Continuing with the decades-long Republican policy of reactionist politics, the populist grassroots organization commonly referred to as “The Tea Party Movement” materialized across the American nation on account of the amount of people fed up with the economic failure of the late 2000s. Only, this reaction was different. As opposed to replying solely to the faults of Obama’s executive orders and aggressive expansion of the welfare state, Tea Partiers rebelled in large part against their own party. Former President Bush’s establishment disposition was not only partially responsible for the Great Recession in 2007, but it ignored the fact that the Right was losing in just about every aspect of American politics. The average blue collar man anticipated that if given the opportunity, Democrats would once again take control of Congress, and Leftist rhetoric would continue to fill academia and culture, however it was the seemingly blatant ignorance of the “Republican” president that especially angered him. As a member of his side, Bush was supposed to speak out, and act against this. After endlessly petitioning the president to do something, independent grassroots organizations started to coalesce around the country into what we know today as the Tea Party movement. 

Widely successful in its glory days, the Tea Party obviously knew how to get things done. Not only do people like Ted Cruz, Matt Gaetz, Sarah Palin, and Tim Scott owe their very careers to the activism of the Tea Party, but the movement is also the primary reason why Republicans went from an 81 point deficit in the 111th Congress (2009-11) to a 43 point lead in the House of Representatives in the 112th Congress (now that’s a red wave)! Additionally, while not winning the senate, closing the 16 point gap (2009-11) to a mere 4 points (2012). So, how did one movement happen to create this much turmoil despite only being around since 2009? This is a necessary question right-wingers need to be asking today, as the Tea Party is seen by even leftists as having changed the course of political lobbying forever. Here are two lessons the Tea Party has tried to teach the modern Conservative Movement, and how to implement them. 

Grassroots activism; where it needs to start, where it needs to stay

In the midst of the Revolutionary war, Washington and fellow war officer Tallmadge created what is known today as the Culper ring, a secret group of everyday American citizens recruited to spy on the occupying British in New York. Essential to the ring’s success, was the fact that nobody knew who anybody was. If interrogated, one spy couldn't possibly oust any co-conspirators, making it impossible for the ring to be disbanded. Not that the Tea Party could in any way be equated to a crucial part in the success of the Americans in the Revolutionary war, but there is clear historical evidence pointing to the effectiveness of a decentralized group, which works in all different places, with special attention as to what could succeed particularly in one’s specific area. One example, taking place in September 2009, being the Taxpayer March on Washington he;d at the capitol. Holding signs and grudges primarily concerning Obama’s ineffective economic policy and Bush’s TARP policy, people showed their exasperation in droves as it was reported possibly up to one million people attended (History.com). Not to mention, there is plenty of footage of it on YouTube, and in my opinion, it sounds like a Trump rally that took place 14 years ago. One year later, at the 2010 March on Washington Rally, ReasonTV interviewed a veteran attendant who claimed that the movement may have gotten smaller in Washington, but only because many of the people who came in 2009 brought the protest home, causing the Taxpayers’ March to spread across the country.

Local elections matter

You hear this advice a lot in politics, but it can be pretty hard to follow. A presidential, or even senatorial race can be compelling to follow (even if the senators being decided on don’t even have anything to do with your state) due to the immense amount of attention it gets on the nation’s stage, however local elections are usually forgotten by who it matters most to, the people of the county, or district. When examining the electoral history of the movement, many of its earlier wins were on the local level. Considered the first Tea Party candidate to be elected into office, L. Dean Murray was not running for Congress, or president, but a Long Island special election in which he won a NY State Assembly seat. Mark Darr, former Arkansas Lieutenant Governor, Allan Fung, former mayor of Cranston RI, could seem like obsolete, arbitrary positions, but the list goes on when it comes to Tea Party backed local election winners. Recognizing its importance in politics overall, The Tea Party trained themselves to focus on local elections while still managing to pull off the incredible red wave in the 112th Congress elections mentioned above. In fact, it is probably the very fact that Republican/Tea Party candidates were able to materialize in the most intimate elections and pull off a massive number of wins mainly in 2010 which led to the more national wins later on. 

I digress…

The Tea Party is still seen today by its critics and supporters alike as the sole reason why politics became so reactionary in the 21st century (which is both beneficial and detrimental). Although they didn’t get exactly what they wanted at the moment, the movement served a greater purpose than just electing myriads of Representatives in 2010. At its end, Trump’s win in 2016 was practically the culmination of the Tea Party’s 7 years of grassroots advocacy, and buildup of local wins. In the mid-2010s, the Left was champing at the bit to announce the day the Tea Party died, but it did quite the opposite. Evolving into the populist following Trump still has today, its final test of time ended up being Trump’s success. If he won in 2016, it’s long called for strategies Republicans finally implemented would have paid off. Which seems to be the continuing question once again as Trump attempts to forge his path to the White House once again this year. But that’s next week’s topic.