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Rick Santelli of CNBC gave rise to the Tea Party, with his call for a New Chicago Tea Party on the floor of the CBOT (in 2009). Everyone tries to lay claim to having "started" the Tea Party, but give credit where credit is due...to Rick Santelli.

That sounds great and inspiring, but it's not true. In 2007 and 2008, several friends and I attended Ron Paul events and fundraisers, where they were calling it "the rise of a new tea party." Even Juan Williams reluctantly admitted on FOX News that the Tea Party movement emerged from the ashes of Ron Paul's 2008 presidential primary campaign.

And in August of 2008, ChicagoTeaParty.com was registered by Zack Christenson, producer for conservative talk show host Milt Rosenberg.

And on January 24, 2009, the Young Americans for Liberty in New York State organized a "Tea Party" to protest obesity taxes proposed by New York Governor David Paterson and call for fiscal responsibility on the part of the government. Several of the protesters wore Native American headdresses similar to the band of 18th century colonists who dumped tea in Boston Harbor to express outrage about British taxes.

Santelli's rant was not until February 19, 2009.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2194528/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2196650/posts

Ron Paul may have re-grabbed the tea party moniker in ‘07, but it was Rick Santelli and his frustration-rant that sparked the rise of “The” Tea Party as we knew and know it.

The first “Tea Party” rallies were on February 27th 2009 after his rant, Santelli got the ball rolling, he may have had knowledge of the Ron Paul Tea Party when he had his rant but most people who are ‘Tea Partiers’, when it started in 2009, didn’t associate those rallies with him. They were bigger than him.

In looking back at the first post above I can see that ChicagoTeaParty did jump on the band wagon after Santelli’s tv appearance - and it went national - but these weren’t Ron Paul rallies, even though there may have been Ron Paul supporters in the crowds.

(And back to On-Topic - South Park Rules :))

That's great. Paul was really effective in getting that message out, wasn't he? The first I (or pretty much anyone else) heard of anything related to the Tea Party was Santelli's rant...following which the movement exploded.

So...who gave rise to the Tea Party? The blathering, ineffective, uninspiring, mayonnaise-sandwich-on-white-bread pundits that do nothing but feed their own egos, or a man speaking with true conviction and passion, who inspired people to take action?

Rick Santelli gave rise to the Tea Party. We need more Santellis and a helluva lot less mayo sandwiches.

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!