Tea Parties and the New Republicanism

Note: my convention is to not capitalize political parties to avoid confusion with political philosophies, which I do capitalize.

We have come to see two major interpretations on the tax day Tea Party phenomenon. First, some claim that the Tea Parties consist predominantly of republicans who are displeased with the dominance of democratic party at the federal level. Others recognize the Tea Parties as a new, party neutral, political movement. I think the latter is a more correct interpretation. I will explain why I think that the Tea Parties represent a genuine expression of American Federalism.

First, what is Federalism in the US? The US is constructed of politically independent states bound to each other by a federal government. In principle the federal government exists mostly to mediate interactions between states. The loose political connections between states ideally allows for more autonomy at the state and local level. To understand these Tea Parties, it is critical to recognize that Federalism, or more specifically local autonomy, is an intrinsic component of the American psyche, even if most Americans might have trouble giving a precise definition to the word "Federalism" without the help of a dictionary.

Outside of these obvious and historical contexts, what motivates the Tea Parties? I think the Tea Parties are a reflection of the fact that the GOP no longer has a populist base in the US. In other words, the republican party has traditionally appealed to the Federalist component of the population, but has, in recent years, abandoned this core principle. The ultimate expression of this abandonment is the massive bailout schemes implemented at the end of the Bush presidency. While these bailouts continue with the Obama administration, they represent the continued expansion of the federal government and the consequent political displacement of a large population. In fact, Obama leveraged this displacement through his grass roots campaign strategy, swinging enough "centrists", as they were called, to win the election.

The politically displaced include (1) centrists who cling to the republican party because of tradition, (2) centrists who supported Obama but are uncomfortable with his continued expansion of the federal government, (3) social conservatives whose party has been decimated at the national level, and (4) independents with Libertarian leanings who have never enjoyed a strong party. I believe these people comprise the Tea Parties and I also believe that these groups are most strongly influenced by the Federalist tradition.

While I don't think that the Tea Parties represent a nascent revolution like the Boston Tea Party did in 1773, I do believe that they represent the birth of a new political force that is much stronger than most people recognize right now. This force will probably ultimately be absorbed under the auspices of the current republican party. But I think this process will be transforming. Hopefully, we will see a new republican party as a result--one that embraces the Federalist tradition that serves as a principle motivator behind these Tea Parties.