified in the press and by neighbors, previous friends and employers, the more they have nothing left to fall back on and become like the tiger against the wall, dangerous. Often I have heard this phrase from pressured Tea Party members: Doing nothing is not an option, I am fighting for the survival of the American way. That is how they see themselves and, as you can imagine, they are further made angry when critics do not simply thank them instead of questioning their motives.

BREAK the second week: Beware Voting Based On Issues The Tea Party are a determined opposition to all the current political parties. They are a focused, articulate, outspoken, and fervent community of well-connected like-believers. And these are hardly the attributes of a lunatic fringe as portions of the media portray them. Previous American generations in my lifetime felt these same burning desires and suffered the same worries. However, that generation, immediately post-World War II, was inoculated against any type of movement with an absolute dictum. This generation, never having suffered under that threat, and, lets face it, poorly educated in world affairs, has no such firewall in place. It would never happen here, people assure us when it comes to dictatorship or absolutism. Those confident people were from that World War II-influenced generation and out of touch with the modern generations. And besides, America has never had a cultural embargo not to follow extremist beliefs in religion or racism. As a tolerant country we abide all sorts of what we perceive to be fringe organizations until they become a danger to our way of life and then we stop them cold the KKK and the Branch Davidians are two such examples. But a political movement that veers towards absolutist rhetoric and dictatorial beliefs (our way or the highway) are not so easy to challenge. Systems are in place to not only permit their existence but fund it as well. We now have several members of Congress from the Tea Party. How free-thinking they will be when a national leader is chosen for their movement remains to be seen. Currently it is clear that Rep. Boehner cannot control them (and why should he be able to? They rebelled against the failed Republican Bush policies, long before Obama's). And lets not forget the Tea Party has recruited a large and stable following. There is nothing fringe about them.

And here are a worrying set of questions for readers to consider. Worrying because these are exactly the leverage issues the Tea Party uses to recruit new members: Are you satisfied with either political partys position and performance on immigration? Are you satisfied with either political partys position and performance on law and order? Are you satisfied with either political partys position and performance on unemployment? Are you satisfied with either political partys position and performance on education? Are you satisfied with either political partys position and performance on prisons and punishment? Are you satisfied with either political partys position and performance in public office? Are you satisfied with either political partys position and performance on Islam? These questions hint at the underlying promises made by the Tea Party since a faithful member would answer no to each of the above. And if you answer no even to one of them, if that issue is important enough to you, you could find sympathy for your point of view within the Tea Party. There is, therefore, clear potential for this movement to grow. Remember this as well: We are now campaigning in an era guided by issues over party loyalty. The issues you want to see resolved governs your vote more than any time in American history. With 55 percent of interviewed Americans in recent polls saying that immigration is beginning to change the country and steal American jobs, the only movement that has this issue at the forefront is, you guessed it, the Tea Party. Right or wrong, they are the zeitgeist. Those same polls show that we have little or far less confidence in our government (right or left) to solve these issues. Large parts of the American population feel that they have been lied to by politicians for decades. Every study shows that when our government fails to deal with immigration and unemployment, trust in the government goes down. Republicans may feel they will be the beneficiary of the current target on Democrats backs. They would be wrong, since mistrust in government lies upon all politicians, especially with a Republican-controlled House. And as for the media, even the far-right media may condemn fanatical Tea Party members but those same media pundits are pushing the same currency (and selling TV and radio ads in the process). They downplay issues focusing on intolerance and instead talk about the American pride, cultural divide, economic parasitism, and, of course, their perceived moral high ground on issues such as homosexuality, right-to-life, and religion (especially anti-Islam). America is not immune to the far right, nor should we dismiss their concerns nor their numbers as fringe or irrelevant. A large percentage of all Americans share their concerns if not their chosen outlet. Importantly, the number of Americans who would be receptive to an articulate,

charismatic and capable Tea Party leader is far greater than the number of Americans who vote every four years. As I write this, the Tea Party is split, fragmented and struggling to fit into Washington. Dont count on that continuing. Once they get past their political amateurism, from their ranks a leader a capable leader could emerge and bring their views to a national consensus. As long as Democrats and Republicans alike rely on past rhetoric and pacification of the Tea Party issues, they may not see the inherent dangers in supporting a movement that demands complete, predefined agreement on so many issues that are both basic and vital to the health of our society.