Organization of the Tea Party

There is a general impression that either the Tea Party is this monolithic organization, run by some nefarious gnomes or 10,000 individual groups with little interaction. I keep hearing that they are loonies or Libertarians, Republican operatives, Nazis, normal people etc. There are as many definition of a Tea Party member as there are groups.

I personally divide the Tea Party into six groups. I find the groups are the real Tea Party people, the Libertarian wing, social issues group, the RWANs (Republicans with another name), the fringe groups and the politicos. People will fit into one or more groups, but generally I think they break down like this.

The Tea Party generally goes with three philosophies: Fiscal Responsibility, Limited Government and Free Markets. It will depend on who is speaking as to they accept all three as well as interpretations of the philosophy. Some would say it is different emphasis rather than rejection of some, but in what I’ve seen, they are very different groups.

The original Tea Party people really take their beliefs in the fiscal responsibility and the Taxed Enough Already concept. They do believe in smaller government and free market, but as the rant by Santelli exclaimed that they were tired of paying for other people’s mistakes. These original Tea Party people are probably the majority of the movement. They are the angry voters that are tired of Bush and now Obama’s views of taxation or at least the perceived view of taxation. They are also the lesser known of the groups because they are not as visible or vocal and they also are more moderate than other groups in looking at the span of the different organizations. This group is not as active in social issues, like abortion and gay rights, and is more right of center than far right. They do not necessarily believe in a totally free market, but look at over-regulation as bad.

Libertarian wing of the Tea Party is to take the limited government and free markets as more important than fiscal responsibility. They want the government to ‘keep their hands off of my stack’ and stay out of their business. These people are the pro-legalization of marijuana, very very small government types. This group is very pro-individual freedom and for less is more. They would be necessarily pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, pro-legalization of soft drugs, pro-immigration reform, anti-taxation and view fiscal responsibility as control of the size and scope of government. They are also less interested in military might and see a smaller military, since a draft and war usually mean that individual freedoms are compromised.

The social issues group is the anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage, anti-gays in the military, pro-Christian evangelicalism group. They are not as interested in the limited government as much as making the government do what they want to do, such as write laws to keep women from getting abortions. This group is more or less the Evangelical movement of the old Republican party. They have less interest in the size of government, but are interested in getting the government back to what it perceives as a Christian system. They view the role of the military much like the old Republican party, but want to choose which missions so that they can push their agendas.

RWANs are Republicans with another name. They are the right wing Republicans who worship Reagan and want to go back to those glory years. These are the old white rich people who were in power at one time and have seen their thinking moved on by the Neo-Cons and the moderates in the Republican party. They are for smaller government and fiscal responsibility by lowering the deficit as traditionally defined by the Republican Party. However, they believe in a strong military presence and are willing to wage war to keep America safe.

The fringe groups make up a small percentage, but are the ones most photographed. These are the birthers, the 10thers, the 14thers, racists, LaRouchies, probably a few neo-nazis and the like. These people see the chance to expand their base and get their message to the media in a way that is more mainstream than they could before. And as these people get their message out there, some people have picked up on it like Lou Dobbs and use it either as a way to create news or to push their message. They aren’t necessarily interested in taxation, social issues or limiting government. However, they make great television.

The politicos are the smallest group to me, but the most powerful. These are Michelle Bachman, Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, Jim DeMint, Dick Army and others. They are the ones that have seen a parade starting and have jumped in front, hoping to be the leader. There are other politicians that have tried to adapt, like John McCain. There are also the members of the Republican Party that are working with the groups like the Evangelicals to help craft a message. The Tea Party may not have a person deigned to be in charge, but as with any group or groups, there are people who are ‘helping’ craft the message, like Dick Army and Jim DeMint who I believe view the Tea Party as a chance to flex power by creating a voting bloc rather than accepting their message. Without a doubt, Fox News and Rupert Murdock have an interest in creating a voting bloc to push his agenda through. Politicos are more interested in leading than crafting the message. They follow the pack rather than leading it ideologically. However, since they have air time and are articulate, they can appear to be leading the ideology by playing up an idea to the base. They are not interested in fiscal responsibility, free markets, or limited government other than to morph themselves into the message.

People may belong to many groups. Some may even identify themselves as a Tea Party and not really be in any group, because they find a niche that appeals to them. However, to assume they are a unified group is wrong. Again, ask them about legalization of marijuana, reinstatement of the draft, or the role of the US as a world power. Unless they are all from the same church, the same Tea Party group, etc, I think you will get varied opinions.