Supreme Matters: Tea Parties and the Activism of Restraint
2
Ars Aequi september 2010
opinie
arsaequi.nl/maandblad
AA201002
Supreme matterS: tea partieS and the activiSm of reStraint
Heather Kurzbauer*
According to recently released statistics, one-fifth of all US citizens are Tea Party Supporters: predominately white conservatives convinced of the ‘evils’ of the Obama administration.1 Taking their cue from the defining protest in American history, The Boston Tea Party of 1773 in which the slogan ‘no taxation without representation’ inspired the colonists to revolt against the British, today’s tea party proponents apply their heady brew of T.E.A. (Taxed Enough Already) protests to focus on the White House’s penchant for social spending, the perils of government controlled health care, not to speak of the menace of immigration. No tea-drinking pussycats, the growing legions of these supporters call for immediate political action to overturn federal legislation including the 2009-2010 Health Care reform bill and the 2008 Emergency Economic Stabilization Act. Tea parties have gathered enormous momentum since 2009 with millions of frenzied supporters expected at cross-country rallies this summer. ‘Our idea is essentially to act as ferocious as we are about our government being fiscally responsible as we will about our political process.’2
European intellectuals, who once dismissed Tea Party proponents as silly US right-wingers with a laughable programme, have subdued their criticism as they deal with the results of recent elections in the Netherlands and Belgium. Agendas that once lurked beneath a murky surface are now the talk of the town in Amsterdam and Brussels. Breaking news on the infamous Huffington Post includes a call for advice on the part of a European Labour politician just in case the Tea Party movement gains momentum with Europe’s disgruntled right-wingers.3 With the rise of the right in Europe and Tea Party challenges in the US, the choice for consistent and fair-minded Supreme Court
Ars Aequi september 2010
opinie
arsaequi.nl/maandblad
AA201002
Supreme matterS: tea partieS and the activiSm of reStraint
Heather Kurzbauer*
According to recently released statistics, one-fifth of all US citizens are Tea Party Supporters: predominately white conservatives convinced of the ‘evils’ of the Obama administration.1 Taking their cue from the defining protest in American history, The Boston Tea Party of 1773 in which the slogan ‘no taxation without representation’ inspired the colonists to revolt against the British, today’s tea party proponents apply their heady brew of T.E.A. (Taxed Enough Already) protests to focus on the White House’s penchant for social spending, the perils of government controlled health care, not to speak of the menace of immigration. No tea-drinking pussycats, the growing legions of these supporters call for immediate political action to overturn federal legislation including the 2009-2010 Health Care reform bill and the 2008 Emergency Economic Stabilization Act. Tea parties have gathered enormous momentum since 2009 with millions of frenzied supporters expected at cross-country rallies this summer. ‘Our idea is essentially to act as ferocious as we are about our government being fiscally responsible as we will about our political process.’2
European intellectuals, who once dismissed Tea Party proponents as silly US right-wingers with a laughable programme, have subdued their criticism as they deal with the results of recent elections in the Netherlands and Belgium. Agendas that once lurked beneath a murky surface are now the talk of the town in Amsterdam and Brussels. Breaking news on the infamous Huffington Post includes a call for advice on the part of a European Labour politician just in case the Tea Party movement gains momentum with Europe’s disgruntled right-wingers.3 With the rise of the right in Europe and Tea Party challenges in the US, the choice for consistent and fair-minded Supreme Court