October 25, 2010
understanding the tea party
The Washington Post spent months contacting every tea party group in the country in an attempt at understanding the attitudes and positions of the movement that has taken up so much of the national media’s attention, especially the twenty-four hour cable shows.
Seventy percent of the grass-roots groups said they have not participated in any political campaigning this year. As a whole, they have no official candidate slates, have not rallied behind any particular national leader, have little money on hand, and remain ambivalent about their goals and the political process in general.
“We’re not wanting to be a third party,” said Matt Ney, 55, the owner of a Pilates studio and a founder of the Pearland Tea Party Patriots in Pearland, Tex. “We’re not wanting to endorse individual candidates ever. What we’re trying to do is be activists by pushing a conservative idea.”
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