The Tea Party: Grassroots Conservatism in the Obama Years & Into the Trump Presidency

Abstract

The Tea Party is an contemporary American political movement that combines elements of mainstream Republican ideology, such as support for the War on Drugs and lowering taxes; libertarianism, such as drastically shrinking the state and opposing the unionization of workers; and anti-immigrant, pro-Medicare/Social Security populism to form a political nexus that has not been seen before in American political history. From the movement’s “birth” in 2009 to today, the Tea Party has had an active role in changing American politics, particularly in the 2010 congressional elections and the 2016 presidential election. With Tea Party backing, 44 congressional candidates won election in 2010, including 5 Senators, 4 Senators in 2012, and multiple Governors between 2010 and 2016. Despite the end of the House’s Tea Party Caucus and with only a few dozen still in Congress, the Tea Party has reshaped the Republican Party, facilitating a rapid shift in American conservatism and propelling Donald Trump to the White House. In this paper, I will analyze the factors that led to the rise of the Tea Party, their political ideology and stances, the makeup of their voting bloc, their connection to organizations that are openly bigoted and hostile to the federal government, an analysis of several of prominent Tea Party politicians, how the bloc of Tea Party voters contributed to the popularity surge for 2016 Republican candidate Donald Trump, and how the Tea Party’s bloc of voters influenced the Trump presidency while their tactics influenced the anti-Trump Resistance.