Are Tea Partiers A Homogeneous Group?
Well, yes and no. Though most recent reports document undercurrents of racism and xenophobia (see lyin’ African comment, above), Mr. McGrath points to one site’s manifesto as proof the tea party protests are striving to be a non-partisan gathering point for all North American Homosapiens. Spring brought the founding of the Tea Party Patriots, a centralized Web destination for decentralized malcontents, and the start of Glenn Beck’s side gig as a social organizer, through his 9.12 Project. The numbers nine and twelve referred to a checklist of principles and values, but their greater significance lay in the allusion to September 11th. “The day after America was attacked, we were not obsessed with Red States, Blue States or political parties,” the project’s mission statement read. “We want to get everyone thinking like it is September 12, 2001, again.” The chosen values were inarguable: things like honesty and hope and courage. Only two of the principles (“I believe in God and He is the
