CorpComms Magazine

So tell me, what's this got to do with tea?

Not much. The name was pilfered from the Boston Tea Party, a rebellion against British colonial rule in the late 18th century in which colonists hurled British tea into Boston Harbour protesting against taxes on imports and a lack of representation in Parliament. And who can blame them?

So, what's this then?

A populist political movement born in 2009 in the United States advocating fiscal conservatism or, more accurately, vociferously opposing high levels of taxation and federal spending.

Anything to do with the Wall Street plunge?

What isn't, these days? It seems to have been triggered in the main by infuriation with the bank bailouts under both the Bush and Obama administrations, and further fuelled by opposition to a series of healthcare reform bills passed last year by the Democrats.

Getting a sneaking suspicion this is a little to the right of Ghenghis Kahn...

You might be onto something. Its poster girl is Sarah Palin, who dabbles in a little light conservatism. The typical 'tea party patriot' or 'tea bagger' is a white middle-aged male on the religious right with a higher salary than the average American.

Do Tea Party supporters object to more than Obama's politics?

Yes, proponents of the movement have been accused of playing the race card. A quarter of Tea Pary supporters believe the Obama administration favours black Americans over whites, compared to 11 per cent of the general population.

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