Taking Over the Tea Party Movement

This morning, I heard a radio political advertisement for one of our local candidates who claimed he was endorsed by the Tea Party. When I heard that, I wondered who he was talking about. The advertisement included a gentleman that stated that he was the President of a Local Tea Party. That surprised me even more, but at the same time I thought it was also predictable.

When Americans first came out in force across the country to express their frustration with politicians in general, you can be sure that some politicians are going to want to jump on that bandwagon. The Tea Party movement was never a political party, but rather an outpouring of expression from citizens of many persuasions. They were simply trying to be heard in Washington and make a tone deaf Congress and Administration sit up and take notice. This was a rebellion against government intrusion and self serving politicians. This was the people's movement, not the politicians.

Now we see individuals gathering to take advantage of that public emotion and frustration. They are meeting together, forming small groups that call themselves the Tea Party, electing leaders, and now endorsing candidates as though they represented the sentiments of all of those that came out to the Tea Party movement gatherings. It is almost the same thing that many citizens were rebelling against in the first place.

In my view, the last thing we need in this country is another political party with a new agenda of their own. We have difficulty trying to sort out the politics of a two party system. The greatest problem with multiple parties is the same one with which Europe constantly struggles. Multi party systems split the vote of the citizens so that a majority is seldom ever achieved. Because of that, the majority never feels that they are represented and thet don't' agree on most policies.

While it is possible that the Tea Party movement could evolve into a political party, it is highly doubtful that it would ever become a major party. As soon as it becomes a party, much of its support will disappear from those who were protesting that very idea of it. However, strange things happen in the world of politics. Creating a new party would only undermine the ability to unseat the power structure that they are fighting against. There is not enough support in the nation to elect a majority of 3rd Party candidates that would be required in order to control the committees and chair positions. It would only take some seats from both Democrats and Republicans, but the control would remain where it is today. That is to the advantage of the Democrats and they are not oblivious to that fact. I suggest that those who support the Tea Party movement should focus on changing control of Congress and the Administration first, before deciding whether we need additional political parties.