The Tea Party is a grassroots political movement that began in 2009, when frustrated citizens began protesting tax increases. Borrowing on the name of a similar early colonial uprising, the Boston Tea Party, these frustrated citizens banded together to send a message to their leaders: “Stop taxing us so much and wasting our money!” In fact, “TEA” stands for Taxed Enough Already. The Tea Party is the epitome of a grassroots movement. It spontaneously sprung up at many diverse locations around the country and has no centralized leadership. Each Tea Party organization is local and led by like-minded individuals, who hold to conservative ideals. Many who now associate with the Tea Party were previously detached from or disinterested in politics.
