The Tea Party movement was a remarkable happening. It was started in February 2009 with a rant by a Chicago bond trader. But what remains of this movement today largely backs the OPPOSITE of the reforms that drove the 2009 Tea Party phenomenon.
Today’s Tea Party (what’s left of it) has little interest in the Constitution, or the safeguards incorporated in this fine document. Today the Tea Party movement is deader than a door nail.
The idea of a new Tea Party was started by Congressman Ron Paul in the end 2007, during his remarkable, Quixotic run for President. It was less a movement than a vehicle for Dr. Paul’s campaign, with the expected limited government themes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bNiDx7qTjA
But as a MOVEMENT, it didn’t catch on until 2009. Here’s a pretty good Wikipedia summary of the Tea Party:
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The Tea Party movement is an American political movement known for its conservative positions and its role in the Republican Party. Members of the movement have called for a reduction of the U.S. national debt and federal budget deficit by reducing government spending, and for lower taxes.[1][2] The movement opposes government-sponsored universal healthcare[3] and has been described as a mixture of libertarian,[4] populist,[5] and conservative activists.[6] It has sponsored multiple protests and supported various political candidates since 2009.[7][8][9] Various polls have found that slightly over 10% of Americans identify as members.[10]
The movement began following Barack Obama’s first presidential inauguration (in January 2009) when his administration announced plans to give financial aid to bankrupt homeowners. Following calls by Rick Santelli for a “tea party” by Chicago bond-dealers,[11][12] conservative groups coalesced around the idea of protesting against Obama’s agenda and a series of protests took place, including the 2009 Taxpayer March on Washington. Supporters of the movement subsequently had a major impact on the internal politics of the Republican Party.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Party_movement
This political movement had a strong limited government component, a deep distrust of central planning emanating out of DC. High taxes and deficit spending were core concerns. Today these are non-issues.
Donald Trump has demonstrated that, while the frustration with politics runs deep, the limited government option has become increasingly unattractive to Americans. Strong government run by strong people (ideally a strong man or woman that the electorate trusts) has greater appeal. This is the most unsettling aspect of Trumpism.
The parallels with other civilized countries who came under the spell of such tyrannical strong men is disconcerting, to say the least. Germany and Austria embracing Hitler in the 1930’s. Italy under Mussolini. Juan Peron in Argentina. The committed socialist dictators of Venezuela. All rose to power via the ballot box.
This American trend is even more disturbing when one realizes that if it wasn’t Trump, a very large segment of the population would be equally pleased to back any other strong persona who promised to “Make America Great Again” — an unnerving parallel with what Hitler promised the Germans as he rose to power.
Of course, the left has similar tendencies to want even more central control of everyone’s lives. Witness the amazing support for self-proclaimed Socialist Bernie Sanders over watered-down socialist Hilary Clinton.
Today the Tea Party is a social conservative movement, with a strong anti-foreigner priority. There is zero interest in limiting the power of government — only in USING that power for the “right” purposes. Economic issues are of little interest on the Tea Party website and Facebook pages.
Think not? I post from time on the “Facebook Tea Party” group. It claims over 35,000 members. I put up economic posts that SHOULD be of interest to the original Tea Party supporters. But my posts draw little in the way of comments, and — more important — are the ONLY economic posts supporting free markets, limited government, lower taxes, reducing the welfare state and balancing the budget.
While there’s a fire hose gush of OTHER posts (mostly attacking or touting different candidates, or trashing foreigners and Obama), my economic posts seem misplaced on this board. While there are still pockets of limited government support seen in today’s Tea Party meetings, they stand out as odd exceptions.
I’m not optimistic. Perhaps in order for things to get better, they first have to get worse. But of course, when things get worse, it’s equally likely that the voters will double-down on the failed policies that aren’t working and are CAUSING the problems. Economic literacy is in short supply in America.