The Tea Party: Past, Present, and Future

Explaining the right-wing movement
The Tea Party movement attracted a lot of attention with its vocal opposition to the Democratic health care legislation, but it took shape at the very beginning of the Obama presidency. It arose out of widespread libertarian and populist outrage over the federal government’s intervention in the economy. While opposing the Obama administration, the Tea Party movement has remained independent from the Republican Party, sometimes openly confronting the GOP establishment. Yet the two organizations are united by their opposition to the Democratic agenda. What will ultimately determine the future of the Tea Party movement, then, is how successfully Republicans can incorporate elements of the Tea Party’s doctrine into their party platform. And how effectively they can prevent the Tea Party from bringing down more electable, establishment candidates.
The Origins of the Tea Party
When CNBC commentator Rick Santelli railed against the “homeowner bailout” at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in February 2009, he tapped into a widespread frustration with government “handouts.” Santelli famously declared that he wanted to oppose Obama’s economic agenda with a “Chicago Tea Party” in July. Within weeks, anti-tax groups had sprung up across the country. Zephyr Teachout, a professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, emphasized the importance of these early events in an interview with the HPR. “While right-wing media and politicians fueled the anger around health care reform and other programs,” she said, “I suspect that some of the organic growth of the Tea Party movement came from extraordinary anger at the bank bailouts.” Indeed, the bailouts—combined with the stimulus package’s $787 billion price tag—were major instigators for the Tea Party movement.
Kate Zernike, national correspondent for the New York Times, told the HPR that “the motivating grievance for most [Tea Partiers] was when Congress passed TARP—under President Bush.” TARP, which provided emergency assistance for major financial institutions, was maligned by populists on both the left and right. Furthermore, many Ron Paul supporters, devoted libertarians, provided an organizational structure for the nascent movement. A loose populist-libertarian coalition arose that sought to limit federal spending and roll back newly acquired government powers. The stimulus bill, Zernike said, was just fuel on the fire.
Tea and GOP
The Tea Party movement has repeatedly rebuffed the GOP establishment’s attempts to co-opt it, which has alarmed some Republicans. Richard Parker, a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School, observed, “The RNC remains concerned about three things: the impact of Tea Party primary challengers on the electability of general election candidates, how Tea Party voters will vote in November, and the potential political damage that negative perception of the Tea Party can cause.”
Overall, though, the Tea Party movement has chosen to operate as a wing within the Republican Party in the upcoming midterms, recognizing that fielding candidates against Republicans in general elections would be counterproductive. Indeed, Rasmussen Reports has found that in three-way contests between Democrats, Republicans, and Tea Party candidates, the anti-Democratic vote is split down the middle. Zernike explained, “Tea Party leaders generally boil their issues down to three things: fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government, and free markets.” These issues comprise the core values of fiscal conservatives, and Tea Partiers generally recognize that Republicans are better aligned with their interests than Democrats. Still, there is no doubt that the Republican establishment should be concerned, as it has seen a number of preferred candidates receive strong challenges from the Tea Party movement.
Tea Futures
As the economy recovers, the anger and frustration driving the Tea Party could abate. The principles behind the movement, however, will survive. If the Republican establishment adopts Tea Party planks and refrains from voting for new spending programs, Tea Party leaders will feel more incorporated into the political mainstream. The Republican caucus has already unanimously opposed numerous Democratic proposals, most notably President Obama’s health care initiative. As long as Tea Partiers believe that Republicans are listening to their concerns, the Tea Party is likely to function as “an outside advocacy group” that “works for Republican candidates, but does not uniformly support them,” Zernike predicted.
The Tea Party, originally a reactionary movement against what was perceived as unnecessary federal intervention in the nation’s economy, has become an organized political force. Although the Tea Party movement has not outright endorsed the Republican Party, it can exert significant pressure on the GOP to maintain a platform of strict fiscal conservatism, as seen in such primary challenges as Marco Rubio’s in Florida or J.D. Hayworth’s in Arizona. Though the economic conditions fueling the Tea Party’s growth will dissipate, the movement itself may have a long-term impact on American politics.
Alexander Chen ’13 is a Staff Writer.
Photo Credits: Flickr (Caveman 92223 and bisongirl)