Taking Tea Parties Seriously: Corporate Globalization, Populism, and Resentment

Abstract

AbstractThe emergence of the Tea Party Movement after the election of President Barack Obama is the result of increasing anxieties, fears, and anger in a predominantly White middle class and working class constituency. Starting as a project of elite conservative strategists, the Tea Party movement quickly developed an actual mass base, and turned into the type of right-wing populist movement seen previously throughout US history. This article uses a social movement theory approach to explain the Tea Parties and considers how race, gender, and class dynamics are shifted toward the scapegoating of liberals, people of color, immigrants, and other targets.