Should Catholics Drink the Tea?: Reflections on the Tea Party Movement in Light of Gaudium et Spes

Horizons ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 317-340
Author(s):  
Daniel R. Dileo
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Tea Party ◽  
Fiscal Responsibility ◽  
Tea Party Movement ◽  
Gaudium Et Spes ◽  
Limited Government ◽  
Laissez Faire

This article seeks to fill a gap in Catholic literature by reflecting on the extent to which the Tea Party movement can be understood as consistent with Gaudium et Spes (GS). First, the article provides an overview of the Tea Party movement and its core ideological principles: intense individualism, emphasis on negative human rights, limited government, fiscal responsibility, low taxes, and laissez-faire capitalism. Next, the article offers a brief description of the contextual and ecclesial background of GS and reviews its key themes. The article then assesses the extent to which the ideological principles of the Tea Party movement are supported by GS, concluding that although there are points of partial resonance between the ideology of the Tea Party and GS, the former is largely inconsistent with the vision outlined and articulated by the latter.

Reading the Tea Leaves: Understanding Tea Party Caucus Membership in the US House of Representatives

2012 ◽  
Vol 45 (02) ◽  
pp. 245-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan T. Gervais ◽  
Irwin L. Morris
Keyword(s):  
House Of Representatives ◽  
Tea Party ◽  
Tea Leaves ◽  
Tea Party Movement ◽  
Congressional Districts ◽  
Limited Government ◽  
The Us

AbstractIn the summer of 2010, 52 Republican members of the US House of Representatives joined the newly formed Tea Party Caucus, bringing the first institutional voice to the Tea Party movement. To understand both thepolicyorientations of the organized Tea Party (in its caucus manifestation) and the institutional strength of the caucus's membership, we assess the extent to which caucus members are distinctive from their fellow Republicans in the US House of Representatives. Our results suggest that membership in the caucus is primarily driven by ideology and economics. Specifically, we find that Tea Party Caucus members are Republicans who are ideologically oriented toward limited government and lower taxes and who hail from particularly prosperous congressional districts. We find no evidence that Tea Party Caucus members serve safer districts or have greater seniority or institutional stature than their Republican colleagues who are not members of the caucus. These findings, we believe, speak not only to the nature and orientations of the Tea Party Caucus, but to the wider Tea Party movement itself.

scholarly journals The mission thing

1994 ◽  
Vol 23 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 38-42
Author(s):  
Ted Turner
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Us Congress ◽  
The Us ◽  
Laissez Faire

While the US congress was debating whether to continue China's Most Favoured Nation status, and Clinton was going back on his election promises, CNN's boss in Hong Kong was appealing for a laissez-faire approach to human rights

The Mainstreaming of Racism in American Politics

Hard White ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard C. Fording ◽  
Sanford F. Schram
Keyword(s):  
African Americans ◽  
American Politics ◽  
Tea Party ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Opportunity ◽  
Opportunity Structure ◽  
White House ◽  
Tea Party Movement ◽  
Political Narratives ◽  
Key Terms

This chapter frames the book’s analysis and provides an overview of the subsequent chapters. It explains how racism today is manifested most significantly in white “outgroup hostility” toward Latinos and Muslims as well as African Americans. It highlights the importance of race-baiting elites in exploiting a transformed media landscape to stoke white outgroup hostility and thereby mainstream racism in American politics today. The chapter introduces and defines a number of key terms, including “racialized political narratives” that operate to racialize selected groups of people to be constructed as threatening “outgroups” in opposition to whites as the “ingroup.” It emphasizes that the “political opportunity structure” for white racial extremists became more open, especially with the rise of the Tea Party movement, leading to their increased participation in conventional politics. The chapter argues that these factors had already converged prior to 2016 for Donald Trump to exploit in winning the presidency, thereby accelerating the mainstreaming of racism in American politics by putting it at the center of public policymaking in the White House.

Interaction Rituals and Religious Culture in the Tea Party

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-51
Author(s):  
Stacy M. K. George
Keyword(s):  
Political Influence ◽  
Religious Right ◽  
Religious Culture ◽  
Tea Party ◽  
Tea Party Movement ◽  
Group Solidarity ◽  
Conservative Christianity ◽  
Interaction Rituals ◽  
Christian Culture ◽  
Religious Perspectives

Scholars have noted the variety of ideological and religious perspectives present in the Tea Party movement. This study addresses why both religious and nonreligious individuals may be involved in the Tea Party despite its cultural connection to ‘traditional’ conservative Christianity. The article explores Tea Party participation and commitment, arguing that group membership is sustained by the party’s ability to create interaction rituals reflective of Christian culture as an acknowledgement of American Christian values. The Tea Party frames its ideology as sacred, thereby establishing group commitment and cohesion. As a result, it is capable of attracting constituents from inside and outside of the Religious Right. By validating the experiences of others and creating a system of interdependency, the Tea Party has the potential to create group solidarity leading to collective action and exceptional political influence.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document