It has been one year since protesters gathered on Tax Day, and in the time since political observers have attempted to understand and explain the Tea Party movement. The mainstream media has covered the Tea Party as a political sideshow, the conservative media has embraced the Tea Party as their audience, the Republican Party has attempted to exploit the Tea Party for political gain, the Democratic Party has used controversial Tea Party rhetoric as political fodder, conservatives have both embraced and dismissed the Tea Party, and liberals have raised their concerns about the movement. The Tea Party has been a fascinating political movement to observe, and it is a complicated thing to explain. After a year of observing the movement, attending the rallies, town hall meetings, and debating individuals within the Tea Party movement I have an understanding of how the movement is viewed by those that are within the movement, the ideological divides within the movement, and the political realities of the movement. However, I have also observed the background motivations in the movement, and that privilege plays an important role in the Tea Party movement.
More Below the Fold...
ADVERTISEMENT
Most people within the Tea Party movement view themselves as everyday ordinary Americans; the typical Tea Party supporter is middle aged, middle class, and white. This is also in many ways who they view as an ordinary American. According to a recent Gallup poll, people who identify as supporters of the Tea Party are mostly middle aged or older, mostly political conservative, and mostly white. The poll found that 70% identified themselves as conservative, compared to 40% of the general public, and 49% identified themselves as Republican, compared to 27% of the general public. Despite the rhetoric that they are ordinary working Americans, people within the Tea Party movement are more likely to have more education, higher income, and more affluent than the average American. A New York Times/CBS Poll found that among those who identify as Tea Party supporters are 56% earn at least $50,000 per year, compared to 44% of the general population. Also, at 70% of the Tea Party supporters had at least some college education, compared to 53% of the general population.
Many people within the movement feel disenfranchised, they feel that they are not being represented in the government, and they feel that America is being fundamentally changed. The claim of disenfranchisement is often heard in the rhetoric of not voting for policies that they consider to be radical and un-American. However, the average Tea Party supporter is much less likely to actually be disenfranchised than many other portions of American society. Ironically, by voting they have actually ensured that they are in fact not disenfranchised. There is a feeling that they are not being heard, and much of this comes from a fundamental distrust in government. There is also a fear that America is being changed, and that this country will not be the same country that they grew up in.
While there is an overarching ideological view about the role of government that is accepted by most within the Tea Party movement, there are significant ideological divides. The most significant ideological divide is about foreign policy, and this divide manifest itself between the Ron Paul noninterventionist who support a Jeffersonian foreign policy and the Liz Cheney neoconservatives who support a Jacksonian foreign policy. There is also a divide about immigration which is between those who are the economic Libertarians who support reforming immigration laws and the nativist who oppose reforming immigration laws. There is also the divide between the socially liberal Libertarians and the social conservatives. However, the focus of the Tea Party movement has always been on fiscal policy, and on limiting the scope of government.
Whether or not the Tea Party movement will have a significant impact on electoral politics remains to be seen. It is likely that the movement will have an impact in more conservative areas of the country and in Republican primaries. However, it is unlikely that it will have a significant impact during the general election, and probably little impact during the presidential election. The reason is simply because the people within the movement are not a persuadable group of voters; the vast majority of people within the movement are staunchly conservative are unlikely to vote for candidates that they perceive as not being conservative. To put it another way, they are not the undecides. Another reason that they will probably not have a consequential impact on electoral politics is because they do not have significant organizational structure in which to pursue a political agenda. They may become an important constituent of the Republican Party and through the party they may be able to shape the political agenda. But to truly wield political power through a grassroots organization you need tremendous organizational support, and the Tea Party movement has either been unable or unwilling to organize in a way to be a factor in electoral politics.
Many political observers have described the Tea Party movement as a reaction to the Presidency of Barack Obama. However, I would contend that the movement is a reaction to several events, and it all begins with Ronald Reagan. The Reagan Revolution made movement conservatives the dominant ideological group within the Republican Party, and it helped create a deeper and wider ideological and political divide in the country. The Contract with America exploited those divides and widened the ideological and political divide. Then the permanent Republican majority took power when President George W. Bush was elected. During his first term President Bush governed to the far right, and supported the idea that they could continue to govern to the far right and win elections. However, during his second term a confluence of events conspired to create an atmosphere that would create the reaction we see as the Tea Party movement. The Bush Administration governed to the right of center, the Democrats then took control of the Congress, and then Barack Obama took control of the White House. The public's changing view on social issues, an unpopular war and the economic downturn all contributed to these events. After three decades of ever growing influence, the conservative right found themselves going from the most influential portion of the American electorate to having virtual no influence within a matter of a few years.
Those within the movement feel that they have been unfairly portrayed, and that they have been made out to be intolerant, homophobic, and racist. Like any political movement there is a radical fringe, and it is true that the majority of the people at Tea Parties are not being overtly racist. However, a University of Washington poll reveals that those that identify as strongly supporting the Tea Party movement are more likely to have negative views of African-Americans, Latinos, and immigrants than those who strongly disprove of the Tea Party movement. Despite this, those within the Tea Party movement will vehemently deny any elements of racism. If the lack diversity within the Tea Party movement is mentioned then many within the movement with frame those who are pointing out the lack of diversity as racist themselves.
The Tea Party movement is a health part of the democratic process, and most of the people within the movement have legitimate concerns, but it is difficult for me not notice that there are underlying motivations. Most of the people within the Tea Party movement view racism as being individual acts of prejudice; there is a denial that systemic institutionalized racism exists in America. After all we are the land of the free, and anyone can make it if only the pull themselves up by their bootstraps. They will point to anecdotal evidence of the lack of racism in America the success of individual people of color as proof of equal opportunity. This is the basis of the disconnect. People within the movement rant against socialism and distribution of wealth without that the current distribution of wealth is concentrated in the top 1% of America and that majority of that top 1% of America is white. There are those within the movement that criticize social welfare programs such as welfare and Medicaid, but those same people will defend social welfare programs such as Social Security and Medicare. When I listen to the people in the Tea Party movement at the tall hall meetings and when I see them at the protests, I see and hear people that are frustrated with the current economic situation and who are apprehensive of the changing taking place in America. However, behind those frustrations and apprehensions is ignorance to the realities that many Americans face. This ignorance is fueled by privilege, and this privilege is the basis for a reactionary movement known as the Tea Party.
