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'Tea Party' coalition is democracy at work
AP National Political Writer
Photo by ED REINKE/AP
Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin addresses the National Tea Party Convention on Saturday.
No doubt this is democracy at work, a quintessential part of America.
Will the latest political phenomenon become a society-changing movement influencing elections and beyond?
“We are people who understand something wrong is going on in this country, and we want to change it," says Dan Garner, a married 40-year-old sales representative from nearby Carthage who is new to politics. Like so many others, he's had enough. “The core thing is a loss of individual liberty."
Retirees, stay-at-home moms, small-business owners, corporate executives and everyone in between - many political neophytes who aren't hardcore ideologues - are using the latest technology to come together and vent their frustrations about their country and plot to install a new group in charge of the government.
They formed a loose network of grass-roots groups to speak out against President Barack Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress. They held their first national “tea party" convention over the weekend. And they're already having some impact on American politics.
The big unknown is whether their power truly is transformative.What's more certain is, well, the uncertainty.
No one is quite sure what to make of this leaderless morass of people, born not even a year ago in communities from coast to coast.But everyone seems to want a piece of it.
Republicans are trying to co-opt it. Democrats are trying to marginalize it. And people with personal aspirations - whether financial or political - are trying to take advantage of it.
“America is ready for another revolution, and you are a part of this," Sarah Palin, the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee, told convention attendees Saturday. “You all have the courage to stand up and speak out."
Many “tea party" disciples view the former Alaska governor - also an author, a Fox News analyst and a potential 2012 presidential candidate - as their de facto leader. But she repeatedly dismissed that notion, saying: “The 'tea party' movement is not a top-down operation. It's a ground-up call to action that is forcing both parties to change the way they're doing business, and that's beautiful."
In many ways, the coalition - decidedly conservative and libertarian but otherwise diverse - should have been expected to emerge as power shifted in Washington. This country has a long history of citizens rising up against people in power, particularly in tough times like recession.
That “tea parties" formed in U.S. living rooms morphed into the latest political phenomenon so quickly after Obama took office is a testament to the power of the Internet and the changes in a country that's come to heavily rely on it.
People who once thought no one shared their views now can quickly find out they're part of a mob - and collectively turn their words into action.
“For so many years, I have felt alone," says Carolyn Scott of Nashville, 71, a retired schoolteacher and a grandmother of six who fears the country's debt will crush the next generation. “Now I see people like me standing up and speaking out."
Liz Sidoti has covered politics for The Associated Press since 2003.
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