What is the 'tea party' and how is it shaking up American politics?

csmonitor ^ | September 15, 2010 | Brad Knickerbocker

[JoeProBono]

In recent months, the "tea party" movement has swept across the political landscape, sending shivers through both major political parties and shaking up this year’s midterm elections.

What began as a minor insurgency featuring protesters waving signs of dubious syntax, followed by racially tinged conspiracies about President Obama’s lineage and religion and ostentatiously displayed firearms – and cheered on by some conservative commentators and bloggers – is now winning elections that could determine the balance of power in the US Congress. (The main question here is, does the trend favor Republicans or Democrats?)

There is no such thing as the “tea party.” It is not organized as such, and in fact the movement in some sense is antiparty – even though most of its political pot-stirring has been within the GOP......

[JoeProBono]

[tennmountainman]

TO CS Monitor

Go ask Mike Castle or Karl Rove.

They should be able to tell you.

[vpintheak]

This whole “It favors the democrats” thing is a bunch of crap. We will see all you party establishment hacks, we will see.

[broken_arrow1]

Be afraid Congress. Be very afraid... (TeeHeeHee)

[AngelesCrestHighway]

The Tea Party is all of us who are sick and tired of government as usual from both democrats and republicans!

[E. Pluribus Unum]

The Tea Party exists wherever the voters steal an election from the ruling class.

[AngelesCrestHighway]

"We will see all you party establishment hacks, we will see."......

[ez]

The “Taxed Enough Already” movement took initial aim at federal government attempts to bail out and then stimulate a faltering economy – attempts that had begun during the Bush administration Dempocrat Congress

There...that's mo' better.

[ez]

The “Taxed Enough Already” movement took initial aim at federal government attempts to bail out and then stimulate a faltering economy – attempts that had begun during the Bush administration Democrat Congress

There...that's mo' better.

[JoeProBono]

[La Lydia]

This article sounds like it was written by Iowahawk’s T. Coddington Van Voorhees VII on a bad day.

[Eldon Tyrell]

Look at the bias in the article - implied racism, etc. Just keeping to their theme.

Then - fun to read the facebook comments. Bunch of libtard “friends” of CSM making fools of themselves, name calling tea party members, the usual “progressive” immature imagination that they are smarter than tea partiers, etc.

It borders on disturbing to read the comments - the extent of the “progressive” modern weirdness.

Said differently - Tea PArtiers labelled as racists and extremists - Code Pink? Pretend it is mainstream. The President is long term als with Bill Ayers and Rev Wright - and conservatives are labelled as “extreme”?

I think many of them truly believe Obama is smart. Dementia.

[SuziQ]

What began as a minor insurgency featuring protesters waving signs of dubious syntax, followed by racially tinged conspiracies about President Obama’s lineage and religion and ostentatiously displayed firearms – and cheered on by some conservative commentators and bloggers...

He's not condescending at all, is he? /s