Can tea party spark a real revolution?
By RON FOURNIER, Associated Press Writer, Monday, April 5, 2010 at 12:12 a.m. WASHINGTON They heeded a pamphleteer’s call for “manly opposition to the machinations of tyranny” – the 60 American colonists who stormed Griffin’s Wharf and emptied 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor. And with that, a revolution brewed. Now, more than two centuries later, come the angry throngs of the modern-day tea party. They’ve gotten the nation’s attention. Can they foment their own revolution? Not yet. The Associated Press reviewed tea party operations in almost every state, interviewing dozens of local organizers as well as Democratic and Republican strategists to produce a portrait of the movement to date – and its prospects for tilting this November’s elections. The bottom line: Though amplifying widespread voter anger at the political establishment, the tea party movement is unlikely to dramatically affect the congressional elections – unless their local affiliates forge alliances with Republican
