The Tea Party

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This research paper analyzes the effectiveness of the Tea Party movement to bring about political and social change. The research is based on 5 scholarly sources that study the origin, make up, means and ends of the Tea Party as both a social and political movement. The Who Wants to Have a Tea Party: The Who, the What and the Why of the Tea Party Movement by Kevin Arceneaux and Stephen P. Nicholson look into the make-up of the Tea Party supporters, identify the attitudes of Tea Party supporters on fiscal, social, and racial policies . The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism examines the effect of the Tea Party movement on the Republic Party and Obama’s presidency. Tea Time in America? The Impact of the Tea Party Movement on the 2010 Midterm Elections examines the impact of the Tea Party movement on the 2010 midterm elections and the relationship between the Republican Party and supporters of the Tea Party in two key senate races. Reading the Tea Leaves: An Analysis of Tea Party Behavior Inside and Outside of the House examines the votes of those associated with the Tea Party to determine whether there is a distinction between Tea Party and Republicans. Lastly, various articles chronicling the Tea Party movement from various news outlets are also incorporated.
I argue that the Tea Party movement is politically effective, evidenced by its strong influence within the house, its ability to impede legislation, and its strong media presence. Socially, the Tea Party movement has been able to catch nationwide attention and over exposure due to its very influential members, albeit constituting a small percentage of the population.
Who is the Tea Party?
When the Tea Party movement first emerged, “in protest of the econo...

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...roups, a co-optable communications network and capable leaders; lastly, the Tea Party movement benefits from capable leaders, frames from the news and the creation of a mobilizing frame. The most critical factors of the Tea Party are news coverage and elite business interest that support the Tea Party, or pursuant to Dobson’s factors of what works: prosperity, a mobilizing frame and frames from the news, which I will elaborate on later. The Tea Party as a movement has been successful at few strategies that Meyer and Slaggenberg highlight: influence policy, alter political alignments, raise the public profile and salience of particular issues, create collective action frames, demonstrate the efficacy of various political action, and most importantly draw media attention that activates balancing norms in mainstream media, and create or magnify critical events.

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