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From Suffrage to the Senate America's Political Women: An Encyclopedia of Leaders, Causes & Issues

Tea Party

A conservative grassroots, populist movement, somewhat unorganized in the traditional sense of party hierarchy, the Tea Party emerged in the fall of 2008, during the financial crash. In 2011, about 25 percent of Americans considered themselves Tea Party supporters.

Tea Party philosophy is based on the idea that government has grown too big and too expensive. For example, members opposed President Barack Obama’s stimulus plan, reject the reality of climate change caused by human activities, and seek the repeal of the president’s Affordable Care Act. Many, though not all, Tea Party candidates have signed the Contract from America. The contract advocates protecting the Constitution, rejects cap and trade (an environmental policy), demands a balanced budget, calls for fundamental tax reform, restores fiscal responsibility and constitutionally limited government, and ends “runaway government spending,” among other points.

A Tea Party rally in St. Paul, Minnesota, 2010. Photo Credit: Fibonacci Blue

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In 2010 and 2012, Tea Party-supported candidates, who ran on the Republican ticket, defeated incumbent Republican candidates in primary races. One hundred thirty-eight Tea Party-supported candidates ran in the general elections in 2010 and at least 44 of them won: five in the U.S. Senate and 39 in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Tea Party-supported women who won their races for the U.S. House of Representatives include: Sandra Adams of Florida, Vicky Hartzler of Missouri, Renee Ellmers of North Carolina, and Ann Marie Buerkle of New York.

See also: Adams, Sandra; Hartzler, Vicky; Ellmers, Renee; Buerkle, Ann Marie

References: Crowley, “The Tea Party’s Triumph,” Time 178 no. 6 (August 15, 2011): 34-41; The New York Times, November 4, 2010; Von Drehle, “2 The Tea Party,” Time 176 no. 26 (December 27, 2010): 81-86.

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MLA 9th
"Tea Party." From Suffrage to the Senate America's Political Women: An Encyclopedia of Leaders, Causes & Issues, edited by Suzanne O’Dea, Salem Press, 2019. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=Suffrage3e_0921.
APA 7th
Tea Party. From Suffrage to the Senate America's Political Women: An Encyclopedia of Leaders, Causes & Issues, In S. O’Dea (Ed.), Salem Press, 2019. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=Suffrage3e_0921.
CMOS 17th
"Tea Party." From Suffrage to the Senate America's Political Women: An Encyclopedia of Leaders, Causes & Issues, Edited by Suzanne O’Dea. Salem Press, 2019. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=Suffrage3e_0921.