During the last three years, the rise of the Tea Party (The National Tea Party Federation [NTPF]) has grabbed the attention of the media and been an important factor in state politics. The Tea Party—not a legal formal political party—argues that traditional American and Republican Party beliefs have been lost, and that the Tea Party will reform the Republican Party by bringing those lost ideas to the forefront. According to a 2010 Gallup Poll, nearly eight out of ten Tea Party admirers consider themselves Republicans.
Some of the core Tea Party beliefs are rooted in restoring the traditional family, that U.S. tax rates are too high, and that the U.S. government is too large, fiscally irresponsible, and abusing its power. Tea Party advocates believe that their rallies, demonstrations, and endorsement of candidates send a bold message to the government and that, as Ronald Reagan once said, “Government is not the solution, but the problem.” I believe that the Tea Party represents a wide and broad trend in today’s society, and that, as its name honoring the Boston Tea Party suggests, the Tea Party can bring about a revolution in American politics.
-- Caitlin Mantagas
Tea Party homepage
http://www.teapartyrevolution.com/
The conservative Heritage Foundation’s discussion of their principles
http://www.heritage.org/Research/Lecture/The-Origins-of-the-Modern-American-Conservative-Movement
The Public Broadcasting Service encapsulation of conservative thought
http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/conservatism.html
Liberal or Conservative, check out Politifact on accuracy in the media