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With the Tea Partiers
A Tale of Two Movements
The question of the Tea Party’s long-term impact on American government remains open.
The mainstream media notwithstanding, there is no denying the enormous impact the Tea Party move-ment has had on American politics since 2009. No grassroots movement has risen so quickly, so spontaneously, and changed the national political narrative so rapidly in recent memory. Despite that success, the question of the Tea Party’s long-term impact on American government remains open. The movement is still young, evolving, struggling to define itself, and learning to play presidential politics for the first time. The Tea Partiers in Congress and at the local and state levels are only just starting to have a short-term impact since being sworn in last year.
But the focus of the movement should always be on how to have a long-term impact. Decades from now, those of us who were there at the beginning and those who engaged in the political process for the first time as part of the movement should be able to see real, fundamental change. This systemic change is necessary to turn back the clock on another grassroots movement that more than a century ago set out to remake America.
In the late 1890s, the Progressive movement arose from the middle and working classes, with deep concerns about transparency and accountability in government. They were for the most part ordinary Americans concerned with workers’ rights and abuse of power by corporations. At the time of its origins, the Progressive movement was local, built from the ground up, with no real national leaders, but there were common themes.
It was a reform movement that was authentic and spontaneous, seeking to give voice to the plight of the working class and working toward fundamental change on a broad range of issues, from politics to industry to women’s rights. There was deep distrust of political parties, and well-grounded concern that railroad and oil companies were buying undue influence with political bosses and elected officials to put corporate interests before those of the American people.
In a relatively short amount of time, between 1890 and 1920, the Progressives fundamentally changed not just American government, but American society as well. Confronted with real corruption in politics, and with terrible conditions in virtually every industry (think Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle), their mistaken solution was more government. Government was to be empowered to make reform happen, and so under the Progressives, the government’s role in regulating commerce and industry expanded dramatically, with the formation of the SEC and FDA and other bureaucracies and commissions. The Progressive reforms gave more power to unions, improved urban conditions, and won new protections for workers. Many of these reforms, like anti-trust laws, child labor laws, and sanitation codes were needed and today remain part of American life. There were electoral reforms as well, aimed at breaking the party bosses’ hold over the nominating process. With Australian ballots, direct primaries, and direct election of Senators, the entire process by which officials at all levels were nominated and elected was changed. As the nation grew, so did the impact of the Progressive movement, founded on the premise that government’s role in our daily lives should be more robust.
But the Progressive movement was rooted in two fundamental errors: an unshakable faith that gov-ernment was a force for good and a naïve belief that the humanity running government was not flawed. It forgot the words of James Madison, that men are not angels and that government must ultimately control itself. The Progressive movement and its reforms demonstrate the ultimate law of unintended consequences as it gave rise to the bureaucratic state and unaccountable elected officials. (Despite their flaws, and they were myriad, the party bosses had kept elected officials in check by enforcing what were essentially term limits.) The first era of Progressivism gave rise to a second era of Progressivism, and quite frankly a third, with the New Deal and later the Great Society. These three waves of Progressivism completely changed America and shifted its direction away from the Founders’ vision of limited government and free enterprise.
Progressives had a self-righteous belief that government, rather than the individual or the free market, was the answer. Today, as the conservative movement drafts another white paper on fiscal policy, or attends another conference, there can be no doubt that the Progressives are winning the war. They have created a system of government full of casual loops that over time reinforces and strengthens itself, growing in size beyond even their own expectations and creating a culture of dependency that has left this nation $15 trillion in debt and counting.
The Tea Party is now playing against a system and a formidable enemy that has written the rules of the game to its benefit for more than a century. The enemy and the system will not be defeated overnight, which is why if the Tea Party is to have a long-term impact, it will have to renew itself over multiple succeeding eras—and resist being lured by siren songs into a conservative movement that really is more a racket than anything else.
Even more important, however, the Tea Party needs to realize is that its objective is not about shifting paradigms or having a short-term impact. It’s about crushing paradigms and creating a new set of rules that dictate how the game is played decades from now. America needs a renewed system of government dedicated to reversing the damage of the Progressive movement and promoting American values. The Tea Party, if it is to be remembered a hundred years from now, must shrink the bureaucratic state, returning government to its proper role. It must also fundamentally change the process of electoral politics, whether it’s a return to a caucus and convention nomination process or even repealing the 17th Amendment and the direct election of Senators. Real change is about the Tea Party and the American people transcending the Progressive system of government, the ruling class it created, breaking it and its cronies, devolving power from the federal government, and changing the playing field and rules by which the “game” of politics and government is played. Fundamental change has happened before, and it can be done again, and that is the measurement of true success the Tea Party should seek to attain.
About the Author
Ned Ryun is the founder and president of American Majority, a political training institution. His “With the Tea Partiers” column run each month in the The American Spectator’s print edition. You can follow him on Twitter @nedryun.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (40) | Leave a comment
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aware| 3.8.12 @ 6:28AM
Either the "Tea Party" cuts all ties to the Republican Party or it will be assimilated by the Borg.
old white guy| 3.8.12 @ 11:25AM
to date i see zero impact by the tea aprty. has spending been cut, no. is oil being drilled for, no. is the coal industry doing well, no. the only thing happening is the headlong rush to socialism has increased. if no change occurs in nov the republic is screwed.
TrueBlue | 3.8.12 @ 1:18PM
One out of 3 parts is not enough to institute change. Something that seems to get forgotten, can't do much with just the House. Need to at least have the Senate so you can point to the President being the stopgap. Much easier to get people to believe the president is responsible for things not getting fixed than the majority of a group of 100 people.
aware| 3.8.12 @ 7:01PM
Republicans hold the House not the "Tea Party". And it wasn't all that long ago Republicans held all 3 branches.
Remember all the spending cuts, federal depts. abolished, government payrolls reduced, constitution restored, and.......wait the opposite happened.
Kinda like a lot of people here conflate the Republican Party with conservatism, you are doing it with the "Tea Party". It will never be the party of Tea or conservatism.
The RP likes to bat its eyes and flirt with conservatives to tease them into paying for dinner but you'll never get it to put on the ring. You're lucky if you even get to hold hands for your trouble. Sure its an old, old routine but it still works like a charm. Behold the posters who think Republican victory means conservative rule.
Tim the Enchanter| 3.8.12 @ 3:22PM
aware... you forgot the obligatory "Resistance is futile". No Borg should be without it.
Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 3.8.12 @ 6:30AM
And what happens if another force enters the fray and demolishes the whole thing quite easily?
What would that force be?
The collapse of severe devaluation of the U.S. dollar.
Decades ago Pat Buchanan predicted it would be the equivalent of a Peso one day and it's beginning to look like he was right.
No matter how many political movements spring up, economics is the final arbiter.
Clint| 3.8.12 @ 7:41AM
We Tea Party Patriots Have Been Seating Delegates And Vetting State And Local And Federal Candidates.
RCV| 3.8.12 @ 11:05AM
Hahahaha.....
RCV| 3.8.12 @ 3:06PM
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i AM A sTANFORD GRAD. i AM SO SMART. i AM READY TO TURN OUR COUNTRY INTO A CROSS BETWEEN sODOM AND dETROIT. Wait to you get a load of me.
Tim the Enchanter| 3.8.12 @ 3:23PM
Huh?
Reprobate Charlatan Vomitus| 3.8.12 @ 8:14PM
RCV:
"I abhor the sanctimonious conservatism of the tea party brand, an ideology wholly lacking in intelligence or a shred of real Christian love and compassion. Every policy it espouses is dangerous, damaging and detrimental to our country and it's future. It will have a lifespan much like its forebearer, Know-Nothingism."
RCV:
"At least I belong to a party that cares about human beings AFTER they're born"
RCV:
"I stand by every word"
Indy| 3.8.12 @ 7:46AM
The Progressive Movement has been running its play book for over 100 years. The Tea Party entered the game with under 2 minutes left in the 4th quarter. While I agree there needs to be a long term game plan, the short term plan is critical. November 2010 (actually prior with VA, NJ and MA elections) was a great achievement and the establishment GOP establishment immediately caved in the Lame Duck Session and the caves continued after that so while many of us keep working to educate others, find good candidates and get them elected, we still have to take on the McConells and Boehners of the world...depressing.
Very few really understand the Left ideology and how far down the path we are, there is little room to turn the ship around. The only real outlet we have to get the message out is the internet. The media is complicit on the destruction of our country from within, the financial mess we are in can easily be explained to the public but the subject is taboo, truth in journalism is a rare thing. Greece here we come.
JohnInFlorida| 3.8.12 @ 7:57AM
Amen, brother! We need more people talking up the repeal of the 17th amendment ...
A Path to America Redux ... Repeal 17 ... Enforce 10 ...
Melvin| 3.8.12 @ 8:04AM
The Progressive movement has become the very entity of corruption and crime that it so loathed in the beginning.
It has become, what it had set out to destroy.
Henry Calvin| 3.8.12 @ 10:39AM
Reread the final paragraph of "Aminal Farm". And let that be a warning to all.
One if by land...| 3.8.12 @ 10:49AM
read the entire Bible and let it be a warning to all.
aware| 3.8.12 @ 7:07PM
Yes.
Big Tony| 3.8.12 @ 8:54AM
I hate to be the skunk at the party but it's too late! Look at the demographics, the numbers simply don't add up. The Judeo-Christians from europe will soon be a minority, over taken by the flood of immigrants from the last 40 years. Immigrants that both parties wanted the Rino's wanted the cheap labor and the Demo's knew they would have another reliable voting block. I'm glad a few people finally woke up but they are now simply closing the barn door after the cows are gone. Next stop is a finacial collapse you'd better have a game plan for that or an escape route.
Louis Jenkins| 3.8.12 @ 10:04AM
A finacial collapse is almost a certain occurance. The argument now is when, not if it will occur. Hope you've got your three Bs together. Tea Party people are the mostly likely to be prepared.
Al Adab| 3.8.12 @ 10:45AM
What began as a public outburst has evolved into a rule changing movement comprised of roughly three national organizations. The GOP party hierarchy is no longer the same as the voters. Rove and Romney still play and analyize by the old rules. Newt and Santorum have recognized, but as yet do not understand (neither do I) just what the new rules are. Still they will come into play soon enough. We as Conservatives need to be the first to grasp and to define just how the new rules do apply.
DRed| 3.8.12 @ 11:39AM
If the Tea Party really desires to change the corruption in our government, how could they possibly support people like Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich? That's what I don't understand. I mean that sincerely, Al. What about Newt or Rick's careers in politics make you think they have any interest in meaningful reform?
Al Adab| 3.8.12 @ 2:37PM
DRed:
No problem, I take you at your word. Since the Tea Party is, in my estimation at least, not a monolithic organization it is probably not accurate to suggest IT supports any one candidate. In fact I suspect that members, if they actually are such, individually support all four.
Your observation is well taken that the candidates have records which could raise concerns. There seems to be a search to define which is "most" conservative and that can be hard to tie down. We could analyize each at some length but siffice it to say that they do cover the spectrum.
BTW did we ever finish our conversation about if it is DR ed, or D Red, or some otner?
DRed| 3.8.12 @ 2:48PM
D Red. It's an old nickname unrelated to communism (in case you were wondering).
I take your point about the nebulous nature of the tea party. Would it be fair for me to say that one of the driving forces behind the tea party is the sense that government is unresponsive to the actual will of the people?
Al Adab| 3.8.12 @ 4:29PM
Oh yes, better Dead than Red. I actually have a couple friends who go by Red so no problem.
Unresponsive may be a bit too tight or narrow as it imples more democracy than representative system. That may simply be hairsplitting on my part.
There is a sense that government and office holders work to satisfy groups not issues; maintain the status quo; and protect their own perks all at public expense. Most of it comes down to "why are we being taxed harshly (a subjective term) to purchase votes, allies and benefits for loyal groups and public servant pockets. Your use of nebulous is probably a good choice yet the current underlying the "movement" as a whole seems similar. Hope that makes some sense. I'm no expert on the movement.
What seems to be common is that the "old school" of practical political science isn't holding up under the T P influence but without any clear understanding of what has replaced it.
Petronius| 3.8.12 @ 11:29AM
Lib operatives are infiltrating this movement everywhere. How do you think the administration told the IRS who to hassle? And it will be destroyed because it cannot defend itself against the organized left. And the RNC will be happy to help.
aware| 3.8.12 @ 7:11PM
RNC operatives infiltrating more like it.
giopa2| 3.8.12 @ 11:36AM
Undoing the damage of the Progressive Movement does not mean going back to the original corruption of the 19th century - having the thugs of employers beat up Union employees, having Corporations bilk the taxpayer out of billions of dollars (which the railroads did), having these Corporations utterly control all aspects of the economy like the Southern Pacific Railroad did to California, having employers pay the vast majority of employees less than a subsistance wage, having employers allowed to put their employees to any sort of workplace danger with no safety precautions, having companies allowed to poison the surrounding communities to any extent they find convenient, having government staffed by political cronies who may have no ability to do the job and no inclination to serve the public, & etc.
aware| 3.9.12 @ 5:30AM
Looks like undoing the damage to the history books might be the first thing.
Pat| 3.8.12 @ 1:14PM
The mainstream media has a love-hate relationship with the Tea Party movement. They love the theoretical concept that ordinary citizens can play an activist role in government. They hate the fact the Tea Party folks attempt to influence legislators without first asking permission from the mainstream media or even soliciting their approval. For Conservative media outlets, the pundits are still puzzled by the Tea Party movement. What is their role, what real influence do they exert? But individual Conservatives should view the Tea Party movement as a feisty David versus the all-powerful Goliath of the Washington D. C. Philistines. Why? Because for the past 5 decades our elected employees have worked long hours fashioning our governmental processes into self-serving mechanisms designed to perform their personal bidding and primarily for their financial benefit.
Review any of the Obama scandals and it’s easy to understand how far Big Government has progressed in gaming our legal system. We can’t learn the details of where that $550 million gift to Soylandra went, who benefitted, what really happened to all that money. We can’t force Eric Holder’s Justice Department into investigating his role in the Fast and Furious gun running scheme. We couldn’t prevent the UAW from calling in their Democratic Party markers in order to move taxpayer funds into their various pension and welfare plans.
We’d almost reached the point where most of us agreed it was futile to even try. Government was too big, too complex and too well insulated to care what us taxpayers think - we protest, they simply ignore us. But then the Tea Party movement rose spontaneously and we should be grateful to the ordinary citizens who decided enough was enough. No one knows what their long term impact will be but, at present, they scare the yellow pee out of our elected employees and that has to be a good thing under any circumstance.
ABNCP| 3.8.12 @ 1:43PM
It 's very apparent, there is no Tea PARTY! What it is now, is a loose collection of people who have similar political concepts. What is must become if it is to have any lasting power position in American politics is to become organized. By that I mean it has to have the same basic local, state and national organization that the Dems and Repubs have. Why you ask? Because that's what is required to raise the funds (MONEY) it needs to sponsor and get elected the type of individuals a real Tea Party needs to put pressure on the establishment Republicans and get the results the people who make up the Tea Party want and that this country needs. Iv'e been beating this drum for a while now.
There is only one individual who could and can organize a national Tea Party with the infrastructure required and that is Sara Palin. She is not going to run for President, not going to happen at least in 2012. Sara has the influence and contacts to get this thing started and see it through.
She would do more for the health of this country by becoming the CEO of a national Tea Party organization than anything else she could do at this time. So come on Sara let's hear from you!!!
randyinrocklin| 3.8.12 @ 4:17PM
I'm with you ABNCP
old progrmr| 3.8.12 @ 4:39PM
"No grassroots movement has risen so quickly, so spontaneously, and changed the national political narrative so rapidly in recent memory." And, then vanished just as quickly. This once powerful movement has vanished just like the conservative representatives they were so effective at getting elected in 2010. What happened? I would hope they are secretly preparing to take part in the next election to unseat Obama and retake both houses of the Congress, but I am NOT holding my breath. All I hear are the comments of those of such great principles that if their guy doesn't gain the nomination they will simply refuse to vote and hand the election to the radical leftists. It appears to me that although our government was structured by our founders to provide the checks and balances to prevent a dictator like Obama, but this system will work ONLY if there is dedicated opposition which there is no sign of. Where are those Tea Party warriors, where were they in the battle of Wisconsin, where are they now as Obama siezes more and more unconstitutional power every day? Where are those supposdly brave GOP Representatives who were expected to stand up to the Administration? Where are any opponents to Obama, except those who blog and post, accomplishing little of note.
Pat| 3.8.12 @ 6:08PM
old progrmr: expecting the Tea Party movement to be a powerful force in American political history may be asking too much of private citizens. What many are looking for the Tea Party to become is akin to a political tsunami involving 5 million citizens marching on Washington, temporarily shutting down our government for several days, rattling the mainstream media to their very core and making an unforgettable point which can’t be ignored or explained away as a fringe element’s misguided notions. An organization able to accomplish a show of such political force would be unstoppable and gather new followers like a powerful magnet attracts metal filings.
The NRA is closer to what the Tea Party movement can accomplish as an organization. The NRA has been instrumental in protecting our right to own and use firearms for a variety of purposes. But the NRA isn’t a political party, although they do support certain political candidates or elected office holders in favor of their rivals. They fight gun control legislation in the courts and lobby for repeal of unconstitutional laws. They disseminate information about illegal government activities such as the Fast and Furious gun running operation.
No one can deny the NRA has been active in the fight but they only provide a rear guard action against the “ban all guns” fanatics and their elected allies. Americans would have lost their right to freely own and use firearms long ago if not for organizations like the NRA and other private citizen groups. But no one would deny gun control efforts haven’t stopped, aren’t about to stop and the NRA would be first to admit they haven’t the power to stop them.
The NRA has been around for 100 years, active in the political process for several decades and has lobbyists on the payroll. The Tea Party movement is still in its infancy and may not be a permanent force. If we lack the collective passion and the recognized leadership to organize a 5 million citizen invasion of Washington, we can safely assume the dawn of a truly powerful Conservative movement able to change the future has not yet arrived.
The Bruce| 3.8.12 @ 11:34PM
The nails are in, and the coffin is firmly sealed. We're already doom, even if we don't realize it.
We're borrowing money just to service the interest on our debt, which is worse than using a credit card to pay a credit card, because in the latter scenario, the principle has the illusion of being "serviced" as well.
The only time in the last 50 years that we "balanced" the budget (under Clinton/Gingrich) was a complete farce. We took Social Security Insurance (SSI) out of the budget, created a second set of "books," and then BORROWED from SSI to make up the rest.
This is why even though we had a "balanced" budget under Clinton/Gingrich, our national debt continued to rise, even though our annual deficit was "zero" and, in some cases, showed a "surplus."
Don't believe the hype. No matter what, our nation is going to collapse, economically, because the politicians we put on place (Democrat and Republican) will continue to play the same Smoke And Mirrors game.
The collapse will come into effect, either due to default, because the Fed Chairman won't hit the "print money" button, or because the Fed Chairman WILL hit the "print money" button, leading to hyperinflation and collapse, vis-a-vis the Wiemar Republic or Zimbabwe.
Take your pick. There is no politician in Washington willing to admit the truth that we're about to collapse (not even the tinfoil hat wearing Ron Paul, who finds Amending bills with earmarks simply irresistible).
Thunderdome is coming, friends. You just don't know you're dead yet.
POST American| 3.8.12 @ 11:37PM
---------------------FINAL WORD----------------------
The 'FREE America' movement gets
still more feul from yesterday's act of
TOTAL Globalist TREASON by Leon Pannetta
before Congress.
A week after the 'uncanny' ---'natural' death
of ---genuine-- maverick Andrew Breitbart
BOTH he --and his bombshell 'BAR--Rockefeller
Obama' videos have 'disappeared'.
We stand surely no more than 2-3 years
away from full-blown, Globalist managed
receivership to the US taxpayer underwritten,
US economy empowered, zealously EUGENIC,
RED Chinese 'mere--ICK---CULL'.
"Remember, neither the NAZI nore
'Calm--you--nist' regimes were ever
overthrown by their subjects. In 1939
there were still sovereign nations to
resist tyranny. ---Now NOTHING stands
in the way of the NWO and its agenda
for world debt serfdom and TOTAL EUGENICS.
-------------------NOTHING!"
---------------------------Nuremberg ---is HERE!
"----Did you just hear me?
--------------THIS IS TREASON."
-ALEX JONES
IT IS.
TROJAN HORSE TREASON
---and down through history TREASON is
universally recognized as the highest
crime there is.
-----------Nuremberg---IS-----HERE-------------
RETRO-active IMPEACHMENT of our
past 4 CFR front administrations.
----AIN'T NO WAY AROUND IT
---------------------------------------NONE!
casquette new era | 3.9.12 @ 2:41AM
merci!
Timely Renewed | 3.11.12 @ 4:36PM
In order for the Tea Party to have a permanent impact, we must reverse 70 years of Supreme Court decisions which have allowed the federal government to grow far beyond its original constitutional bounds and restore the Constitution's original structure and meaning. Given the deep entrenchment of those decisions and the special interests which support the federal leviathan, only constitutional amendments restating and re-affirming those original limits can bring this about.
However, such amendments are unlikely as long as Congress has an effective monopoly on initiating amendments. An Article V convention is beset with uncertainties. Therefore the Tea Party should focus first on reforming Article V to allow states to initiate amendments without going through the outmoded and unnecessary mechanism of a convention. With this "amendment amendment" grassroots constitutionalists would then be able to launch amendments at the state level to end the ever-growing federal behemoth that is taking away our freedoms. See http://www.timelyrenewed.com
The Bruce| 3.22.12 @ 2:11AM
In other words, Timely, WE... ARE... FING... DOOMED.
Thanks for playing.