Christopher S. Parker and Matt A. Barreto
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691163611
- eISBN:
- 9781400852314
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691163611.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This chapter situates the Tea Party movement in historical context and proposes a theory of why people support it. It argues that one of the reasons why some people are sympathetic to the goals and ...
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This chapter situates the Tea Party movement in historical context and proposes a theory of why people support it. It argues that one of the reasons why some people are sympathetic to the goals and objectives of the Tea Party rests upon their discomfort with Barack Obama as the president. Similar to the Ku Klux Klan, who believed that Jews, Catholics, and blacks threatened to subvert the America to which they had become accustomed, so too is this the case with the Tea Party and Obama. To the Tea Party supporters, Obama represents a threat to the America they have come to know, in which American identity is commensurate with being white, male, native-born, English-speaking, Christian, and heterosexual.Less
This chapter situates the Tea Party movement in historical context and proposes a theory of why people support it. It argues that one of the reasons why some people are sympathetic to the goals and objectives of the Tea Party rests upon their discomfort with Barack Obama as the president. Similar to the Ku Klux Klan, who believed that Jews, Catholics, and blacks threatened to subvert the America to which they had become accustomed, so too is this the case with the Tea Party and Obama. To the Tea Party supporters, Obama represents a threat to the America they have come to know, in which American identity is commensurate with being white, male, native-born, English-speaking, Christian, and heterosexual.
Christopher S. Parker and Matt A. Barreto
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691163611
- eISBN:
- 9781400852314
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691163611.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This chapter tests the claim that Barack Obama, and what he is perceived to represent, plays a key role in why people support the Tea Party. The change represented by the election of Barack Obama ...
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This chapter tests the claim that Barack Obama, and what he is perceived to represent, plays a key role in why people support the Tea Party. The change represented by the election of Barack Obama increases the attractiveness of the Tea Party to the mainly white, middle-aged, middle-class, relatively well-educated, largely male slice of America who believe he is committed to the destruction of “their” country. Tea Party supporters tend to be relatively financially secure, white, mostly male, and Protestant—many of whom are evangelicals. In the end, sympathy for the Tea Party is generally motivated by conservative principles as well as out-group hostility. Critics, however, claim that the Tea Party is driven by intolerance.Less
This chapter tests the claim that Barack Obama, and what he is perceived to represent, plays a key role in why people support the Tea Party. The change represented by the election of Barack Obama increases the attractiveness of the Tea Party to the mainly white, middle-aged, middle-class, relatively well-educated, largely male slice of America who believe he is committed to the destruction of “their” country. Tea Party supporters tend to be relatively financially secure, white, mostly male, and Protestant—many of whom are evangelicals. In the end, sympathy for the Tea Party is generally motivated by conservative principles as well as out-group hostility. Critics, however, claim that the Tea Party is driven by intolerance.
Christopher S. Parker and Matt A. Barreto
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691163611
- eISBN:
- 9781400852314
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691163611.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This chapter analyzes claims made by the Tea Party's critics, who argue that the movement is one rooted in bigotry. The minority and immigrant population in America has grown dramatically, eventually ...
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This chapter analyzes claims made by the Tea Party's critics, who argue that the movement is one rooted in bigotry. The minority and immigrant population in America has grown dramatically, eventually leading to the election of many prominent African American, Latino, and Asian American candidates to office. At the same time, minority groups have continued to promote equal rights, especially civil rights for a range of groups, including racial/ethnic minorities, women, and sexual minorities. Yet, American history is filled with periods during which increasing visibility and calls for equal treatment among out-groups has been repeatedly met with opposition from dominant groups. The chapter calls into question whether or not Tea Party supporters see all Americans as equal members of society entitled to the same access to the American dream.Less
This chapter analyzes claims made by the Tea Party's critics, who argue that the movement is one rooted in bigotry. The minority and immigrant population in America has grown dramatically, eventually leading to the election of many prominent African American, Latino, and Asian American candidates to office. At the same time, minority groups have continued to promote equal rights, especially civil rights for a range of groups, including racial/ethnic minorities, women, and sexual minorities. Yet, American history is filled with periods during which increasing visibility and calls for equal treatment among out-groups has been repeatedly met with opposition from dominant groups. The chapter calls into question whether or not Tea Party supporters see all Americans as equal members of society entitled to the same access to the American dream.
Christopher S. Parker and Matt A. Barreto
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691163611
- eISBN:
- 9781400852314
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691163611.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This chapter considers the extent to which a positive orientation toward the Tea Party influences attitudes and opinions about the president beyond ideology, partisanship, general out-group ...
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This chapter considers the extent to which a positive orientation toward the Tea Party influences attitudes and opinions about the president beyond ideology, partisanship, general out-group hostility, and racism. It argues that Barack Obama's ascendance to the White House, and his subsequent presidency, triggered anxiety, fear, and anger among those who support the Tea Party because of what he represented: tangible evidence that “their” America is rapidly becoming unrecognizable. Even as Tea Party supporters railed against government spending, it seemed that their underlying frustration was with Barack Obama himself. This so called Obamaphobia appears to transcend simple policy disagreement, with many Tea Party supporters openly questioning the president's patriotism and his American citizenship on several occasions.Less
This chapter considers the extent to which a positive orientation toward the Tea Party influences attitudes and opinions about the president beyond ideology, partisanship, general out-group hostility, and racism. It argues that Barack Obama's ascendance to the White House, and his subsequent presidency, triggered anxiety, fear, and anger among those who support the Tea Party because of what he represented: tangible evidence that “their” America is rapidly becoming unrecognizable. Even as Tea Party supporters railed against government spending, it seemed that their underlying frustration was with Barack Obama himself. This so called Obamaphobia appears to transcend simple policy disagreement, with many Tea Party supporters openly questioning the president's patriotism and his American citizenship on several occasions.
Christopher S. Parker and Matt A. Barreto
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691163611
- eISBN:
- 9781400852314
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691163611.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This introductory chapter considers how people are driven to support the Tea Party from the anxiety they feel as they perceive the America they know is slipping away, threatened by the rapidly ...
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This introductory chapter considers how people are driven to support the Tea Party from the anxiety they feel as they perceive the America they know is slipping away, threatened by the rapidly changing face of what they believe is the “real” America: a heterosexual, Christian, middle-class (mostly) male, white country. The Tea Party's emergence is the latest in a series of national right-wing social movements that have cropped up in America since the nineteenth century. This chapter argues that support for the Tea Party is motivated by something beyond the more conventional view of conservatism in which economic freedom and small government, as well as social and fiscal responsibility, are prized. Instead, people who are attracted to the Tea Party are reactionary conservatives: people who fear change of any kind.Less
This introductory chapter considers how people are driven to support the Tea Party from the anxiety they feel as they perceive the America they know is slipping away, threatened by the rapidly changing face of what they believe is the “real” America: a heterosexual, Christian, middle-class (mostly) male, white country. The Tea Party's emergence is the latest in a series of national right-wing social movements that have cropped up in America since the nineteenth century. This chapter argues that support for the Tea Party is motivated by something beyond the more conventional view of conservatism in which economic freedom and small government, as well as social and fiscal responsibility, are prized. Instead, people who are attracted to the Tea Party are reactionary conservatives: people who fear change of any kind.
Christopher S. Parker and Matt A. Barreto
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691163611
- eISBN:
- 9781400852314
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691163611.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This chapter examines the ways in which the Tea Party informs political attitudes and behavior. It begins by looking at how closely people who sympathize with the Tea Party adhere to themes that the ...
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This chapter examines the ways in which the Tea Party informs political attitudes and behavior. It begins by looking at how closely people who sympathize with the Tea Party adhere to themes that the movement often promotes: patriotism and freedom. Tea Party websites and rallies are often rife with patriotic imagery, including the American and Gadsden flags. While it is true that people who call themselves patriots take pride in wearing and displaying the flag, more authentic patriotism transcends simple displays of patriotic symbols. Patriotism instead, is more about putting the interests of the community or country before self. The chapter uses patriotism as a means of forcing a trade-off: freedom versus equality.Less
This chapter examines the ways in which the Tea Party informs political attitudes and behavior. It begins by looking at how closely people who sympathize with the Tea Party adhere to themes that the movement often promotes: patriotism and freedom. Tea Party websites and rallies are often rife with patriotic imagery, including the American and Gadsden flags. While it is true that people who call themselves patriots take pride in wearing and displaying the flag, more authentic patriotism transcends simple displays of patriotic symbols. Patriotism instead, is more about putting the interests of the community or country before self. The chapter uses patriotism as a means of forcing a trade-off: freedom versus equality.
Christopher S. Parker and Matt A. Barreto
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691163611
- eISBN:
- 9781400852314
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691163611.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This chapter evaluates the proposition that the Tea Party promotes political mobilization beyond other factors known to promote activism. It appears as though the Tea Party and its supporters have ...
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This chapter evaluates the proposition that the Tea Party promotes political mobilization beyond other factors known to promote activism. It appears as though the Tea Party and its supporters have the potential to convert their sentiments into public policy. The principal vehicle for doing this is through political mobilization, pressuring public officials to represent one's interests. Social movements exist not just to bring attention to their issue, but also to capture the attention of public officials, often by promising to elect or eject from office key allies and opponents. Based on their activism and political success in 2010, the Tea Party appears to be the most recent exemplar of the type of social movement capable of sparking political participation.Less
This chapter evaluates the proposition that the Tea Party promotes political mobilization beyond other factors known to promote activism. It appears as though the Tea Party and its supporters have the potential to convert their sentiments into public policy. The principal vehicle for doing this is through political mobilization, pressuring public officials to represent one's interests. Social movements exist not just to bring attention to their issue, but also to capture the attention of public officials, often by promising to elect or eject from office key allies and opponents. Based on their activism and political success in 2010, the Tea Party appears to be the most recent exemplar of the type of social movement capable of sparking political participation.
Christopher S. Parker and Matt A. Barreto
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691163611
- eISBN:
- 9781400852314
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691163611.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This concluding chapter discusses how the Tea Party remains an important player in American politics and a subject of great national interest. Since relatively few people ever become an official ...
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This concluding chapter discusses how the Tea Party remains an important player in American politics and a subject of great national interest. Since relatively few people ever become an official member of a social movement, this study focuses on the attitudes and behavior of Tea Party sympathizers, instead of the members and organizers themselves. The chapter argues that out-group hostility and adherence to conservative principles are not the only ways of understanding why people are sympathetic to the aims of the Tea Party. The movement is also associated with social change perceived as subversion. Support for the Tea Party is really a proxy for reactionary conservatism, which provides a different motivation for various attitudes and behavior associated with current political and policy issues.Less
This concluding chapter discusses how the Tea Party remains an important player in American politics and a subject of great national interest. Since relatively few people ever become an official member of a social movement, this study focuses on the attitudes and behavior of Tea Party sympathizers, instead of the members and organizers themselves. The chapter argues that out-group hostility and adherence to conservative principles are not the only ways of understanding why people are sympathetic to the aims of the Tea Party. The movement is also associated with social change perceived as subversion. Support for the Tea Party is really a proxy for reactionary conservatism, which provides a different motivation for various attitudes and behavior associated with current political and policy issues.
Devin Burghart
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780520274228
- eISBN:
- 9780520954106
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520274228.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This chapter discusses the six national organizational networks at the core of the Tea Party movement: FreedomWorks, 1776 Tea Party, Tea Party Nation, Tea Party Patriots, Patriot Action Network ...
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This chapter discusses the six national organizational networks at the core of the Tea Party movement: FreedomWorks, 1776 Tea Party, Tea Party Nation, Tea Party Patriots, Patriot Action Network (formerly known as ResistNet), and Tea Party Express. It documents the corporate structures and leaderships, finances, and membership concentrations of each faction. An understanding of the movement's structure provides a view into the larger politics that motivate each faction and the Tea Party movement generally. Analysis of membership data shows that the core organizations are continuing to grow. The Tea Party movement is not going away, and members can be expected to have a continuing impact on public policy debate in the future. It should not be expected, however, for the Tea Party movement to have the same organizational configurations well into an indefinite future.Less
This chapter discusses the six national organizational networks at the core of the Tea Party movement: FreedomWorks, 1776 Tea Party, Tea Party Nation, Tea Party Patriots, Patriot Action Network (formerly known as ResistNet), and Tea Party Express. It documents the corporate structures and leaderships, finances, and membership concentrations of each faction. An understanding of the movement's structure provides a view into the larger politics that motivate each faction and the Tea Party movement generally. Analysis of membership data shows that the core organizations are continuing to grow. The Tea Party movement is not going away, and members can be expected to have a continuing impact on public policy debate in the future. It should not be expected, however, for the Tea Party movement to have the same organizational configurations well into an indefinite future.
Clarence Y. H. Lo
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780520274228
- eISBN:
- 9780520954106
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520274228.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This chapter takes on the much-disputed question of whether the Tea Party is Astroturf or grassroots. The Astroturf metaphor asserts that conservative leadership organizations provided resources, ...
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This chapter takes on the much-disputed question of whether the Tea Party is Astroturf or grassroots. The Astroturf metaphor asserts that conservative leadership organizations provided resources, direction, and standardized messages that were crucial in instigating Tea Party protests. The grass roots metaphor is a claim that the Tea Party resembles iconic phenomena such as the New England town hall meeting, the Iowa caucuses, or the clandestine collective action of the American Revolution. Both metaphors contain at least a grain of truth. In its initial stage, the Tea Party was Astroturf—grassroots contrivance; in a second stage, however, the grass roots developed an autonomy (both strategically and organizationally) that revitalized the Republican Party.Less
This chapter takes on the much-disputed question of whether the Tea Party is Astroturf or grassroots. The Astroturf metaphor asserts that conservative leadership organizations provided resources, direction, and standardized messages that were crucial in instigating Tea Party protests. The grass roots metaphor is a claim that the Tea Party resembles iconic phenomena such as the New England town hall meeting, the Iowa caucuses, or the clandestine collective action of the American Revolution. Both metaphors contain at least a grain of truth. In its initial stage, the Tea Party was Astroturf—grassroots contrivance; in a second stage, however, the grass roots developed an autonomy (both strategically and organizationally) that revitalized the Republican Party.
Melissa Deckman
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781479837137
- eISBN:
- 9781479833870
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9781479837137.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This chapter introduces the women who make up the leadership of national Tea Party groups as well as the role other conservative women are playing in the Tea Party. This chapter also provides a look ...
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This chapter introduces the women who make up the leadership of national Tea Party groups as well as the role other conservative women are playing in the Tea Party. This chapter also provides a look at Tea Party women nationally through PRRI data, demonstrating how Tea Party women differ from Republican women who do not identify with the Tea Party and other American women. It also examines the roots of women’s support for the Tea Party compared with men.Less
This chapter introduces the women who make up the leadership of national Tea Party groups as well as the role other conservative women are playing in the Tea Party. This chapter also provides a look at Tea Party women nationally through PRRI data, demonstrating how Tea Party women differ from Republican women who do not identify with the Tea Party and other American women. It also examines the roots of women’s support for the Tea Party compared with men.
Khadijah Costley White
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780190879310
- eISBN:
- 9780190879358
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190879310.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics, Democratization
Throughout the coverage of its emergence, news stories explicitly described the Tea Party as a brand of politics that attracted white working-class or middle-class Americans and generated profit, ...
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Throughout the coverage of its emergence, news stories explicitly described the Tea Party as a brand of politics that attracted white working-class or middle-class Americans and generated profit, publicity, and political power. Not only did reporters specifically refer to the Tea Party as a brand, the news coverage about the Tea Party was complicit in promoting, defining, and publicizing the Tea Party as a political brand. This chapter tracks the ways in which the news media (including both reporters and pundits) actively mobilized and constructed the Tea Party brand by explicitly discussing and advising its brand strategy, describing its values, serving as a platform for Tea Party messaging and brand promotion, attributing human emotional characteristics to the Tea Party brand, identifying and serving as its spokespersons, and participating in brand placement through advertising and publicity.Less
Throughout the coverage of its emergence, news stories explicitly described the Tea Party as a brand of politics that attracted white working-class or middle-class Americans and generated profit, publicity, and political power. Not only did reporters specifically refer to the Tea Party as a brand, the news coverage about the Tea Party was complicit in promoting, defining, and publicizing the Tea Party as a political brand. This chapter tracks the ways in which the news media (including both reporters and pundits) actively mobilized and constructed the Tea Party brand by explicitly discussing and advising its brand strategy, describing its values, serving as a platform for Tea Party messaging and brand promotion, attributing human emotional characteristics to the Tea Party brand, identifying and serving as its spokespersons, and participating in brand placement through advertising and publicity.
Khadijah Costley White
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780190879310
- eISBN:
- 9780190879358
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190879310.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics, Democratization
The news media focused on race, gender, and class in contentious narratives that pushed people to tune their “headphones” into stories about the Tea Party brand. Branding shapes consumers’ tastes, ...
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The news media focused on race, gender, and class in contentious narratives that pushed people to tune their “headphones” into stories about the Tea Party brand. Branding shapes consumers’ tastes, desires, and loyalties and creates profit through the invocation of these types of immaterial qualities. This chapter examines the ways in which the Tea Party news stories emphasized class, race, and gender as key “intangible values” that helped to produce and reify the Tea Party brand identity. It also theorizes the Tea Party’s brand logic* through an analysis of what the news stories tell us about modern conceptions of race, gender, and class identities in the media and politics.Less
The news media focused on race, gender, and class in contentious narratives that pushed people to tune their “headphones” into stories about the Tea Party brand. Branding shapes consumers’ tastes, desires, and loyalties and creates profit through the invocation of these types of immaterial qualities. This chapter examines the ways in which the Tea Party news stories emphasized class, race, and gender as key “intangible values” that helped to produce and reify the Tea Party brand identity. It also theorizes the Tea Party’s brand logic* through an analysis of what the news stories tell us about modern conceptions of race, gender, and class identities in the media and politics.
Christine Trost and Lawrence Rosenthal
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780520274228
- eISBN:
- 9780520954106
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520274228.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This introductory chapter begins by discussing the emergence of the Tea Party movement in the wake of Barack Obama's inauguration as president in 2009. It then sets out the book's purpose, which is ...
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This introductory chapter begins by discussing the emergence of the Tea Party movement in the wake of Barack Obama's inauguration as president in 2009. It then sets out the book's purpose, which is to gain an informed and profound understanding of the Tea Party. The book asks: What kind of movement is the Tea Party? Is it unique? Or have we seen its like before? Is the Tea Party simply an iteration of a surge of radicalism on the right when a Democrat is in the White House in an age habituated to conservative power? Or does the movement draw upon older traditions and strains in American history and society? Is the Tea Party a populist movement? This chapter also presents an overview of the subsequent chapters.Less
This introductory chapter begins by discussing the emergence of the Tea Party movement in the wake of Barack Obama's inauguration as president in 2009. It then sets out the book's purpose, which is to gain an informed and profound understanding of the Tea Party. The book asks: What kind of movement is the Tea Party? Is it unique? Or have we seen its like before? Is the Tea Party simply an iteration of a surge of radicalism on the right when a Democrat is in the White House in an age habituated to conservative power? Or does the movement draw upon older traditions and strains in American history and society? Is the Tea Party a populist movement? This chapter also presents an overview of the subsequent chapters.
Melissa Deckman
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780520274228
- eISBN:
- 9780520954106
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520274228.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This chapter offers a preliminary assessment of women who support the Tea Party. Using data from a cross-sectional, national survey jointly conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People and the ...
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This chapter offers a preliminary assessment of women who support the Tea Party. Using data from a cross-sectional, national survey jointly conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press and the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life in July and August 2010, it analyzes how much support the Tea Party is drawing from women nationally. It also considers how Tea Party women differ from Republican women, specifically, and American women, more generally, in terms of their personal backgrounds, religious behavior, and political and policy leanings. Lastly, it compares Tea Party women with Tea Party men to uncover how or if the roots of their support for the movement differ. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the challenges that the Tea Party faces in reaching beyond a narrow slice of female supporters to recruit a broader segment of women to the movement.Less
This chapter offers a preliminary assessment of women who support the Tea Party. Using data from a cross-sectional, national survey jointly conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press and the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life in July and August 2010, it analyzes how much support the Tea Party is drawing from women nationally. It also considers how Tea Party women differ from Republican women, specifically, and American women, more generally, in terms of their personal backgrounds, religious behavior, and political and policy leanings. Lastly, it compares Tea Party women with Tea Party men to uncover how or if the roots of their support for the movement differ. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the challenges that the Tea Party faces in reaching beyond a narrow slice of female supporters to recruit a broader segment of women to the movement.
Peter Montgomery
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780520274228
- eISBN:
- 9780520954106
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520274228.003.0011
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This chapter takes up the question of the relations between the religious right and the Tea Party. In its split between libertarianism and social conservatism, the Tea Party is writing a new chapter ...
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This chapter takes up the question of the relations between the religious right and the Tea Party. In its split between libertarianism and social conservatism, the Tea Party is writing a new chapter in the history of the division between fiscal conservatism and social issues like abortion and gay marriage that has long been a point of antagonism between the religious right and the establishment Republican Party. The chapter shows how new lines of ideological thinking, such as an emphasis on “American exceptionalism” and “socialism,” allow the religious right and the Tea Party to support the same goals based on divergent premises. Besides ideological overlap, key individuals and local and national connections help bridge this gap, though now, once in Congress, Tea Party representatives have taken this contradiction to a new level.Less
This chapter takes up the question of the relations between the religious right and the Tea Party. In its split between libertarianism and social conservatism, the Tea Party is writing a new chapter in the history of the division between fiscal conservatism and social issues like abortion and gay marriage that has long been a point of antagonism between the religious right and the establishment Republican Party. The chapter shows how new lines of ideological thinking, such as an emphasis on “American exceptionalism” and “socialism,” allow the religious right and the Tea Party to support the same goals based on divergent premises. Besides ideological overlap, key individuals and local and national connections help bridge this gap, though now, once in Congress, Tea Party representatives have taken this contradiction to a new level.
David Karpf
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199898367
- eISBN:
- 9780199949717
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199898367.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
The first 5 chapters of the book are primarily concerned with left-wing interest groups. This is for the simple reason that there is no right-wing analogue to MoveOn, Democracy for America, or ...
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The first 5 chapters of the book are primarily concerned with left-wing interest groups. This is for the simple reason that there is no right-wing analogue to MoveOn, Democracy for America, or DailyKos. Chapter 6 turns attention to the surprising dearth of conservative parallel organizations. After discussing ongoing conservative attempts to build an answer to MoveOn, DailyKos, and ActBlue, including the rise of the Tea Party movement, it introduces the theory of “outparty innovation incentives” as an explanation of the partisan adoption of technological innovations. At the interest group, candidate, and party network levels, the party out of power has strong incentives to invest in new technologies and seek to “change the rules of the game.” The chapter details two competing theses—“ideological congruence” and “merry pranksters”—and presents evidence in favor of the outparty model. In so doing, it also challenges technologically deterministic simplified claims that often plague the discourse and suggests a novel insight about the history of partisan technological adoption.Less
The first 5 chapters of the book are primarily concerned with left-wing interest groups. This is for the simple reason that there is no right-wing analogue to MoveOn, Democracy for America, or DailyKos. Chapter 6 turns attention to the surprising dearth of conservative parallel organizations. After discussing ongoing conservative attempts to build an answer to MoveOn, DailyKos, and ActBlue, including the rise of the Tea Party movement, it introduces the theory of “outparty innovation incentives” as an explanation of the partisan adoption of technological innovations. At the interest group, candidate, and party network levels, the party out of power has strong incentives to invest in new technologies and seek to “change the rules of the game.” The chapter details two competing theses—“ideological congruence” and “merry pranksters”—and presents evidence in favor of the outparty model. In so doing, it also challenges technologically deterministic simplified claims that often plague the discourse and suggests a novel insight about the history of partisan technological adoption.
Theda Skocpol and Vanessa Williamson
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- February 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199832637
- eISBN:
- 9780190252601
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199832637.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This chapter provides an overview of the organizations and networks that make up the Tea Party, drawing on publicly available evidence, in-depth personal interviews, and local observations. It starts ...
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This chapter provides an overview of the organizations and networks that make up the Tea Party, drawing on publicly available evidence, in-depth personal interviews, and local observations. It starts with the efforts of the grassroots organizers who moved during 2009 and 2010 from sparking rallies to creating regularly meeting Tea Party groups across the country. It then looks in greater detail at the Tea Party-linked national organizations that operate with backing from right-wing billionaires and other wealthy people. These top-down organizations not only created or directly control the Tea Party, but are also effectively leveraging grassroots activism to gain new advantages in durable crusades to remake the Republican Party and shift legislative agendas at all levels of US government.Less
This chapter provides an overview of the organizations and networks that make up the Tea Party, drawing on publicly available evidence, in-depth personal interviews, and local observations. It starts with the efforts of the grassroots organizers who moved during 2009 and 2010 from sparking rallies to creating regularly meeting Tea Party groups across the country. It then looks in greater detail at the Tea Party-linked national organizations that operate with backing from right-wing billionaires and other wealthy people. These top-down organizations not only created or directly control the Tea Party, but are also effectively leveraging grassroots activism to gain new advantages in durable crusades to remake the Republican Party and shift legislative agendas at all levels of US government.
Justin Grimmer, Sean J. Westwood, and Solomon Messing
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691162614
- eISBN:
- 9781400852666
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691162614.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This chapter examines how the emergence of the Tea Party movement corresponds with a spike in antispending rhetoric among congressional Republicans, who criticized particularistic projects that other ...
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This chapter examines how the emergence of the Tea Party movement corresponds with a spike in antispending rhetoric among congressional Republicans, who criticized particularistic projects that other legislators use to cultivate a personal vote. After Barack Obama's election, Republican activists mobilized to oppose the Obama administration's policies and perceived government overreach—creating the Tea Party movement. The chapter uses two experiments to show how this criticism undermines credit for spending, causing constituents to be much less supportive of expenditures in the district. It also explains that the effect of the criticism extends beyond the experiment. Once budget criticism is introduced, it causes constituents to evaluate legislators who claim credit at high rates more negatively.Less
This chapter examines how the emergence of the Tea Party movement corresponds with a spike in antispending rhetoric among congressional Republicans, who criticized particularistic projects that other legislators use to cultivate a personal vote. After Barack Obama's election, Republican activists mobilized to oppose the Obama administration's policies and perceived government overreach—creating the Tea Party movement. The chapter uses two experiments to show how this criticism undermines credit for spending, causing constituents to be much less supportive of expenditures in the district. It also explains that the effect of the criticism extends beyond the experiment. Once budget criticism is introduced, it causes constituents to evaluate legislators who claim credit at high rates more negatively.
Christopher S. Parker and Matt A. Barreto
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691163611
- eISBN:
- 9781400852314
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691163611.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
Are Tea Party supporters merely a group of conservative citizens concerned about government spending? Or are they racists who refuse to accept Barack Obama as their president because he's not white? ...
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Are Tea Party supporters merely a group of conservative citizens concerned about government spending? Or are they racists who refuse to accept Barack Obama as their president because he's not white? This book offers an alternative argument—that the Tea Party is driven by the reemergence of a reactionary movement in American politics that is fueled by a fear that America has changed for the worse. Providing a range of original evidence and rich portraits of party sympathizers as well as activists, the book shows that the perception that America is in danger directly informs how Tea Party supporters think and act. The afterword reflects on the Tea Party's recent initiatives, including the 2013 government shutdown, and evaluates their prospects for the 2016 election.Less
Are Tea Party supporters merely a group of conservative citizens concerned about government spending? Or are they racists who refuse to accept Barack Obama as their president because he's not white? This book offers an alternative argument—that the Tea Party is driven by the reemergence of a reactionary movement in American politics that is fueled by a fear that America has changed for the worse. Providing a range of original evidence and rich portraits of party sympathizers as well as activists, the book shows that the perception that America is in danger directly informs how Tea Party supporters think and act. The afterword reflects on the Tea Party's recent initiatives, including the 2013 government shutdown, and evaluates their prospects for the 2016 election.
