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The Tea Party Movement Celebrates Small Victories in Primary Elections

 

            The Tea Party movement began in February 2009 when a group of disgruntled citizens from nine different cities banded together to protest President Obama's massive stimulus bill (Spillius). In such a short time, this group has become a powerful force to be reckoned with, playing a vital role in the primary elections and, ultimately, who controls Congress after the November 2nd midterm elections. Although this network of groups lacks a centralized structure, lacks clear leadership, and vehemently resists becoming a third political party, they typically support the Republican Party (Barstow). These conservatives favor smaller government, lower taxes, fiscal responsibility, and individual freedoms (Spillius). Because there is no exact leader or structure, it is hard to get a grasp on what the Tea Partiers are all about. Some would be content with simply making the Republican Party more conservative. Others wish to completely reorder the political system, mostly by shrinking it drastically (Barstow). .
             One thing most of the Tea Partiers do have in common though is the fact that most had previously been uninvolved in politics. Not until the recession hit did many of them feel the need to contribute their input. After seeing the jobs lost, the homes foreclosed, and the retirement funds depleted, they felt an increasing need to know the root cause and who to blame for it. Many believe that their constitutional rights are being ignored by government (Barstow). However, for the majority of the Tea Partiers, neither the Republicans nor the Democrats have run government properly. They were outraged when Democrats passed a $1 trillion health care bill at a time when the country's deficit was rising too fast. On the other hand, they have also criticized Republicans for contradicting the conservative principles that the party was founded on by spending too much money when they were in power also (Spillius).


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