A8 ELECTION 2010 An up-close look at the tea party . . .
Over the past several weeks, Te Washington Post attempted to contact every tea party group in the country in an effort to gauge the scope of the nascent movement. Interviews with nearly 650 organizations revealed a movement that has attracted hundreds of thousands of first-time activists but one that shows little interest in becoming a coordinated political force.
GRAPHICS by Karen Yourish, Dan Keating and Laura Stanton Of the 647 groups Te Post talked to . . .
325 identified one of the following when asked whether
there is a main national political organization the group works with:
Americans for Prosperity
27
206 groups said they
work mainly with the Tea Party Patriots
272 said they do not work with any national organization:
FreedomWorks 25
Republican Party
20
Project 19
11
Tea Party Express
9/12
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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2010
9 4
Tea Party Nation
American Majority
Campaign for Liberty
4 Other/don’t know/did not answer 50
FOR EXAMPLE: North Oakland County Tea Party Patriots Oxford, Mich.
Te group does not want the tea party to be a third party or take over the Republican Party; it wants to function as an independent group. It is not campaigning for any candidates in the midterm elections.
Top issue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Constitution
National leaders who best represent group’s view . . . . . Mark Levin, Jim DeMint Number of people at last meeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 One word to describe the tea party . . . . . . . “Patriotic”
Barre, Vt.
FOR EXAMPLE: Capitol Tea Party
Te group named the Tea Party Patriots as the main national political organization it works with. But it does not want the tea party to become a third party and prefers to continue to function as an independent group.
Top issue . . . . . . . . . . Limited size of government
National leader who best represents group’s view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ron Paul Number of people at last meeting . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 One word to describe the tea party . . . . “Fractured”
MEMBERSHIP
Most tea party groups are small, and 86 percent of those surveyed said most of their members are new to politics.
EVENT ATTENDANCE
Median number of people who attended last public event:
20 percent of the groups said they had 1,000 or more people in attendance at their last public event.
51%
fewer than 50 members
CORE MEMBERS
More than half of the groups said fewer than 50 members attended their last planning or organizing meeting.
50 5% 43%
50 to 1,000
members Only 37 groups exceeded 1,000 members. 1,000 1,000+ 4% 6% NOTE: Totals may not add to 100 percent due to rounding.
Less than three
months 9%
Tree to six
months
months to a year
Six
Longer than a year
DURATION
Most of the groups said they have been in existence for more than a year:
200 87%
ORGANIZATION
Nearly three-quarters said theirs is an informal group without a governance structure, but most are at least a year old.
of the groups’ main political activities and strategies are determined mostly at the local level:
Entirely at the local level
Mainly at the local level
51% 36% 10%
Mainly or entirely through coordination with one or more national organizations
Don’t know 3% 62%
Median amount of money the groups have raised in 2010
$800
FUNDING
Most groups raised less than $1,000 in 2010, and most have little cash on hand.
$ WHO the money comes from 95% Individuals 24% WHERE the money comes from 95%
Local sources
Elsewhere in the state: 2%
Other groups: 1%
National organizations: 2%
Median amount of money the groups have on hand
$500
Average percentage among those who reported income:
Businesses: 3%
tea party from A1 The findings suggest that the breadth
of the tea party may be inflated. The Atlanta-based Tea Party Patriots, for ex- ample, says it has a listing of more than 2,300 local groups, but The Post was unable to identify anywhere near that many, despite help from the organization and independent research. In all, The Post identified more than
1,400 possible groups and was able to verify and reach 647 of them. Each answered a lengthy questionnaire about their beliefs, members and goals. The Post tried calling the others as many as six times. It is unclear whether they are just hard to reach or don’t exist. Mark Meckler, a founding member of
ROSS D. FRANKLIN/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Vera Davis of Litchfield Park, Ariz., cheers at a Tea Party Express rally Friday that drewabout 1,000 people to the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix.
the Tea Party Patriots, said: “When a group lists themselves on our Web site, that’s a group. That group could be one person, it could be 10 people, it could come in and out of existence — we don’t know. We have groups that I know are 15,000 people, and I have groups that I
know are five people.”
‘We can’t always agree’ There is little agreement among the
leaders of various groups about what issue the tea party should be most con- cerned about. Infact, fewsawthemselves as part of a coordinated effort. The most common responses were concerns about spending and limiting the size of government, but together those were named by less than half the groups. Social issues, such as same-sex marriage and abortion rights, did not register as concerns. If anything tied the groups together, it
was what motivated their members to participate. Virtually all said that eco- nomic concerns were a factor, and nearly as many cited a general mistrust of government. Opposition to President Obama and Democratic policies was a big factor, but only slightly more so than dissatisfaction with mainstream Repub- lican leaders. Eleven percent said that Obama’s race,
religion or ethnic background was either a “very important” or “somewhat impor- tant” factor in the support their group has received. While the tea party groups may lack a
unifying direction or vision at the mo- ment, the results show that they are ripe for action. A remarkable 86 percent of local leaders said most of their members are new to political activity, suggesting that they could be turned into a potent grass-roots force heading into the 2012 elections. Of course, their general lack of interest
in politics also suggests that they could just as easily recede, particularly if the economy improves. The tea party’s biggest successes this
year have come only after one of a handful of well-funded national groups swooped in to mobilize local support. In upset victories in Alaska and Delaware, for instance, the Sacramento-based Tea Party Express spent hundreds of thou- sands of dollars on advertising for Re- publican Senate candidates Joe Miller
and Christine O’Donnell, respectively. Other national groups, such as
FreedomWorks and Americans for Pros- perity, have also built organizations and spent millions of dollars on advertising, high-profile bus tours or other direct campaign tactics. Some of the local group leaders may
find such tactics distasteful. Fifty-seven percent said they want to operate as a network of independent entities. And many organizers said the lack of coordi- nation and the independence of the groups are what drew them to the move- ment, even if it is a liabilitywhenitcomes to turning their beliefs into action. “It’s both an advantage and a disad-
vantage,” said Joe Lisante, 43, a family doctor and a founder of Miami County Liberty, a group near Dayton, Ohio. “If you’re an opponent of the tea party,
we’re not an easy target,” he said. “Some of the groups want to take on prayer in school. Some of them want to take on voter education.Somewant to be endors- ing candidates. But there is no particular
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