Care to Join Us for Tea?

There's a new faction in town : the Tea Party. The grassroots anger that appeared a year ago, in response to the federal government's stimulus package, has now taken a new form of political power. Organizers of the inaugural national convention which took place in Nashville, Tennessee, said that they were forming a political action committee to raise money and provide campaign management, as well as political consulting, for party approved candidates. The PAC seeks to raise $10 million to spend on the 2012 Congressional elections.

Advocates were urged to elect like-minded conservatives in the primaries that take place over the next few months, so Tea Partiers would not have to choose between a Democrat and a Republican "in name only." Organizers outlined plans to gain control over the Republican Party by replacing Republicans with Tea Party conservatives. Mark Skoda, a spokesman for the convention and leader of the Memphis Tea Party, as well as the declared president of the PAC, stated that the Ensuring Liberty PAC would choose candidates based on their loyalty to the "'first principles': less government, fiscal responsibility, lower taxes, states rights and national security."

The success of the Tea Party is still in question, with the convention reflecting the fractiousness of the Tea Party movement; many sponsors and participants had pulled out, citing concerns. The formation of a new third party, especially one that appeals to conservatives, will cause a split of the Republican votes, guaranteeing either a Democratic victory or more competition in the 2010 Congressional elections.

Article Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/06/us/politics/06teaparty.html?ref=politics