GroupC

The Tea Party movement, a political organization, claims their mission is to "bring awareness to any issue which challenges the security, sovereignty, or domestic tranquility of our beloved nation (The United States)" 1. However they take the constitution as literally as possible and are prone to over exaggeration of issues. Several of their core beliefs sound reasonable on the surface but are in reality less than ideal. For example "Traditional family values are encouraged" 1. Family values are a fine thing to encourage but the key word here is "traditional" most likely meaning man and woman married with children. Such a view however ostracizes 4 million members of our nation 2 who are gay and therefore do not fit into such a "traditional" family as defined. The Tea Party considers the United States a Christian nation and welcomes "red-blooded citizens" 1. Since 2009, the Tea Party has shifted its focus from trying to keep Obama out of office to trying to get Obama out of office by impeachment (see their Fax project) and prevent any of his bills from going through including laws on gun regulation (see their Petition Project)and healthcare reform 1. The Tea Party is largely influenced by the Republican party and the events of the Boston Tea party which is befitting of the Tea Party's 10th and 11th core beliefs centered on lowering taxation. The Tea Party considers themselves "beneficiaries of ["the brave souls of the men and women in 1773"'s] courage 1 . In 2009 after Obama was elected to office the Tea Party was founded holding protests and supporting Republican candidates in an attempt to "create an efficient government that lives within its means and does not pass a burden of debt onto future generations" 3 . However they are attempting to make this reform by defying the laws of arithmetic and sticking to conservative ideals that are behind the modern era evolving in the United States. The Tea Party is not a political party per say, but the group definitely shows the same similar ideals and policies and accrues the same followers as the Republican party just under a different name. The strengths of the Tea Party include its ability to appeal to the Republicans of America and all those who wish to lower taxes. The Tea Party also appeals to all those who hear just the pretty language used without regard for what the words actually mean for the country. Many of the Tea Party followers believe everything and anything the Tea Party says true or not. (The Tea Party is still running a fax petition program trying to insist to congress that Barack Obama was not born in America )1. The Tea Party also attracts devout religious followers because of their stance against gay marriage. A weakness of the Tea Party is its lack of central organization 4. The Tea Party movement will never be considered a party unless it is centrally organized however some consider its disorganization a strength because then the Tea Party can infiltrate both parties without competing with them. Another weakness of the Tea Party is its adherence to policies that are clearly untrue or unhealthy for the nation, like its attacks against Obama and its pro-gun views in light of the Boston bombing and the Sandy Hook shooting. The Tea Party's primary tactics are spreading their message and protesting. See [|www.teaparty.org] for full details on their fax, phone, and petition projects. Another tactic of theirs is to encourage their followers to endorse the politicians that also adhere to the Tea Party movement in order to get their message into office. 5 Below are pictures of two main supporters of the Tea Party who retain high positions in the political world of Republicans; Sarah Palin and Ron Paul.

[] Above is an article put out by the Tea Party movement meant to incite their followers into action against the government to try and insist that it is an evil thing that should be limited as much as possible. The article in question insists that the Boston bombing was an inside government job that was then covered up. This article further emphasizes that the Tea Party will do and say anything to gain followers to their cause no matter the truth.

1 Tea Party. The Tea Party Movement, 2013. Web. 21 Apr. 2013.

2 Chiles, Clay. "Gay Population In U.S. Estimated At 4 Million, Gary Gates Says." The Huffington Post.

TheHuffingtonPost.com, 07 Apr. 2011. Web. 21 Apr. 2013.

3 "Voice of the Tea Party Movement." Voice of the Tea Party Movement. National Coalition of Tea Party Affiliates, 2011.

Web. 21 Apr. 2013.

4 "FlushGov.US." FlushGov.US. Blog Spot, June 2010. Web. 21 Apr. 2013.

5 Surge USA. N.p., 2009. Web. 21 Apr. 2013.