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Visit to a Tea Party group in Kentucky gives keys to Tea Party's origins & concerns

News, commentary and archival information about the Tea Party movement from NYTimes.

Mark Lillo charts how both right and left libertarianism & radical individualism have led to "communities of like-mindedness"; and now to an angry movement that wants to be free from government agencies that protect their health, wealth, and well-being; free from problems and policies too difficult to understand; free from parties and coalitions; free from experts who think they know better than they do; free from politicians who don't talk or look like they do.

Discussion about Tea Party movement, & article about it on 2/1/2010

More than populism, the movement is about a transformation from political indifference to bracing for tyranny.

The Coffee Party was formed on the opening premise that the federal government "is not the enemy of the people."

But only 1/8 very familiar with Tea Party, with favorable ratings split. Sarah Palin has lost popularity.

"The government safety net was created to keep Americans from abject poverty, but the poorest households no longer receive a majority of government benefits. A secondary mission has gradually become primary: maintaining the middle class from childhood through retirement. The share of benefits flowing to the least affluent households, the bottom fifth, has declined from 54 percent in 1979 to 36 percent in 2007, according to a Congressional Budget Office analysis published last year."

Republicans are getting away with their populist masquerade, and Democrats are not convincing the country that they offer anything better.