There's a bit of a flurry of interest in the Tea Party movement since the Wall St Journal released a poll [2] yesterday saying that the movement is viewed more positively than either the Democrat or Republican parties. 41% of respondents have a positive view while only 24% have a negative one. What does it mean? For one thing, the leftist journalists who have sought to marginalize the movement are out of touch with reality. OK, we already knew that.
Is the Tea party movement on its way to becoming a third party? A majority party, even?
I think not. I wrote a month ago [3] about the "Tea Party" registered in Florida. Although I consider it a bit tacky to quote one's self, here's what I said then:
...The strength of the Tea Party movement is in holding all parties accountable, especially for fiscal responsibility. We should seek out, encourage, support and endorse candidates who hold our values regardless of party.
In short, the Tea Party movement should not become a formal political party. Ned Ryun of American Majority seems to agree with me:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5uc1vPknow&hl=en_US&fs=1&]
The Tea Party movement consists of something over 800 local organizations loosely affiliated with more than one national coordinating committee. In my view, it is becoming more of a social organization that embodies traditional American values than it is a party in the sense of a formal political party. The values it proclaims are the same ones you'll see that the top of my blog. Tea Party Patriots are just that: Patriots.
What if the Tea Parties replaced both major parties? George Washington, with his warning against "faction" would approve.
