In a nation where many people
don’t know what to think
about politics, or even care
about politics, a new political
party has emerged from seemingly
out of nowhere.
The Tea Party is a new political
party that has really
become popular, especially
with very noticeable names
jumping onto the bandwagon.
Fox News host Glenn Beck is a
big name who backs this
extremely conservative group,
but a bigger name behind this
political movement is former
vice presidential candidate
Sarah Palin.
Greg Pezza, a political science
professor at Bucks, says
that not only does Palin back
them, but they back her as
well.
Pezza says, “Glenn Beck is
one man that backs up the Tea
Party, but Sarah Palin is like a
hero to them.”
We know some background
of the Tea Party, and people
who back up this party, but
what exactly is the Tea Party?
“What is the Tea Party is not
an easy question to answer.
They were originally conservatives
that were left behind by
the Republican Party. They
became angry and started in a
disorganized fashion. They
actually had a bus that went
around making stops to try and
spread the movement called
the Tea Party Express,” Pezza
says. “The Tea Party is the
loudest of all politicians, making
up about 10-15 percent of
Republicans.”
So should Democrats be
worried about this movement?
Pezza thinks not.
“The Tea Party is not a big
problem for the Democratic
Party. It would actually be a
bigger problem for the
Republican Party, because they
would be taking votes away
from the Republicans and not
the Democrats.”
The Tea Party is on the right
of the political spectrum.
Liberals are to the left and conservatives
are on the right, and
most Americans fall somewhere
in the middle. The Tea
Party is far-right.
Ok, now we know what
exactly the Tea Party is, but
why the name? What made
them name themselves the Tea
Party?
Pezza explains, “They got
the name From the Boston Tea
Party. They want to lower
taxes just like the tea party
back then did not want taxes.”
What are their goals? Pezza
explains, “Simple, less taxes,
less government spending and
more morals I would say.”
But just how fast is this party
spreading throughout the
nation? Extremely fast is the
answer. They started in the
summer of 2009 with the Tea
Party Express and now Tea
Party candidates are wining
primaries in some states with
the midterms just days away.
The state of Delaware
watched Tea Party member
Christine O’Donnell upset veteran
representative Mike
Castle in the Republican primary
for U.S. Senate. This was
seen as a major sign that the
Tea Party was going mainstream.
New York’s Carl
Paladino defeated former
Representative Rick Lazio in
the Republican primary for
governor, and Sharron Angle
won the U.S. Senate
Republican primary race,
defeating the GOP favorite,
Sue Lowden in Nevada.
For more information on
what the Tea Party is and
events in your area, go to
http://www.teapartypatriots.
org/.