Tea Party 101

The Tea Party is not a grassroots movement opposed to government interference, as depicted in the media. It’s actually a corporate puppet. The Tea Party was created by the Koch brothers (pronounced “coke”), who have heavily financed the movement. It is a strategy developed by the Kochs (and other wealthies in the corporate world) to tear down the government so that they can conduct their business activities without regulation, governmental constraint, or consideration for the environment, public interest, or the health of everyday citizens.

Jane Mayer of The New Yorker reports (Aug. 2010) that David and Charles Koch operate oil refineries in Alaska, Texas, and Minnesota, controlling about 4,000 miles of pipeline. They are the third wealthiest people in the country (behind Bill and Melissa Gates and Warren Buffett), with a combined wealth of $35 billion. They clearly have the financial resources to market their agenda to the public and to form public opinion. They have the resources to influence public policy. As Mayer explains: “By giving money to ‘educate’, fund, and organize Tea Party protesters, the Kochs have helped turn their private agenda into a mass movement.” Their promotion of their private agenda is not new, they have been up to this trick for over 20 years, investing $200 million in their self-serving activities, including a massive propaganda campaign (which continues in support of Tea Party activities).

It is infuriating that the Kochs have duped so many everyday people with old-fashioned traditional values, who work hard to make a decent life for themselves, into believing that the Tea Party represents their interests. It does not. It is the opposite. It is owned and operated by the Kochs and their corporate buddies. And if the Tea Party is successful in stripping the government of regulatory power over big business, then the oil companies, financial institutions, and health insurance companies will have free reign to plunder and pillage, destroying the planet and the future of our children.