On December 16, 1773, a group of radical thinking colonists stormed British ships carrying tea, and unloaded the cargo in to Boston Harbor in protest of the unfair Taxation of the Colonies. This act was one of the sparks that lit a powder keg of American Revolution, and turned thirteen British Colonies in to these United States of America. Three centuries later, an unfair taxation of the American people is being perpetrated by its very own government, and the lessons learned by the Crown and Parliament have been so easily forgotten. It is time to remind our leaders of that lesson, and just like the tea floating in Boston Harbor changed the face of the Thirteen Colonies, the Tea Party Movement will change the face of the United States of America.
The Tea Party Movement did not begin with the dumping of heavily taxed tea in to Boston harbor, but on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on February 19, 2009. There was no plan for the Tea Party, it was born out of the resonance of an impromptu rant by CNBC commentator Rick Santilli; a rant against the government bail-out of banks, a rant against irresponsible borrowing policies and the fall of the subprime mortgage market. These government bail-outs were going to cost the tax payers. Just like that, the fuse had been lit, and in an explosion only possible in the information age via Twitter, Facebook and radio , this “New American Tea Party” began to invigorate an entirely new core of Conservative Republicans.
Shortly after Rick Santilli’s rant on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Tea Party rallies began to spring up in many communities, with membership growing exponentially, and it was only a matter of time before the country, and then the world began to take notice. Not since the Anti-War movement of the 1960’s had such large scale, peaceful protest occurred over government policy [ (Regnery) ]. It did not take the media long to form an opinion that was spoon fed to the population: the Tea Party members were old, white, and greedy racists who did not want to pay their fair share. Much how the old, white and greedy racists of the 60’s dismissed the progressive hippies as a fad, the leftist media dismissed the Tea Party as a minor hiccup, and just like the hippies in the 60’s, the Tea Party members have gone one to influence the very fabric of the United States.
That new core of conservative Republicans came from the grassroots. In the Capital of New York State, Albany, a radio host by the name of Al Roney led the charge. Just like in many communities all over the country, the Tea Party Movement took the capital of the State of New York by storm on April 15th 2009 in what was called the Albany Tax Day Tea Party. This first strike at the establishment took many in Albany by surprise. This later became an example that the Occupy Albany Movement would emulate, although they would take it to different extremes.
Where the hippies changed America by beating a drum, expressing free love, and protesting what they believed to be an unjust war, the Tea Party has its own means of effecting change. After the events of February 2009, and the ensuing rallies the Tea Party began to back outsider conservative candidates as opposed to career establishment Republicans. After the dust cleared on the 2010 elections, five Tea Party Candidates won seats in the U.S. Senate, and 40 Tea Party candidates won seats in the House of Representatives [ (MAYA SRIKRISHNAN) ] With the decisive victory in the House of Representatives, the Republican Party was able to wrest control from the Democratic Party and install a Republican Speaker of the House.
Whether such a loosely organized collection of people can sustain itself as a political force isn't clear, although they have forged a formidable record. Tea Party supporters have helped win the Republican gubernatorial nomination for Nikki Haley in a turbulent South Carolina primary, deny renomination to Republican Sen. Bob Bennett in Utah and push Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter to leave the GOP
With such a successful election, it would appear that embracing the Tea Party Movement would be beneficial for the Republican Party; unfortunately some members of the establishment are still blind to the vicissitudes of the modern America. During the October 13th 2011 broadcast of the Rush Limbaugh Show, Mr. Limbaugh explained how members of the Republican Establishment “…are still joining with the Democrats in the notion that the Tea Party is a problem and needs to be beaten back”. (Limbaugh) Even in their displeasure with the threat that this protean force of Middle America poses to them, the establishment cannot deny the power of the Tea Party Movement, and can only strike back with harsh words as they impotently strive to keep their political careers.
What has been described as a “Democrat Awakening” by the Washington Post, the occupy Movement is a loud, reverberating answer to the Tea Party Movement [ (Fatcher) ]. While the main stream media will often give the credit for the birth of the Occupy Movement to the political uprising that began in Egypt in 2001 that became known as the “Arab Spring” by the mainstream media, in truth had it not been for the rise of the Tea Party Movement Zucati Park would never have been occupied. Without an opposite movement to emulate, and a resurrection of the American voice, the Occupy Movement would never have graduated from occupying a studio apartment, let along the attention of the media.
At the state and local levels, Tea Parties remain highly engaged in ballot initiatives and Senate races and congressional contests. The Ohio movement won a victory in a “health-care freedom” bill in the 2011 elections. Other Tea Parties around the country say they’re focused on statewide efforts against public employee unions or health-care mandates.
At the Federal level, the Tea part Movement has made great changes in the landscape, particularly when it comes to the subject of the National debt ceiling. Tea Party members of the House of Representatives were instrumental in defending against the initial salvo of President Obama’s campaign of warfare against the fiscal security of the United States. The fractious arguments and eventual stalemate lead unfortunately to the downgrading of the United Sates of America’s AAA Credit rating. The down grading of the Credit rating, while not necessarily a good thing, marks one of the major changes the Tea Party is partially responsible.
In conclusion, the Tea Party Movement has changed the face of America. It has ousted incumbents, startled the establishment, and allowed a Phoenix, known as the America voice, to rise from the ashes. Just like December 16th, 1773, the United States of America is poised to change forever on the back of a tea party. The past and the present have blurred together, a privileged elite continues to tax an underrepresented populous, but this time it be tea floating in the harbor, but broken political careers and exposed, broken promises.

Works Cited
Fatcher, Emily. ""Will Occupy Wall Street's spark reshape our politics?"." The Washington Post 13 10 2011.
Limbaugh, Rush. "The Rush Limbaugh Show." The Rush Limbaugh Show. New York, 11 10 2011. Radio.
MAYA SRIKRISHNAN, JARED PLINER, JENNIFER SCHLESINGER, JOSHUA GOLDSTEIN and HUMA KHAN. ABCNEWS.Go.COM. 3 11 2010. 10 2 2012.
Regnery, Alfred S. ""Why the Tea Party movement is important."." The American Spectator 6 May 2010.