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As we watch the Republican Party tear itself to shreds over Donald Trump, perhaps it’s time to take note of another conservative political phenomenon that the GOP nominee has utterly eclipsed: the Tea Party. The Tea Party movement is pretty much dead now, but it didn’t die a natural death. It was murdered—and it was an inside job. In a half decade, the spontaneous uprising that shook official Washington degenerated into a form of pyramid scheme that transferred tens of millions of dollars from rural, poorer Southerners and Midwesterners to bicoastal political operatives.
What began as an organic, policy-driven grass-roots movement was drained of its vitality and resources by national political action committees that dunned the movement’s true believers endlessly for money to support its candidates and causes. The PACs used that money first to enrich themselves and their vendors and then deployed most of the rest to search for more “prospects.” In Tea Party world, that meant mostly older, technologically unsavvy people willing to divulge personal information through “petitions”—which only made them prey to further attempts to lighten their wallets for what they believed was a good cause. While the solicitations continue, the audience has greatly diminished because of a lack of policy results and changing political winds.
May they rot in hell...
As we watch the Republican Party tear itself to shreds over Donald Trump, perhaps it’s time to take note of another conservative political phenomenon that the GOP nominee has utterly eclipsed: the Tea Party. The Tea Party movement is pretty much dead now, but it didn’t die a natural death. It was murdered—and it was an inside job. In a half decade, the spontaneous uprising that shook official Washington degenerated into a form of pyramid scheme that transferred tens of millions of dollars from rural, poorer Southerners and Midwesterners to bicoastal political operatives.
What began as an organic, policy-driven grass-roots movement was drained of its vitality and resources by national political action committees that dunned the movement’s true believers endlessly for money to support its candidates and causes. The PACs used that money first to enrich themselves and their vendors and then deployed most of the rest to search for more “prospects.” In Tea Party world, that meant mostly older, technologically unsavvy people willing to divulge personal information through “petitions”—which only made them prey to further attempts to lighten their wallets for what they believed was a good cause. While the solicitations continue, the audience has greatly diminished because of a lack of policy results and changing political winds.
Read more: How We Killed the Tea Party
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To be fair, the Tea Party movement was largely full of wing nuts making absurd untrue statements, and led by crazies like Ted Cruz who consistently lied through his teeth to rile them up.
It was a recipe for failure once the crazies co-opted it.
Well, ignoring the obvious hack slant if the author, he's partially right. The idiot first titles it "How WE killed the Tea Party", then blames it on the GOP insiders and PACs.
Two things killed the TP, I know this because I was a proud member and I watched it happen:
1. The Christian Right monopolized it, changing it from a fiscal responsibility focus to a socially conservative focus. Thus shrinking the numbers.
2. The politicians we elected in 2010 betrayed us by not doing a thing that they promised. Then the establishment GOP sided against us and that eventually became the final nail.
The majority of the GOP voters elected Donald Trump in response to the treachery.
And you soros nazis are the core of hitlery supporters.....Well, ignoring the obvious hack slant if the author, he's partially right. The idiot first titles it "How WE killed the Tea Party", then blames it on the GOP insiders and PACs.
Two things killed the TP, I know this because I was a proud member and I watched it happen:
1. The Christian Right monopolized it, changing it from a fiscal responsibility focus to a socially conservative focus. Thus shrinking the numbers.
2. The politicians we elected in 2010 betrayed us by not doing a thing that they promised. Then the establishment GOP sided against us and that eventually became the final nail.
The majority of the GOP voters elected Donald Trump in response to the treachery.
And today they're the core of Trump's supporters.
Well, ignoring the obvious hack slant if the author, he's partially right. The idiot first titles it "How WE killed the Tea Party", then blames it on the GOP insiders and PACs.
Two things killed the TP, I know this because I was a proud member and I watched it happen:
1. The Christian Right monopolized it, changing it from a fiscal responsibility focus to a socially conservative focus. Thus shrinking the numbers.
2. The politicians we elected in 2010 betrayed us by not doing a thing that they promised. Then the establishment GOP sided against us and that eventually became the final nail.
The majority of the GOP voters elected Donald Trump in response to the treachery.
And today they're the core of Trump's supporters.
