It started as a sort of political joke. A year later, it's still a joke, but one that people are taking seriously. The Tea Party movement, initially ignited when Obama took office, is gaining power. Initially anti-establishment, they are now trying to take over the establishment from the ground up. Many members are signing up to be Republican precinct leaders, giving them the power to vote for executives who endorse candidates, approve platforms, and allocate party funds. They've even created the National Precinct Alliance whose primary objective is to take policy gridlock to the local level. Oh, excuse me, they actually only want to take over the Republican party by forcing it to nominate ultra-conservatives instead of the moderates who are more representative of what the majority of people support. They view the Democrats as socialists and the Republicans as their enablers. If they fail in taking over the Republican party, there's talk that they'll run a third party candidate in 2012.
Fortunately, overall support for the movement is weak. They cater to the fringe of the very right. Their rally cry is "No more NY 23s." (in reference to a special election held in New York's 23 congressional district in which party leaders chose to field a moderate) How catchy. Furthermore, in a recent candidate forum, a great deal of incompetence was exposed. Candidates were asked to explain what the 10th amendment is and identify instances when the government has violated. Few could. One simply exclaimed, "It's my favorite amendment. I can't believe it." Believe what? Who knows. They exhibited a similar lack of knowledge on other key issues. For example, when asked about their stance on climate change, one candidate said that he doesn't believe in global warming, but couldn't explain why. Despite the fact that it is essentially retarded, the Tea Party movement has gained momentum and support from extreme Republicans as well as some radical Independents. If nothing else, it's not a bad way to let the public let off some unfounded, ill-informed steam. However, if the movement is able to accomplish its goals, it could severely undermine Obama's agenda and anticipated reelection bid. Even if the movement is not successful in taking over the Republican party or running a candidate, they still have the potential of stealing the support of independents- something that Obama desperately needs. Furthermore, they have the ability to misinform voters and manipulate public opinion- which has the potential to pose a significant threat to the president, particularly with the upcoming 2010 elections.
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