Group #1 Assignment
Political Science
Grassroots & Community Emp.
Professor Momen
November 26, 2013
Group #1 Assignment
PSCI 3325 102
Professor Momen
November 26, 2013
Tea Party Movement
Social movements have emerged time and time again, a social movement that has caught the attention of many civilians as of recent is the Tea Party movement. The Tea Party movement made its first appearance on July 23, 1991 when several hundred people gathered at the state capitol of Austin, Texas to deliberately throw tea bags on its front lawn in disapproval of heavy levying policies and reforms. Then, on February 19, 2009 they gained the recognition they struggled to achieve when they recreated the Boston Tea Party of 1773 when the social movement intentionally threw tea bags on the front lawn of the White House in disapproval of heavy levying policies and reforms, yet again, in response to President Obama’s mortgage relief plan.
When the Tea Party movement rapidly came into power it stood towards opposing excessive tax levying policies and reforms, including the prevention of government intervention. The social movement has built quite an impressive reputation and a strong political opinion in the United States of America as new trends of occurrences appeared in the economy. They gained legislative success and grew popular each day after receiving so much attention from the American public over the course of just a few years. The movement is currently known to prioritize their assets and attention towards the variety of individuals who receive unfair taxation rates. In the mid-1750s, “no taxation without representation” was used as an outcry for many colonists who believed that they weren't being properly represented in the distant British parliament. The British parliament controlled colonial trade within the thirteen colonies in which the parliament felt entitled to place taxes on the colonial import and export factions of the 1760s and denied the American colonists any sort of representation.
The Tea Party movement has become a strong form of political outcry that many individuals nowadays could affiliate themselves with concerning their political aspects. The social movement’s presence in political affairs is heavily recognized by many interest groups that have struggled to make any advances towards social changes in government. According to Chris Good, “Since early 2009, countless tea party groups have formed, most of them small clusters of local activists, but a smaller handful have emerged as major players on the national stage.” The major interest groups associated with the Tea Party movement include the Tea Party Nation, Americans for Prosperity, Tea Party Patriots, Tea Party Express, Freedom Works and the National Tea Party Federation. All of the mentioned interest groups contribute in favor of the Tea Party movement with the intention of progressing, recruiting and making an impact on political outcomes.
The Tea Party Nation contributes by conducting conventions that are supposed to help bring many interest groups together from all corners of the globe. While, the Americans for Prosperity are an important interest group that helps contribute to the social movement with their funding in order to establish a good relationship with the Tea Party movement. The interest group is also known to dedicate itself to train individual recruits into full-fledged activists while also providing enough funds to advertise their gathering places. Then, there are the Tea Party Patriots which are only known for their massive headquarters. Chris Good states that, “Organizers estimate total membership is 15 million.” The group is famous for their ability to maintain websites, communication and developmental strategies amongst the leaders.
Then, proceeding on with the Tea Party Express interest group who drew the attention of many new recruits by conducting nationwide bus tours in order to