Tea Party protests#"Porkulus" protests and "First Tea Party" claims

Among other events, protests were held on:

• February 27, 2009, to protest the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) U.S. financial system bailouts signed by President George W. Bush in October 2008, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 stimulus legislation signed by President Barack Obama;{{cite web|url=http://houstonist.com/2009/02/26/tea_parties_coordinated_nationwide.php|title=Houston Joins Other Cities Nationwide in Tea Party Protest|author=Katharine Shilcutt Gleave|work=Houstonist|access-date=July 21, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110712223407/http://houstonist.com/2009/02/26/tea_parties_coordinated_nationwide.php|archive-date=July 12, 2011|url-status=dead}}
• April 15, 2009, to coincide with the annual U.S. deadline for submitting tax returns, known as Tax Day;{{cite news|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iVPKNWGZDbu2Xzq4C14mhJqCdXwQ|title=Anti-Obama 'tea party' protests mark US tax day|date=April 15, 2009|access-date=June 16, 2009|agency=AFP|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090419105652/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iVPKNWGZDbu2Xzq4C14mhJqCdXwQ|archive-date=April 19, 2009|url-status=dead}}
• July 4, 2009, to coincide with Independence Day;{{cite web|url=http://www.surgeusa.org/actions/july4.htm|title=Fourth of July – Independence Day Tea Party Celebrations / Protests – July 4, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100704094918/http://www.surgeusa.org/actions/july4.htm|archive-date=July 4, 2010|access-date=July 19, 2010|df=mdy-all}}
• September 12, 2009, to coincide with the anniversary of the day after the September 11 attacks;
• November 5, 2009, in Washington, D.C., to protest health insurance reform;{{Cite news|url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1109/29183.html|title=Tea partiers descend on Capitol Hill|last=Allen|first=Jonathan|date=November 5, 2009|newspaper=Politico|access-date=July 21, 2010|author2=Meredith Shiner|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100606044312/http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1109/29183.html|archive-date=June 6, 2010|url-status=live}}
• March 14–21, 2010, in D.C. during the final week of debate on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.{{cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/tea-party-activists-make-last-stand-against-health-care-vote/|title=Tea Party Activists Make Last Stand Against Health Care Vote|website=Fox News|date=March 20, 2010|access-date=November 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018031824/http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/03/20/tea-party-activists-make-stand-health-care-vote/|archive-date=October 18, 2015|url-status=live}}

File:Nashville Tea Party.jpg Tea Party on February 27, 2009.]]

{{See also|Taxation history of the United States}}

The theme of the Boston Tea Party, an iconic event of American history, has long been used by anti-tax protesters with libertarian and conservative viewpoints.{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=tv4hAAAAIBAJ&pg=4622,1455570&hl=en|title=Daily News - Google News Archive Search|access-date=November 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160702032156/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=tv4hAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dUcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4622,1455570&hl=en|archive-date=July 2, 2016|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=cMYcAAAAIBAJ&pg=3287,2203665|title=State Republicans call for anti-tax 'tea party'}}{{cite web|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AASB&p_theme=aasb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAD8C7A6C6DACF2&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|title=NewsBank for Statesman|access-date=November 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170419103839/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AASB&p_theme=aasb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAD8C7A6C6DACF2&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|archive-date=April 19, 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=esYcAAAAIBAJ&pg=7010,4383884&hl=en|title=The Victoria Advocate - Google News Archive Search|access-date=November 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170123080606/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=esYcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=51kEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7010,4383884&hl=en|archive-date=January 23, 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MH&s_site=miami&p_multi=MH&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB344E5F94DCCDC&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|title=Miami Herald: Search Results|access-date=November 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170123080845/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MH&s_site=miami&p_multi=MH&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB344E5F94DCCDC&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|archive-date=January 23, 2017|url-status=live}} It was part of Tax Day protests held throughout the 1990s and earlier.{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mtoPAAAAIBAJ&pg=5866,3315450|title=Boca Raton News - Google News Archive Search|access-date=November 11, 2016|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120714222215/http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mtoPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=y4wDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5866,3315450|archive-date=July 14, 2012|url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2008/04/20/Boston-Tea-Party-is-protest-template/UPI-96411208726823/ |title=Boston Tea Party is protest template |publisher=UPI.com |date=April 20, 2008 |access-date=April 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101001195010/http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2008/04/20/Boston-Tea-Party-is-protest-template/UPI-96411208726823 |archive-date=October 1, 2010 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna30226660 |title='The Rachel Maddow Show' for Tuesday, April 14 – Rachel Maddow show- NBC News |publisher=NBC News|date=April 15, 2009 |access-date=April 27, 2010 }} The libertarian theme of the "tea party" protest has also been used by Republican Congressman Ron Paul and his supporters during fundraising events in the primaries of the 2008 presidential campaign to emphasize fiscal conservatism, which they later claimed laid the groundwork for the modern-day Tea Party movement.{{cite web|url=http://www.teaparty07.com/ |title=Tea Party 07 – Ron Paul for President Mass Donation Day |access-date=August 10, 2014 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090901022339/http://www.teaparty07.com/ |archive-date=September 1, 2009 }}{{cite news |url=http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2007/12/ron_pauls_tea_p.html |title=Ron Paul's tea party for dollars – 2008 Presidential Campaign Blog – Political Intelligence |publisher=Boston.com |date=December 16, 2007 |access-date=April 27, 2010 |first=James F. |last=Smith |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025063623/http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2007/12/ron_pauls_tea_p.html |archive-date=October 25, 2012 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090415005738&newsLang=en |title=Statement on Ron Paul and "Tax Day Tea Parties" |publisher=Businesswire.com |date=April 15, 2009 |access-date=April 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100412171825/http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090415005738&newsLang=en |archive-date=April 12, 2010 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/12/16/ron_paul_raises_millions_in_todays_boston_tea_party_event/ |title=Ron Paul raises millions in today's Boston Tea Party event – The Boston Globe |publisher=Boston.com |date=December 16, 2007 |access-date=April 27, 2010 |first=Michael |last=Levenson |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100701084546/http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/12/16/ron_paul_raises_millions_in_todays_boston_tea_party_event/ |archive-date=July 1, 2010 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |agency=Associated Press |url=http://www.bostonherald.com/news/us_politics/view.bg?articleid=1051232 |title=Paul supporters hold Tea Party re-enactment in Boston |publisher=BostonHerald.com |date=December 17, 2007 |access-date=April 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101101203516/http://www.bostonherald.com/news/us_politics/view.bg?articleid=1051232 |archive-date=November 1, 2010 |url-status=live }}The Southern Avenger,

Host: Jack Hunter, Station: 1250 AM WTMA, Charleston, South Carolina, Date: February 15, 2010, [http://www.ronpaul.com/2010-02-15/southern-avenger-dont-let-neocons-hijack-the-tea-party-movement/ Interview with Ron Paul] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518033910/http://www.ronpaul.com/2010-02-15/southern-avenger-dont-let-neocons-hijack-the-tea-party-movement/ |date=May 18, 2011 }} In late 2008, Young Americans for Liberty, with the endorsement of Rep. Paul, organized a protest called the Binghamton Tea Party for January 24 of the following year where participants dressing in Native American costumes and dumping soft drinks into New York's Susquehanna River, as a protest of former NY Governor David Paterson's proposed 18% tax increase on soda.Jeff Frazee, [http://www.yaliberty.org/posts/yal-tax-protest "YAL Tax Protest"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722193914/http://www.yaliberty.org/posts/yal-tax-protest |date=July 22, 2011 }}, Young Americans for Liberty, January 28, 2009.Neil St. Clair, [http://centralny.ynn.com/content/all_news/132356/a--tea-party--to-protest-paterson-s-taxes/ "A 'tea party' to protest Patersons taxes"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100929201545/http://centralny.ynn.com/content/all_news/132356/a--tea-party--to-protest-paterson-s-taxes/ |date=September 29, 2010 }}, Your News Now, January 24, 2009.{{cite news|title=Binghamton Tea Party|url=http://www.wbng.com/closings/38276839.html|access-date=November 10, 2016|work=WBNG-TV|date=January 24, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161111060716/http://www.wbng.com/closings/38276839.html|archive-date=November 11, 2016|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}} As home mortgage foreclosures increased, and details of the 2009 stimulus legislation became known, more organized protests began to emerge.{{Cite web |url=http://www.middletoninv.com/fedup/Fed%20Up%20USA%20press%20release%20July%2031.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=March 6, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714090906/http://www.middletoninv.com/fedup/Fed%20Up%20USA%20press%20release%20July%2031.pdf |archive-date=July 14, 2011 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web|author=JEANNINE AVERSA AP Economics Writer |url=http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=102758 |title=Washington offers no relief for savers |publisher=Readingeagle.com |access-date=April 27, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210141817/http://www.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=102758 |archive-date=February 10, 2009 }}{{cite news |url=http://www.foxnews.com/search-results/m/21856284/homebuyer-helper.htm |title=Homebuyer Helper |publisher=Fox News|access-date=April 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924151807/http://www.foxnews.com/search-results/m/21856284/homebuyer-helper.htm |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |url-status=live }}

The dominant theme seen at some of the earliest anti-stimulus protests was "pork" rather than tea.{{cite web |url=http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/04/freedomworks-long-history-of-teabagging.php? |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090915180449/http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/04/freedomworks-long-history-of-teabagging.php |archive-date=September 15, 2009 |date=April 19, 2009 |title=FreedomWorks' Long History Of Teabagging |access-date=March 4, 2010 |quote="but they didn't have an explicitly tea-based theme. If they had a theme of any kind it was "pork" and government waste." |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }} The term "porkulus" was coined by radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh on his January 27, 2009, broadcast,{{cite news |author=Tom Kuntz |url=http://ideas.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/08/porkulus/ |title=Idea of the Day: 'Porkulus' |date=February 8, 2009 |access-date=February 8, 2009 |work=The New York Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090211123705/http://ideas.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/08/porkulus/ |archive-date=February 11, 2009 |url-status=live }} in reference to both the 2009 stimulus bill, which had been introduced to the House of Representatives the day before, as well as to pork-barrel spending and earmarks.{{cite web |author=Ronald D. Utt |url=http://www.heritage.org/research/budget/wm608.cfm |title=Is Pork Barrel Spending Ready to Explode? The Anatomy of an Earmark |publisher=The Heritage Foundation |date=November 10, 2004 |access-date=November 10, 2004 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041113041412/http://www.heritage.org/Research/Budget/wm608.cfm |archive-date=November 13, 2004 |df=mdy-all }} The term proved very popular with conservative politicians and commentators,{{cite news|title=The Movement – The Rise of Tea Party Activism|author=Ben McGrath|newspaper=The New Yorker|date=February 1, 2010|url=http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/02/01/100201fa_fact_mcgrath?currentPage=2|access-date=March 6, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100130112704/http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/02/01/100201fa_fact_mcgrath/?currentPage=2|archive-date=January 30, 2010|url-status=live}} who began to unify in opposition against stimulus spending after the 2008 general election.{{cite web |url=http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/04/freedomworks-long-history-of-teabagging.php |date=April 19, 2009 |title=FreedomWorks' Long History Of Teabagging |access-date=March 4, 2010 |quote=but they didn't have an explicitly tea-based theme. If they had a theme of any kind it was 'pork' and government waste. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090915180449/http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/04/freedomworks-long-history-of-teabagging.php |archive-date=September 15, 2009 |url-status=live }}

Competing claims have emerged over which protest was actually the first to organize. According to FreedomWorks state and federal campaigns director Brendan Steinhauser,{{cite web |url=http://www.freedomworks.org/press-releases/freedomworks-members-protest-president-obama-in-fo |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210122432/http://www.freedomworks.org/press-releases/freedomworks-members-protest-president-obama-in-fo |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 10, 2009 |title=Members Protest President Obama in Fort Myers |publisher=FreedomWorks |access-date=October 18, 2009 }}{{cite web |last=Steinhauser |first=Brendan |url=http://www.freedomworks.org/blog/bstein80/cape-coral-tea-party-is-on |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090401203928/http://www.freedomworks.org/blog/bstein80/cape-coral-tea-party-is-on |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 1, 2009 |title=Cape Coral Tea Party is ON! |publisher=FreedomWorks |date=March 29, 2009 |access-date=October 18, 2009 }} activist Mary Rakovich{{cite web |last=Steinhauser |first=Brendan |url=http://www.freedomworks.org/blog/bstein80/freedomworks-plans-to-protest-obama-in-fort-myers- |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209212406/http://www.freedomworks.org/blog/bstein80/freedomworks-plans-to-protest-obama-in-fort-myers- |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 9, 2009 |title=plans to protest Obama in Fort Myers, Florida Tuesday! |publisher=FreedomWorks |date=February 9, 2009 |access-date=October 18, 2009 }} was the organizer of a February 10 protest in Fort Myers, Florida, calling it the "first protest of President Obama's administration that we know of. It was the first protest of what became the tea party movement."{{cite news |title=One year later: Crist-Obama Fort Myers stimulus rally fueled Rubio campaign, pre-Santelli tea party protest |author=George Bennett |newspaper=Palm Beach Post |date=February 10, 2010 |url=http://www.postonpolitics.com/tag/mary-rakovich/ |access-date=March 6, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101125151116/http://www.postonpolitics.com/tag/mary-rakovich/ |archive-date=November 25, 2010 |url-status=dead }} Rakovich, along with six to ten others, protested outside a townhall meeting featuring President Obama and Florida governor Charlie Crist.{{cite web |url=http://www.news-press.com/article/20090211/OBAMA/90210068 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121227181128/http://www.news-press.com/article/20090211/OBAMA/90210068 |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 27, 2012 |title=Those outside Harborside in Fort Myers had plenty to see, say |publisher=The News-Press |date=February 11, 2009 |access-date=April 26, 2009 }} Interviewed by a local reporter, Rakovich explained that she "thinks the government is wasting way too much money helping people receive high definition TV signals" and that "Obama promotes socialism, although 'he doesn't call it that'". Regarding the role Freedomworks played in the demonstration, Rakovich acknowledged they were involved "right from the start,"{{cite web |last=Beutler |first=Brian |url=http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/04/freedomworks-long-history-of-teabagging.php |title=FreedomWorks' Long History Of Teabagging | TPMDC |publisher=Tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com |date=April 14, 2009 |access-date=April 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090915180449/http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/04/freedomworks-long-history-of-teabagging.php |archive-date=September 15, 2009 |url-status=live }} and said that in her 2{{frac|1|2}} hour training session, she was taught how to attract more supporters and was specifically advised not to focus on President Obama.{{cite web |url=http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state/womans-year-ago-protest-launched-tea-party-movement-224494.html |title=Woman's year-ago protest launched tea party movement in Florida |publisher=Palmbeachpost.com |access-date=April 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420202151/http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/state/womans-year-ago-protest-launched-tea-party-movement-224494.html |archive-date=April 20, 2010 |url-status=live }}

New York Times journalist Kate Zernike reports that some within the Tea Party credit Seattle blogger and conservative activist Keli Carender with organizing the first Tea Party on February 16, 2009.{{cite news |last=Zernike |first=Kate |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/us/politics/28keli.html/ |title=Unlikely Activist Who Got to the Tea Party Early |work=The New York Times |date=February 27, 2010 |access-date=April 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100419001130/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/us/politics/28keli.html/ |archive-date=April 19, 2010 |url-status=live }} An article written by Chris Good of The Atlantic credits Carender as "one of the first" Tea Party organizers.{{Cite web|date=2012-12-30|title=The Tea Party Takes a Hit|url=https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/the-tea-party-takes-a-hit/|access-date=2020-08-25|website=Outside the Beltway|language=en}}

Carendar organized what she called a "Porkulus Protest" on President's Day, a few days before Rick Santelli used the phrase "Tea Party" in what has been characterized as a "rant" broadcast from the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.{{cite news |last=Zernike |first=Kate |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/us/politics/28keli.html |title=Unlikely Activist Who Got to the Tea Party Early |work=The New York Times |date=February 27, 2010 |access-date=April 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100419001130/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/us/politics/28keli.html/ |archive-date=April 19, 2010 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://taxdayteaparty.com/2009/03/meet-keli-carender-tea-party-organizer-in-seattle-washington/ |title=Meet Keli Carender, Tea Party organizer in Seattle, Washington « Tax Day Tea Party |publisher=Taxdayteaparty.com |access-date=April 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430202009/http://taxdayteaparty.com/2009/03/meet-keli-carender-tea-party-organizer-in-seattle-washington/ |archive-date=April 30, 2009 |url-status=live }}

Carender contacted conservative author and Fox News contributor Michelle Malkin in order to gain her support and publicize the event. Malkin promoted the protest in several posts on her blog, saying that "There should be one of these in every town in America", and that she would be supplying the crowd with a meal of pulled pork. The protest was held in Seattle on Presidents Day, 2009.{{cite web |author=KIRO Tv |url=http://www.kirotv.com/video/18727718/index.html |title=VIDEO: Dozens Gather At "Porkulus" Protest |date=February 16, 2009 |access-date=March 29, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425205726/http://www.kirotv.com/video/18727718/index.html |archive-date=April 25, 2009 |df=mdy-all }} Malkin encouraged her readers to stage similar events in Denver on the following day where President Obama was scheduled to sign the stimulus bill into law.

A protest at the Denver Capitol Building was already scheduled to coincide with the bill signing. Malkin reported that it was organized by the conservative advocacy group Americans for Prosperity and spearheaded by the conservative activist group Independence Institute, as well as former Republican representative and presidential candidate Tom Tancredo.{{cite web |last=Malkin |first=Michelle |url=http://michellemalkin.com/2009/02/17/yes-we-care-porkulus-protesters-holler-back/ |title="Yes, we care!" Porkulus protesters holler back Updated |publisher=Michelle Malkin |date=February 17, 2009 |access-date=April 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100422085056/http://michellemalkin.com/2009/02/17/yes-we-care-porkulus-protesters-holler-back/ |archive-date=April 22, 2010 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=Malkin |first=Michelle |url=http://michellemalkin.com/2009/02/16/from-the-boston-tea-party-to-your-neighborhood-pork-protest/ |title=From the Boston Tea Party to your neighborhood pork protest |publisher=Michelle Malkin |date=February 16, 2009 |access-date=April 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100715154350/http://michellemalkin.com/2009/02/16/from-the-boston-tea-party-to-your-neighborhood-pork-protest/ |archive-date=July 15, 2010 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.thedenverchannel.com/politics/18732002/detail.html |title=President Signs Massive Stimulus In Denver |date=March 17, 2009 |access-date=April 2, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090515221902/http://www.thedenverchannel.com/politics/18732002/detail.html |archive-date=May 15, 2009 |url-status=dead }} Another protest organized by local conservative talk radio station KFYI was held in suburban Phoenix, Arizona, on February 18, and brought 500 protesters.{{cite web|author1=Gary Grado |author2=Sonu Munshi |author3=Hayley Ringle |url=http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/135640/ |title=More than 500 protest Obama's arrival |date=February 18, 2009 |access-date=April 2, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090315052030/http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/135640 |archive-date=March 15, 2009 }} KFYI organized the protest in reaction to Obama's visit to the local high school to hold his first public talk on elements of the stimulus bill.{{cite web|last=Wong |first=Scott |url=http://www.azcentral.com/community/mesa/articles/2009/02/15/20090215stim-obamavisit0216.html |title=Obama to visit Mesa high school on Wed |publisher=Azcentral.com |date=February 15, 2009 |access-date=April 27, 2010}} By February 20, Malkin was using her nationally syndicated column in an attempt to present these three protests as a movement to her fellow conservatives, continuing to call for more. "There's something in the air", she wrote, "It's the smell of roasted pork."{{cite web |url=http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/02/rebel_yell_taxpayers_revolt_ag.html |title=Articles – Rebel Yell: Taxpayers Revolt Against Gimme-Mania |publisher=RealClearPolitics |date=February 20, 2009 |access-date=April 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613151219/http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/02/rebel_yell_taxpayers_revolt_ag.html |archive-date=June 13, 2011 |url-status=live }}

On February 19, 2009, in a broadcast from the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, CNBC Business News Network editor Rick Santelli loudly criticized the government plan to refinance mortgages as "promoting bad behavior" by "subsidizing losers' mortgages", and raised the possibility of putting together a "Chicago Tea Party in July".[https://www.cnbc.com/2009/03/02/rick-santelli-i-want-to-set-the-record-straight.html Rick Santelli: I Want to Set the Record Straight] .CNBC. March 2, 2009.{{cite news |date=February 23, 2009 |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-santelli-cnbc-video,0,4962596.htmlstory |title=CNBC: Rick Santelli goes off |work=Chicago Tribune|access-date=March 2, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090316153711/http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-santelli-cnbc-video,0,4962596.htmlstory |archive-date=March 16, 2009 |df=mdy-all }} A number of the traders and brokers around him cheered on his proposal, to the apparent amusement of the hosts in the studio. It was called "the rant heard round the world".{{cite web |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/29306760 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160127093900/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/29306760 |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 27, 2016 |title=Answer Desk: Housing relief backlash – Answer Desk |publisher=NBC News |date=February 23, 2009 |access-date=April 27, 2010 }} Santelli's remarks "set the fuse to the modern anti-Obama Tea Party movement", according to journalist Lee Fang.{{Cite book |title=The Machine: A Field Guide to the Resurgent Right |last=Fang |first=Lee |page=[https://archive.org/details/machinefieldguid0000fang/page/27 27] |date=2013 |isbn=978-1-59558-639-1 |publisher=The New Press |url=https://archive.org/details/machinefieldguid0000fang/page/27 }}

The following day after Santelli's comments from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, 50 national conservative leaders, including Michael Johns, Amy Kremer and Jenny Beth Martin, participated in a conference call that gave birth to the national Tea Party movement.{{cite web|url=http://www.usmoneytalk.com/finance/tea-party-palins-pet-or-is-there-more-to-it-underneath-910/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140415112820/http://www.usmoneytalk.com/finance/tea-party-palins-pet-or-is-there-more-to-it-underneath-910/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=April 15, 2014|title=Tea Party: Palin's Pet, Or Is There More To It Underneath|date=April 15, 2014|access-date=November 11, 2016}}[http://www.michaelpatrickleahy.com/teapartyfounders.html "The founding Mothers and Fathers of the Tea Party movement," by Michael Patrick Leahy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170123080243/http://www.michaelpatrickleahy.com/teapartyfounders.html |date=January 23, 2017 }}, retrieved September 29, 2016. In response to Santelli, websites such as ChicagoTeaParty.com, registered in August 2008 by Chicago radio producer Zack Christenson, were live within twelve hours.[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-growing-tea-party-movement/ A Growing "Tea Party" Movement?], Jonathan V. Last, Weekly Standard, March 4, 2009. About 10 hours after Santelli's remarks, reTeaParty.com was bought to coordinate Tea Parties scheduled for the 4th of July and within two weeks was reported to be receiving 11,000 visitors a day. However, on the contrary, many scholars are reluctant to label Santelli's remarks the "spark" of the Tea Party considering that a "Tea Party" protest had taken place 3 days before in Seattle, WashingtonTam Cho, Wendy K., James G. Gimpel, and Daron R. Shaw. "The Tea Party Movement and the Geography of Collective Action." Quarterly Journal of Political Science 7.2 (2012): 105–33. In fact, this had led many opponents of the Tea Party to define this movement as "astroturfed," but it seems as if Santelli's comments did not "fall on deaf ears" considering that, "the top 50 counties in foreclosure rates played host to over 910 Tea Party protests, about one-sixth of the total"

Also on February 19, Young Americans for Liberty NY State Chairman Trevor Leach created a Facebook page called "The Capitalist Chicago Tea Party – Rick's Revolution", in response to Santelli's call for a national Tea Party.Jeff Frazee, [http://www.yaliberty.org/posts/traders-revolt "Traders Revolt"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722194011/http://www.yaliberty.org/posts/traders-revolt |date=July 22, 2011 }}, ''Young Americans for Liberty, February 19, 2009.{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=56760555635|title=Security Check Required|website=Facebook|access-date=November 11, 2016}} According to The Huffington Post, a Facebook page was developed on February 20 calling for Tea Party protests across the country.{{cite news |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-hamsher/a-teabagger-timeline-koch_b_187312.html |title=Jane Hamsher: A Teabagger Timeline: Koch, Coors, Newt, Dick Armey There From The Start |publisher=HuffPost |date=May 16, 2009 |access-date=April 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100523033848/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-hamsher/a-teabagger-timeline-koch_b_187312.html |archive-date=May 23, 2010 |url-status=live }} Eric Odom of the conservative activist group FreedomWorks was one of the group administrators, and it was created by Phil Kerpen from the conservative advocacy organization Americans for Prosperity. Soon, the "Nationwide Chicago Tea Party" protests were coordinated across over 40 different cities for February 27, 2009, establishing the first national modern Tea Party protest.{{cite news |last=Berger |first=Judson |url=http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/09/modern-day-tea-parties-taxpayers-chance-scream-better-representation/ |title=Modern-Day Tea Parties Give Taxpayers Chance to Scream for Better Representation |publisher=Fox News|date=April 9, 2009 |access-date=April 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100315144442/http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/09/modern-day-tea-parties-taxpayers-chance-scream-better-representation/ |archive-date=March 15, 2010 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=Roesgen |first=Andy |url=http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/TeaParty |title=Protestors Gather for Self-Styled Tea Party |publisher=myfoxchicago.com |date=February 27, 2009 |access-date=February 27, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302043443/http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/TeaParty |archive-date=March 2, 2009 |url-status=live }}

File:Louisville TEA Party 008.JPG, on April 15, 2009]]

April 15, 2009 is said to have been the day that had the largest number of tea party demonstrations reportedly in more than 750 cities.[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/16/us/politics/16taxday.html?ref=your-money "Tax Day Is Met With Tea Parties"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170130000755/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/16/us/politics/16taxday.html?ref=your-money |date=January 30, 2017 }}. Janie Lorber and Liz Robbins. The New York Times. April 15, 2009. Estimates of protesters and locations varied. The Christian Science Monitor reported on the difficulties of calculating a cumulative turnout and said some estimates state that over half a million Americans participated in the protests, noting, "experts say the counting itself often becomes politicized as authorities, organizers, and attendees often come up with dramatically different counts."[http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0418/p25s03-usgn.html "Arguing the size of the 'tea party' protest"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421041942/http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0418/p25s03-usgn.html |date=April 21, 2009 }}. Patrik Jonsson. The Christian Science Monitor. April 18, 2009. Retrieved June 16, 2009.{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/15/tea.parties/index.html|title=Nationwide 'Tea Party' Protests|publisher=CNN|access-date=June 16, 2009|date=April 15, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090609191152/http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/15/tea.parties/index.html|archive-date=June 9, 2009|url-status=live}} Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, estimated that at least 268,000 attended in over 200 cities.[https://web.archive.org/web/20090419113458/http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/04/16/1895636.aspx "Tea Party Attendance 268,000+"] . MSNBC. April 16, 2009. Statistician Nate Silver, manager of FiveThirtyEight.com, has said that a cumulative crowd size estimate from credible sources was of 311,460 attendees in 346 cities, which accounted for all capitols and major cities little noticeable or no reliable media coverage in other protests could have contributed to a lower number of attendees and locations.{{cite web|url=https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/tea-party-nonpartisan-attendance/|title=Tea Party Nonpartisan Attendance Estimates: Now 300,000+|date=April 16, 2009|access-date=June 16, 2009|publisher=FiveThirtyEight|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090701104454/http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/04/tea-party-nonpartisan-attendance.html|archive-date=July 1, 2009|url-status=live}} The largest event, in Atlanta, drew between an estimated 7,000 to 15,000 protesters.[http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-galloway/2009/04/27/the-myth-of-the-15000/ "The myth of the 15,000"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503043859/http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-galloway/2009/04/27/the-myth-of-the-15000/ |date=May 3, 2009 }}. Jim Galloway. Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 'April 27, 2009.{{cite news|url=http://www.cbsatlanta.com/politics/19184864/detail.html|access-date=June 16, 2009|title=Thousands Attend Atlanta Tea Party|date=April 16, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090419160959/http://www.cbsatlanta.com/politics/19184864/detail.html|archive-date=April 19, 2009|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}} Some of the gatherings drew only dozens.

On April 15, 2009, a Tea Party protest outside the White House was moved after a box of tea bags was hurled over the White House fence. Police sealed off the area and evacuated some people. The Secret Service brought out a bomb-detecting robot, which determined the package was not a threat.[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/5160655/Tea-parties-take-place-across-US-against-tax-increases.html {{"'}}Tea parties' take place across US against tax increases"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926115924/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/5160655/Tea-parties-take-place-across-US-against-tax-increases.html |date=September 26, 2018 }}. Alex Spillius. The Daily Telegraph (London). April 15, 2009. Approximately one thousand people had demonstrated, several waved placards saying "Stop Big Government" and "Taxation is Piracy".

File:Tea Party Protest in Dallas, Texas - April 2009.jpg

Tea Party rallies continued in various locales around the nation. Many of these events were focused on opposition to state or local taxes and spending, rather than with national issues. Late April saw Tea Parties in Annapolis, Maryland, White Plains, New York,{{Cite web|url=http://westchester.news12.com/story/34908593/tea-party-rally-held-in-white-plains|title=Tea party rally held in White Plains|website=westchester.news12.com|language=en|access-date=2020-02-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200219205922/http://westchester.news12.com/story/34908593/tea-party-rally-held-in-white-plains|archive-date=Feb 19, 2020}} Jackson, Tennessee,{{cn|date=August 2024}} and Monroe, Washington.{{cite web|url=http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20090426/NEWS01/704269890|title=Tea Party supporters protest taxes in Monroe - HeraldNet.com - Everett and Snohomish County news|date=April 25, 2009|access-date=November 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414050418/http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20090426/NEWS01/704269890|archive-date=April 14, 2016|url-status=live}} In May, there were six more Tea Party events in Tennessee,{{citation needed|date=October 2021}} New York,{{cite web | title = Hundreds attend rally downtown | publisher = WIVB-TV | url = http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/Hundreds_attend_rally_downtown_20090509 | date = May 9, 2009 | access-date = June 29, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090514005944/http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/Hundreds_attend_rally_downtown_20090509 | archive-date = May 14, 2009 | url-status = live }} Idaho,{{cite news|title=Crapo meets with Tea Party organizers |agency=Associated Press |url=http://www.kpvi.com/Global/story.asp?S=10422719 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090530043120/http://www.kpvi.com/Global/story.asp?S=10422719 |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 30, 2009 |date=May 26, 2009 |access-date=June 29, 2009 }}

Ohio,{{cite web | title = Tea Party 'grass-roots politics at its best' | publisher = Dayton Daily News | url = http://mobile.journal-news.com/rss.jsp?rssid=12387431&item=http%3a%2f%2fwww.journal-news.com%2fmobile-article-rss.do%3fsource%3d140149&cid=12387321 | date = May 29, 2009 | access-date = June 29, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160127093900/http://mobile.journal-news.com/rss.jsp?rssid=12387431&item=http%3a%2f%2fwww.journal-news.com%2fmobile-article-rss.do%3fsource%3d140149&cid=12387321 | archive-date = January 27, 2016 | url-status = live }} Nevada,{{cite web | title = Gov. Gibbons joins tax opponents at rally | publisher = Reno Gazette-Journal | url = http://www.rgj.com/article/20090529/NEWS/90529051/1321/NEWS | date = May 29, 2009 | access-date = June 29, 2009 }} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}} and North Carolina.{{cite web | title = Kernersville Taxpayers Hold Tea Party Protest | publisher = WFMY News 2 | url = http://www.digtriad.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=124945&catid=57 | date = May 31, 2009 | access-date = June 29, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090601072400/http://www.digtriad.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=124945&catid=57 | archive-date = June 1, 2009 | url-status = dead }} During June 2009, another dozen events were held in North Carolina,{{cite news|title=Hundreds turn out for local "Tea Party" rally |agency=Associated Press|url=http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2009/jun/06/hundreds-turn-out-local-tea-party-rally/news/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090610161422/http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2009/jun/06/hundreds-turn-out-local-tea-party-rally/news/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 10, 2009 |date=June 6, 2009 |access-date=June 29, 2009 }} California,{{cite web | title = 'An amazing, patriotic event' | publisher = The Union | url = http://www.theunion.com/article/20090608/NEWS/906079988/1053/NONE&parentprofile=1053 | date = June 8, 2009 | access-date = June 29, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090612102738/http://www.theunion.com/article/20090608/NEWS/906079988/1053/NONE%26parentprofile%3D1053 | archive-date = June 12, 2009 | url-status = live }} Rhode Island,{{cite web | title = Protesters prepare to parade through State House | publisher = The Providence Journal | url = http://newsblog.projo.com/2009/06/tea-party-prote.html | date = June 10, 2009 | access-date = June 29, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100209065147/http://newsblog.projo.com/2009/06/tea-party-prote.html | archive-date = February 9, 2010 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }} Texas,{{cite web | title = 600 protest Pelosi in Houston | publisher = Politico | url = http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0609/600_protest_Pelosi_in_Houston.html | date = June 15, 2009 | access-date = June 30, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090618102031/http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0609/600_protest_Pelosi_in_Houston.html | archive-date = June 18, 2009 | url-status = live }} Ohio,{{cite web | title = Flag Day Attracts Patriotism, Political Activism | publisher = WLWT-TV | url = http://www.wlwt.com/news/19750209/detail.html | date = June 14, 2009 | access-date = June 29, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110716225545/http://www.wlwt.com/news/19750209/detail.html | archive-date = July 16, 2011 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}

Michigan,{{cite web|title=Fair Tax plan wins big at convention |publisher=Detroit Free Press |url=http://www.freep.com/article/20090614/NEWS15/906140540/Fair+Tax+plan+wins+big+at+convention+ |date=June 14, 2009 |access-date=June 29, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090617061008/http://www.freep.com/article/20090614/NEWS15/906140540/Fair+Tax+plan+wins+big+at+convention+ |archive-date=June 17, 2009 }} Montana,{{cite web | title = Ravalli Co. 'Tea Party' organizers deliver petitions | publisher = KPAX | url = http://www.kpax.com/Global/story.asp?S=10244349 | date = June 16, 2009 | access-date = June 29, 2009 }}{{Dead link|date=November 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Florida,{{cite web | title = Tea Party: 'Give me liberty, not debt' | publisher = Bradenton Herald | url = http://www.bradenton.com/847/story/1540693.html | date = June 29, 2009 | access-date = June 29, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091019185603/http://www.bradenton.com/847/story/1540693.html | archive-date = October 19, 2009 | url-status = dead | df = mdy-all }}

New York,{{cite web | title = Tea Party part II | publisher = Troy Record | url = http://www.troyrecord.com/articles/2009/06/17/news/doc4a38fc1ae9eed243312894.txt | date = June 16, 2009 | access-date = June 29, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120220121440/http://www.troyrecord.com/articles/2009/06/17/news/doc4a38fc1ae9eed243312894.txt | archive-date = February 20, 2012 | url-status = live }} and Washington State.[http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/894731.html TEA Party steeped in messages] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130104235235/http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/894731.html |date=January 4, 2013 }}, The Olympian, June 28, 2009. On June 29, 2009, in Nashville, Tennessee, four thousand people rallied against proposed emissions trading (cap and trade) energy in Congress and universal health care.{{cite web | title = Thousands Protest Obama Policies In Nashville | publisher = WTVF | url = http://www.newschannel5.com/global/story.asp?s=10614208 | date = June 29, 2009 | access-date = June 29, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090703211542/http://www.newschannel5.com/global/story.asp?s=10614208 | archive-date = July 3, 2009 | url-status = dead }}

A number of Tea Party protests were held the weekend of July 4, 2009, coinciding with Independence Day.{{cite web |last=Teachout |first=Woden |url=http://www.hnn.us/articles/94858.html |title="The Tea Party in Politics: Why the Event in Boston Harbor Keeps on Appealing to Conservatives", History News Network, June 29, 2009 |publisher=Hnn.us |access-date=October 18, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090703195801/http://hnn.us/articles/94858.html |archive-date=July 3, 2009 |url-status=live }}[http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jul/03/time-for-a-tea-party/ "Time for a Tea Party", The Washington Times, July 3, 2009] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090704193122/http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jul/03/time-for-a-tea-party/ |date=July 4, 2009 }}. "The rally followed a national effort that drew thousands of activists to Tea Party events across the country on April 15, 2009, when income taxes are due."{{cite news | url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/04/tea.party/index.html | work=CNN| title=TEA Party activists rally at Capitol – CNN.com | access-date=May 24, 2010 | date=July 4, 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100812095222/http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/04/tea.party/index.html | archive-date=August 12, 2010 | url-status=live }}

On July 17, 2009, there were additional Tea Party protests around the nation organized by a group called Tea Party Patriots, this time against President Obama's proposed health care overhaul that they labeled socialized medicine.{{cite web | title = Tea Parties Protest Health Care Bill | publisher = WXIA-TV | url = http://www.11alive.com/news/national/story.aspx?storyid=132711&catid=13 | date = July 17, 2009 | access-date = July 20, 2009 }}{{Dead link|date=November 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

File:TeaPartyByFreedomFan.JPG during the Taxpayer March on Washington on September 12, 2009]]

{{Main|Taxpayer March on Washington}}

On September 12, 2009, Tea Party protests were held in various cities around the nation. In Washington, D.C., Tea Party protests gathered to march from Freedom Plaza to the United States Capitol. Estimates of the number of attendees varied, from "tens of thousands"{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/tea-party-express-takes-washington-by-storm/ |title=Tea Party Express Takes Washington By Storm |date=September 12, 2009 |publisher=Fox News|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090914153750/http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/12/tea-party-express-arrives-march-washington-protest-government-spending/ |archive-date=September 14, 2009 }} to "in excess of 75,000".{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB125276685577405975?mod=rss_Today%27s_Most_Popular |title=Protesters March on Washington |last=Sherman |first=Jake |date=September 13, 2009 |work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=September 13, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090918072442/http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125276685577405975.html?mod=rss_Today%27s_Most_Popular |archive-date=September 18, 2009 }}{{cite news | url=http://www.ajc.com/news/georgians-lead-protest-at-137117.html?imw=Y | title=Georgians lead protest at Taxpayer March on Washington | last=Keefe | first=Bob | date=September 12, 2009 | work=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution | publisher=ajc.com | access-date=September 13, 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090922184206/http://www.ajc.com/news/georgians-lead-protest-at-137117.html?imw=Y | archive-date=September 22, 2009 | url-status=live }} A rally organizer asserted that one local ABC News station had reported attendance of over one million, but he retracted the statement after ABC News denied making any such report.{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/protest-crowd-size-estimate-falsely-attributed-abc-news/story?id=8558055|title=ABC News Was Misquoted on Crowd Size|date=September 12, 2009|publisher=ABC News|access-date=September 14, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090915193225/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/protest-crowd-size-estimate-falsely-attributed-abc-news/story?id=8558055|archive-date=September 15, 2009|url-status=live}}

Using the counts of those in attendance, the march may have been the largest conservative protest ever held in Washington, D.C., as well as the largest demonstration against President Obama's administration to date.{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/us/politics/13protestweb.html?hp | title=Thousands Rally in Capital to Protest Big Government | last=Zeleny | first=Jeff | date=September 12, 2009 | work=The New York Times | access-date=September 17, 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113125637/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/us/politics/13protestweb.html?hp | archive-date=November 13, 2012 | url-status=live }}{{cite news | url=http://washingtonindependent.com/59109/beltway-conservatives-comb-tea-party-movement-for-converts | title=Beltway Conservatives Comb Tea Party Movement for Converts | last=Weigel | first=David | date=September 14, 2009 | work=The Washington Independent | publisher=washingtonindependent.com | access-date=September 17, 2009 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090922172005/http://washingtonindependent.com/59109/beltway-conservatives-comb-tea-party-movement-for-converts | archive-date=September 22, 2009 | df=mdy-all }}

On February 4, 2010, the first Tea Party national convention was held in Nashville, attended by 600 people.{{cite web |last=Weigel |first=David |url=http://washingtonindependent.com/75905/media-at-the-tea-party-convention |title=Media at the Tea Party Convention « The Washington Independent |publisher=Washingtonindependent.com |access-date=April 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130318133630/http://washingtonindependent.com/75905/media-at-the-tea-party-convention |archive-date=March 18, 2013 |url-status=dead }} The convention received broad media coverage as former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin was the featured speaker. Some tea partiers condemned the event, questioning the main sponsor, Tea Party Nation, a for-profit group, as well as the several hundred dollar ticket price. The former Alaska governor was criticized{{cite news |author=Kenneth P. Vogel |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60S5S320100129 |title=Latest tea party target: Its own convention |work=Reuters|date=January 29, 2010 |access-date=April 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100311205638/http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60S5S320100129 |archive-date=March 11, 2010 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0110/31284_Page2.html |title=Palin's tea party raises eyebrows – Kenneth P. Vogel |publisher=Politico|access-date=April 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100411231630/http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0110/31284_Page2.html |archive-date=April 11, 2010 |url-status=live }} for receiving as much as $100,000 to address the convention.{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/tea-party-nashville-convention-stirs-debate/story?id=9741637 |title=Whose Tea Party Is It? Nashville Convention Stirs Debate |publisher=ABC News |date=February 4, 2010 |access-date=April 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100426233255/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/tea-party-nashville-convention-stirs-debate/story?id=9741637 |archive-date=April 26, 2010 |url-status=live }}

The New York Times reported on August 8, 2009, that organizations opposed to the President Obama's health care legislation were urging opponents to be disruptive. It noted that the Tea Party Patriots web site circulated a memo instructing them to "Pack the hall. Yell out and challenge the Rep's statements early. Get him off his prepared script and agenda. Stand up and shout and sit right back down." The memo continued, "The Rep [representative] should be made to feel that a majority, and if not, a significant portion of at least the audience, opposes the socialist agenda of Washington."[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/08/us/politics/08townhall.html?hpHealth Debates Turns Hostile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151104223055/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/08/us/politics/08townhall.html?hpHealth |date=November 4, 2015 }}, New York Times, August 8, 2009.

Some Tea Party organizers have stated that they look to leftist Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals for inspiration. Protesters have also appropriated left-wing imagery; the logo for the March 9/12 on Washington featured a raised fist design that was intended to resemble those used by the pro-labor, anti-war, and black power movements of the 1960s. In addition, the slogan "Keep Your Laws Off My Body", usually associated with pro-choice activists, has been seen on signs at tea parties.{{cite web|url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27285.html|title=Conservatives use liberal playbook|website=Politico|access-date=September 18, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090922220127/http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0909/27285.html|archive-date=September 22, 2009|url-status=live}}

On April 8, 2010, it was announced that the National Tea Party Federation had been set up to publicize the movement, and organizers said it would issue news releases, respond to critics and help get the word out about tea party rallies and initiatives.{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-apr-08-la-na-tea-federation9-2010apr09-story.html |title=Tea parties form a federation, but don't call them organized |author=Kathleen Hennessey |date=April 8, 2010 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=April 26, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100820185223/http://articles.latimes.com/2010/apr/08/nation/la-na-tea-federation9-2010apr09 |archive-date=August 20, 2010 |url-status=live }} Tea Party activist Mark Skoda noted the slow response to critics who have charged the protesters with racism, stating: "It took us 72 hours to respond to John Lewis... We're not needing to meet every week. But there will now be a way to have a call to arms to respond to attacks with a crisp and clear message."{{cite web|url=http://www.thenationalteapartyfederation.com/uploads/NTPF_Letter_to_CBC.pdf|title=Letter to the Congressional Black Caucus from Tea Party Federation: Please Provide Evidence of Cannon N-Word Incident, National Tea Party Federation, April 24, 2010|access-date=June 4, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130121075350/http://www.thenationalteapartyfederation.com/uploads/NTPF_Letter_to_CBC.pdf|archive-date=January 21, 2013|url-status=live}}

There have been allegations of racism and abusive behavior by Tea Party protesters.{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/the-tea-party-is-all-abou_b_484229.html|title=The Tea Party is all about race|author=Bob Cesca|date=March 3, 2010|publisher=HuffPost|access-date=March 21, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100308041210/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/the-tea-party-is-all-abou_b_484229.html|archive-date=March 8, 2010|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://washingtonindependent.com/73036/n-word-sign-dogs-would-be-tea-party-leader|title='N-Word' Sign Dogs Would-Be Tea Party Leader|author=David Weigel|date=January 4, 2010|publisher=Washington Independent|access-date=March 21, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100323142442/http://washingtonindependent.com/73036/n-word-sign-dogs-would-be-tea-party-leader|archive-date=March 23, 2010|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/michaeltomasky/2010/mar/21/tea-party-movement-n-word-and-f-word|title=Cat Slithers Out of Bag|author=Michael Tomasky|date=March 21, 2010|work=The Guardian|location=London|access-date=December 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313055557/http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/michaeltomasky/2010/mar/21/tea-party-movement-n-word-and-f-word|archive-date=March 13, 2016|url-status=live}}{{Citation|title=Make That the Nas-Tea Party|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dc/2010/03/make-that-the-nas-tea-party.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100324043017/http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dc/2010/03/make-that-the-nas-tea-party.html|archive-date=March 24, 2010|date=March 20, 2010|first1=Michael|last1=McAuliff|work=Daily News|location=New York|first2=Kenneth R.|last2=Bazinet|name-list-style=amp|access-date=June 5, 2010}}

On March 16, 2010, at a Tea Party protest at the Ohio offices of Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy, a counter-protester with Parkinson's disease was berated by one of the protesters and had dollar bills thrown at him with additional protesters also mocking the individual.[http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2010/03/24/dollar-bill-throw.html Health-reform rally heckler says he's sorry and scared] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120102041726/http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2010/03/24/dollar-bill-throw.html |date=January 2, 2012 }} The Columbus Dispatch; March 24, 2010. The man initially denied the incident, but later apologized for his "shameful" actions.[http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20001186-503544.html Tea Party Protestor Sorry for Mocking Man With Parkinson's Disease] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100329140324/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20001186-503544.html |date=March 29, 2010 }}; CBS News; March 25, 2010.

On March 20, 2010, it was reported that protesters against proposed health care legislation used racial and anti-gay slurs. Gay Congressman Barney Frank was called "homo" and a "faggot several times."{{cite news|url=http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100320/NEWS02/100329990|title=Racist epithets fly at tea party health protest|agency=McClatchy News|publisher=HeraldNet.com|date=March 20, 2010|access-date=April 14, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100324052858/http://heraldnet.com/article/20100320/NEWS02/100329990|archive-date=March 24, 2010|url-status=live}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/09/AR2010040903716.html |title=Allegations of spitting and slurs at Capitol protest merit more reporting |date=April 11, 2010 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=April 14, 2010 |first=Andrew |last=Alexander |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100608080713/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/09/AR2010040903716.html |archive-date=June 8, 2010 |url-status=live }}[http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/03/20/protesters-hurl-slurs-and-spit-at-democrats/?fbid=WWi7WiVV_lP Protesters hurl slurs and spit at Democrats] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203142030/http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/03/20/protesters-hurl-slurs-and-spit-at-democrats/?fbid=WWi7WiVV_lP |date=February 3, 2014 }}; CNN; March 20, 2010. Several black lawmakers said demonstrators shouted "the N-word" at them.{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/tea-party-protesters-dispute-reports-of-slurs-spitting-against-dem-lawmakers|title=Tea Party Protesters Dispute Reports of Slurs, Spitting Against Dem Lawmakers|date=March 22, 2010|publisher=Fox News|access-date=April 14, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100326133024/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,589776,00.html|archive-date=March 26, 2010|url-status=live}} Congressman André Carson said that as he walked from the Cannon House Office Building with Representative John Lewis and his chief of staff, amid chants of "Kill the bill", he heard the "n-word" about fifteen times coming from several places in the crowd: "One guy, I remember he just rattled it off several times. Then John looks at me and says, 'You know, this reminds me of a different time.'"{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/weblogs/watercooler/2010/apr/06/audio-rep-carson-first-peddles-out-racism-story-re/|title=AUDIO: Origin of Rep. Carson's racism accusation toward health care protesters|date=April 6, 2010|work=The Washington Times|access-date=July 18, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130503193109/http://www.washingtontimes.com/weblogs/watercooler/2010/apr/06/audio-rep-carson-first-peddles-out-racism-story-re/|archive-date=May 3, 2013|url-status=live}}[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tea-party-dems-row-over-n-word-video-evidence/ Tea Party, Dems Row Over N-Word Video "Evidence"]; CBS News; April 13, 2010. Congressman Emanuel Cleaver said that, as he walked several yards behind Lewis, he distinctly heard "nigger", and he was also spat upon by a protester while walking up the stairs of the Cannon Building, although whether the spitting was intentional has been questioned.

Conservative commentator Andrew Breitbart, who wasn't at the protests, said the incidents reported by Cleaver, Lewis and Carson were fabricated as part of a plan to annihilate the Tea Party movement by all means necessary and that they never actually happened. He offered to donate $10,000 to the United Negro College Fund if Lewis could provide audio or video footage of the slurs, or pass a lie detector test. The amount was later raised to $100,000 for "hard evidence".{{Cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217230459/http://bigjournalism.com/abreitbart/2010/04/02/barack-obamas-helter-skelter-insane-clown-posse-alinsky-planes-to-deconstruct-america/|title=Barack Obama’s Helter-Skelter, Insane Clown Posse, Alinsky Plans to ‘Deconstruct’ America - Big Journalism|date=February 17, 2012|website=web.archive.org}}{{Cite web |url=http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-galloway/2010/03/26/breitbart-offers-10k-reward-for-proof-that-n-word-was-hurled-at-john-lewis/ |title="Political Insider" by Jim Galloway, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 26, 2010 |access-date=April 12, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100506083259/http://blogs.ajc.com/political-insider-jim-galloway/2010/03/26/breitbart-offers-10k-reward-for-proof-that-n-word-was-hurled-at-john-lewis/ |archive-date=May 6, 2010 |url-status=dead }} In addition, the National Tea Party Federation sent a letter to the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) denouncing racism and requesting that the CBC supply any evidence of the alleged events at the protest.

Representative Heath Shuler of North Carolina, who is white, backed up his colleagues, telling the Hendersonville (N.C.) Times-News that he too heard slurs. Richard Trumka, president of the AFL–CIO, corroborated Lewis' version of events during a confrontation with Breitbart at a Harvard Institute of Politics forum by saying, "I watched them spit at people, I watched them call John Lewis the N-word. [...] I witnessed it. I saw it in person. That's real evidence."[http://mediamatters.org/video/2010/04/08/afl-cios-trumka-knocks-down-breitbarts-denials/162914 AFL-CIO's Trumka knocks down Breitbart's denials of racism at Tea Party protest] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130806114520/http://mediamatters.org/video/2010/04/08/afl-cios-trumka-knocks-down-breitbarts-denials/162914 |date=August 6, 2013 }}; MMfA; April 8, 2010.[http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2010/4/8/trumka-workers-labor-movement/ AFL-CIO President Stresses Important of Labor Movement] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201223233/http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2010/4/8/trumka-workers-labor-movement/ |date=February 1, 2014 }}; The Harvard Crimson; April 8, 2010.[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/08/afl-cio-head-vs-andrew-br_n_531018.html AFL-CIO Head vs. Andrew Breitbart On Tea Party Racism, Alleged Labor Attacks] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203085936/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/08/afl-cio-head-vs-andrew-br_n_531018.html |date=February 3, 2014 }}; The Huffington Post; June 8, 2010. One of Representative Anthony Weiner's staffers reported a stream of hostile encounters with tea partiers roaming the halls of Congress. In addition to mockery, protesters left a couple of notes behind. According to the New York Daily News, one letter "asked what Rahm Emanuel did with Weiner in the shower", in a reference to the harassment claims against ex-Rep Eric Massa. It was signed with a swastika, the staffer said. The other note called the congressman "Schlomo Weiner".

Kate Zernike, author of Boiling Mad: Inside Tea Party America, has observed, "Rather than explain it as a fringe of the movement, which they plausibly might have, they argued that the ugliness had never happened. Wasn't it suspicious, they asked, that there was no video of spitting or slurs, in an age when everyone's cell phone has a camera? It was difficult, if not disingenuous, for the Tea Party groups to try to disown the behavior."Boiling Mad: Inside Tea Party America; Kate Zernike; Macmillan Publishers; November 2010; pp. 138–39. Politicians from both political parties, black conservative activists and columnists have argued that allegations of racism do not reflect the movement as a whole.{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna38303950 |title=Tea party not a racist movement, Biden says |date=July 19, 2010 |agency=Associated Press|publisher=NBC News |access-date=November 11, 2011 }}{{Cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/herman-cain-i-prove-tea-party-isnt-racist/ |title=Herman Cain: I prove Tea Party isn't racist |date=May 31, 2011 |publisher=CBS News |access-date=November 11, 2011 |first=Brian |last=Montopoli |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110906060631/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20067671-503544.html |archive-date=September 6, 2011 |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/black-political-activists-tea-party-not-racist/ |title=Black Political Activists: Tea Party 'Not Racist' |date=August 4, 2010 |publisher=Fox News |access-date=November 11, 2011 |first=Jake |last=Gibson |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111206194413/http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/08/04/black-political-activists-tea-party-racist/ |archive-date=December 6, 2011 |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |url=http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/7125472/article-Tea-Party--Not-racist--just-wary-of-government-s-reach |title=Tea Party: Not racist, just wary of government's reach |work=The Herald Sun |access-date=November 11, 2011 |first=Robert |last=McCartney |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120403032017/http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/7125472/article-Tea-Party--Not-racist--just-wary-of-government-s-reach |archive-date=April 3, 2012 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}

{{Portal|Society}}

• 9-12 Project
• List of Tea Party politicians
• Neo-fascism
• Tax resistance in the United States

{{Reflist}}

• Flanders, Laura (2010). At the Tea Party. New York: OR Press. {{ISBN|978-1-935928-23-2}}.
• Lepore, Jill (2010). The Whites of Their Eyes: The Tea Party's Revolution and the Battle over American History. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. {{ISBN|978-1-4008-3696-3}}.
• Gladney, Henry M. [https://web.archive.org/web/20150513135503/http://www.hgladney.com/PMR/No_Taxation_without_Representation_%28book_description%29.pdf No Taxation without Representation: 1768 Petition, Memorial, and Remonstrance], 2014.

{{Commons category|Demonstrations and protests by the Tea Party movement}}

• [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/katie-couric-interviews-tea-party-leaders/ "Katie Couric interviews Tea Party Leaders"], CBS News, January 25, 2010.
• [http://www.c-span.org/Watch/Media/2009/09/12/HP/A/23055/FreedomWorks+Rally+in+DC.aspx Video coverage] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100330060857/http://www.c-span.org/Watch/Media/2009/09/12/HP/A/23055/FreedomWorks+Rally+in+DC.aspx |date=March 30, 2010 }}, the Taxpayer March on Washington, by C-SPAN.
• [http://www.life.com/image/first/in-gallery/33592/signs-of-discontent-91209-in-dc Signs of Discontent: 9-12-09 in DC]{{Dead link|date=January 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, slide show by Life magazine.
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20090922170839/http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1922169,00.html Signs of the Tea-Party Protests], photo essay by Time magazine.
• [http://www.nationaljournal.com/njonline/no_20100204_7827.php "12 Tea Party leaders to watch"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521014750/http://www.nationaljournal.com/njonline/no_20100204_7827.php |date=May 21, 2013 }}, National Journal, February 4, 2010.
• [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126022349 Tea Party Express Comes To A Head On Tax Day] by NPR.
• [http://useconomy.about.com/od/Politics/p/Tea-Party-And-Economy.htm "The Tea Party and the Economy"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120421231455/http://useconomy.about.com/od/Politics/p/Tea-Party-And-Economy.htm |date=April 21, 2012 }}, About.com, September 30, 2011.
• [http://usconservatives.about.com/od/glossaryterms/a/Tea-Party.htm "A definition of the tea party"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121119045516/http://usconservatives.about.com/od/glossaryterms/a/Tea-Party.htm |date=November 19, 2012 }}, About.com.

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