The findings suggest that the breadth of the tea party may be inflated. The Atlanta-based Tea Party Patriots, for example, says it has a listing of more than 2,300 local groups, but The Post was unable to identify anywhere near that many, despite help from the organization and independent research. Read moreI believe that the tea party came out of the failed birther movement. When birthers realized no one was buying, they cloaked themselves in fiscal conservatism, but most tea partiers polled still question Obama's birthplace. Many in the tea party-- with the exception of the Libertarian strain -- largely believe Obama is a Muslim and a socialist.
We would not have a tea party if it wasn't for the fact that the nation elected a president who is black.
The tea party is largely a movement of people uncomfortable with what it means to have a black president. Does that change the status of the white people who have always had power? What does it mean for them when Obama appoints a Latino woman to the Supreme Court, a black Attorney General and a transgender woman to the Commerce Department? Will there be retribution for deeds done? Will the country become a majority of minorities? For some folks, these are frightening prospects.
The tea party was blown up by the media because controversy sells, and yet the media has yet to catch on to what the tea party really is. All one has to do is look at the makeup of the tea party, which like the GOP, has few minorities represented, or watch an episode of Glenn Beck. If the tea party was made up of a diverse group of people, then I'd know that it was a group concerned about fiscal matters. We all care about fiscal matters, no matter what race or religion. The tea party's true values are unspoken.
