Definition from Wikipedia
The Tea Party movement is an American political movement that advocates reducing the U.S. national debt and federal budget deficit by reducing U.S. government spending and taxes.[1][2] The movement has been called partly conservative,[3] partly libertarian,[4] and partly populist.[5] It has sponsored protests and supported political candidates since 2009.[6][7][8]
The name is derived from the Boston Tea Party of 1773, an iconic event in American history.[9][10][11][12] Anti-tax protesters in the United States have often referred to the original Boston Tea Party for inspiration.[13][14][15] References to the Boston Tea Party were part of Tax Day protests held throughout the 1990s and earlier.[16][17][18][19] By 2001, a custom had developed among some conservative activists of mailing tea bags to legislators and other officials as a symbolic act.[20]
Among its goals are limiting the size of government, reducing government spending, lowering the national debt and opposing tax increases.[21] To this end, Tea Party groups have protested the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the 2009 economic stimulus, cap and trade, health care reform, and what they see as efforts by the federal government to limit freedom of speech, the right to privacy, and gun owners’ rights.[22][not in citation given] Tea Party groups have also voiced support for right to work legislation as well as tighter border security, and opposed amnesty for illegal immigrants.[who?][23][24]
They have formed Super PACs to support candidates who share their goals, and have opposed many mainstream Republican candidates.[citation needed] After being signed into law, the Tea Party led efforts to challenge the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (commonly called Obamacare) in the Supreme Court and legislatively at both state and federal levels.[not in citation given] They have also mobilized locally against the United Nations Agenda 21.[25][26] They have protested the IRS for its treatment of groups with “tea party” in their names.
The Tea Party is part conservative and part libertarian. National Tea Party organizations like the Tea Party Patriots, and FreedomWorks are focused on economic issues. [27][28][29]
The movement places the Constitution at the center of its reform agenda,[30] and supports an originalist view.[31] This is combined with educational outreach efforts focused on the founding documents. Several amendments have been targeted by some in the movement for full or partial repeal, including the 14th, 16th, and 17th. There has also been support for a proposed Repeal Amendment, enabling a two-thirds majority of the states to repeal federal laws, and a Balanced Budget Amendment, which would limit deficit spending.[32]
Contract from America
The Contract from America was a legislative agenda created by attorney and conservative activist Ryan Hecker with the assistance of Dick Armey of FreedomWorks. Armey had co-written the previous Contract with America released by the Republican Party during the 1994 midterm elections. Hecker launched a website which encouraged people to offer possible planks for the contract, from which Hecker and Armey selected 21 economic and government reform issues. Activists then voted online for their final ten favorite policy planks.[33][34][35]
