In an April 2009 blog on Pajamas Media the writer explains it as best he can:
“It is not clear whether this is the making of a new political party or a flash in the pan. What it does show is that the absence of a single Republican leader does not hinder some impressive grassroots organizing. It also shows that young conservatives, who were out in abundance in Lafayette Park even in the pouring rain, do know how to organize through new media including Twitter. And it shows that for conservatives and libertarians, the Obama presidency is a powerful organizing tool. Just as the Left coalesced in opposition to George W. Bush, these activists are, to a large extent, acting out of resentment and anger toward the president and Democratic congressional leaders.
The proof will be in the pudding.
If we see an influx of new candidates, activists, and volunteers stemming from the tea party movement, Wednesday will be seen as a significant day in modern political history and new media-based organizing. If the activists go home, never to be seen again, then the day will recede in memory as another failed attempt to shake the political status quo. Stay tuned.”
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/dc-tea-party-...ng-quite-yet/2/
The intriguing thing about the meteoric rise of this grassroots movement is the organizers overt denial of Politicians from participating and speaking to the crowds. For instance, on July 4th in San Antonio:
“Today's party, which is going on just east of San Antonio at the Rio Cibolo Ranch in Marion, follows the San Antonio Tea Party held April 15 at Alamo Plaza. That event was timed to coincide with Tax Day and was prompted in part by concerns about the federal stimulus package.
Perry had been asked to stay away from the April San Antonio Tea Party, which was intended to be free of politicians. He spoke at an Austin event instead, where he drew national attention for his comments about secession.”
The San Antonio event instead featured “Joe the Plumber” as the main speaker.
On April 15th in Atascadero, California:
“The program opened with the Pledge of Allegiance. Then there were some introductions of the organizers, whom I'd never met or heard of before this event. (Politicians weren't allowed on the podium, though our assemblyman had sent a representative from his office.)”
Washington DC 9/12 march:
“Saturday will feature the main event: a march down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol, where a speakers list dominated by local activists will address attendees in between crowd-rousing vintage musical interludes like Welcome to the Jungle, Metallica's Whiskey in the Jar and Bush's Machinehead. The lineup is light on elected officials, including just a handful of conservative stalwarts like Reps. Marsha Blackburn and Mike Pence, and Sen. Jim DeMint. FreedomWorks says organizers wanted to focus on Washington outsiders, but concedes that speaking slot requests by some conservative politicians – including unnamed 2012 hopefuls – were politely declined, based on their positions on issues like TARP and the stimulus. Other typically interested officials, perhaps wary of the boos and catcalls that greeted Sen. John Cornyn at a Tea Party rally in Texas, didn't ask to address the crowd this year.” – Freedomworks 9/3/09
GOP/Michael Steele denied speaking early on:
"The truth is the tea parties are a completely grassroots movement with no specific leader or origin. Some point to CNBC analyst Rick Santelli’s February 16 on-air criticism of President Barack Obama’s housing bailout plan as the start but Presidential candidate Ron Paul has been raising money with Tea Party rhetoric since 2007. There are many established conservative groups that are supportive of the movement’s limited government message, including the Heritage Foundation, but no one is taking orders from Newt Gingrich’s American Solutions, Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform, or even Armey’s Freedom Works.
Instead the movement has been growing and coordinating through online upstarts like Tax Day Tea Party, TCOT Report, Smart Girl Politics, and Tea Party Revolution … just to name a few. More importantly the movement is not partisan. A Chicago tea party group reportedly denied RNC chair Michael Steel’s request to speak at their event and the Knoxville tea party organizers said no “professional politicians” were going to be allowed to speak at their event. Now this does not mean that no Republicans will be speaking at any events: As Instapundit explains, “There are no national rules and organizers of each protest are doing things the way they want.”
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=86276630907
I have chosen the sources of my article from individuals rather than established media sources to make my point that it is from the “individuals” rather than political party representation of the facts. It is appropriate because it is from this individual anger and frustration that this grassroots movement that the Democrats want to destroy and the GOP want to exploit. It is the two party system that is on the ropes here and do not have the answers to counter the movement.
The more the Democrats and the MSM try to marginalize the movement through name calling and labels the more they alienate their political party from the mainstream which includes their own party members who, as individuals feel a “kinship” to those who are marching and protesting and as such are angered by their own party labeling them as right wing extremists.
On the other hand, the GOP has, since 1994 moved away from their conservative base in an attempt to move leftward to maintain their dwindling numbers. What the GOP does not understand is that it was not because they aren’t “liberal” or inclusive enough to compete it is that they fell for this false argument of the left as they and their ACORN foot soldiers engaged in electioneering to give the illusion of the “leftward” tilt of America.
The anger that has fueled the movement is propelled forward by the Democrats and Republicans that are openly shunning the populace to ram home socialist bills and policies.
The GOP leaned something from this groundswell as they have, since the bills have moved forward, en-mass rejected them. They have, with the exception of the RINO’s in their midst (Specter and Olympia Snow), distanced themselves completely from this push. Though they have learned some of the lessons and have truly heard the angry calls of their constituents they still are out of touch with their base and continue to move leftward in reaction to Democrat power.
This is evident in the GOP and their endorsement of the overtly liberal candidate they put forward in the NY 23rd race. When the conservatives started to complain and hold the national Republican leadership to answer why, they immediately pointed to the fact that she was put forward as a result of her primary victory. Then it was found that the “primary” which the GOP/Michael Steele was alluding to was a handful of individuals at the local GOP party that voted her in on a 4 of 10 results.
Once this was exposed the GOP then blamed it on the local level and their mandate to support local political offices at the national level. This of course was until the liberal Republican dropped out of the race and the GOP quickly scrambled for political cover by endorsing the Independent Conservative Hoffman.
To add insult to injury, the candidate that the GOP initially endorsed then asked for those who supported her to give their votes to the Democrats.
The one thing that the MSM has right in its coverage of the split within the GOP and its base is the GOP is dying. This is not because the fringe extreme right wing of the party is splitting it apart; it is because the base can no longer trust its national leadership to keep to its founding principles.
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