Argumentative Position Paper
| | | | | | The “Weak” Tea Party Movement Curt D. Collins Bellevue University Professor Wright EN102-T301 Composition II October 13, 2012
The “Weak” Tea Party Movement On Feb. 19, 2009, about a month after President Barack Obama’s first day on the job, CNBC host Rick Santelli railed against the President’s proposed bank bailout and stimulus package on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange calling it an effort to help those who did not, or could not, help themselves (Tea Party Movement, 2012). Santelli sanctioned “another tea party” similar to the American Revolution movement of the same name, and almost immediately, the movement gained momentum. By autumn, hundreds of Tea Party groups organized efforts in every state (Tea Party Movement, 2012). A year later, the movement influenced Republican party politics in the 2010 congressional elections (Tea Party Movement Evolves, 2012). With all the hype and candidate activities grabbing headlines for the past two years, the Tea Party Movement has fallen back to the shadows of the alleys that seldom get noticed. The goals of the movement initially were to remove Republican Party officials who were not living up to the conservative standards adopted by the movement and stop the Democratic economic policy supporters from carrying out the bailout plan. Although the Tea Party Movement was effective in 2009 and 2010 at trying to accomplish it’s goals, the lack of a substantive spokesman, little to not political pull, and sporadic support has watered down the efforts of the movement to an almost complete halt in 2012. Therefore, the Tea Partiers have lost their chance to evoke change in the government. | Since the Tea Party Movement ideals do not support the President’s party, Democrats view the movement as a road block to progressing the current administration’s plans for economic recovery.
The “Weak” Tea Party Movement On Feb. 19, 2009, about a month after President Barack Obama’s first day on the job, CNBC host Rick Santelli railed against the President’s proposed bank bailout and stimulus package on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange calling it an effort to help those who did not, or could not, help themselves (Tea Party Movement, 2012). Santelli sanctioned “another tea party” similar to the American Revolution movement of the same name, and almost immediately, the movement gained momentum. By autumn, hundreds of Tea Party groups organized efforts in every state (Tea Party Movement, 2012). A year later, the movement influenced Republican party politics in the 2010 congressional elections (Tea Party Movement Evolves, 2012). With all the hype and candidate activities grabbing headlines for the past two years, the Tea Party Movement has fallen back to the shadows of the alleys that seldom get noticed. The goals of the movement initially were to remove Republican Party officials who were not living up to the conservative standards adopted by the movement and stop the Democratic economic policy supporters from carrying out the bailout plan. Although the Tea Party Movement was effective in 2009 and 2010 at trying to accomplish it’s goals, the lack of a substantive spokesman, little to not political pull, and sporadic support has watered down the efforts of the movement to an almost complete halt in 2012. Therefore, the Tea Partiers have lost their chance to evoke change in the government. | Since the Tea Party Movement ideals do not support the President’s party, Democrats view the movement as a road block to progressing the current administration’s plans for economic recovery.
References: Skocpol, T., and Williamson, V., (2012). The Tea Party and the Remaking of an Conservatism. Oxford; New York: Oxford UP. Print. Tea Party Movement. (2012). In The New York Times. Retrieved from http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/t/tea_party_movement/index.html Barrow, W., (2012). Tea Party Movement Evolves, Achieves State Policy Victories. (2012). In Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/12/tea-party-movement_n_1770452.html