Take away the cable news coverage. Forget about all the poster boards with crazed penmanship and misspelled words. Put Sarah Palin’s posturing by the wayside along with James Carville’s teabagger jokes. Bury all the hype, if you can, and consider the tea party phenomenon for what it really is: a practically spontaneous gathering of citizens seeking to influence the political process.
At least that’s the pitch you’ll get from Baton Rouge Tea Party President Jennifer Madsen, and it isn’t too far from the truth—as far as political truths go. “We are a movement, not a political party,” she says. “That’s all this is. It’s about citizens getting involved in government. We believe that you get the government you deserve.”
The line is a little too Yankee Doodle for some folks, but that could be because the tea party movement doesn’t really resemble anything else in modern politics. There are no moneymen pulling the strings, and no organized party or sect thereof can take credit for its birth and growth—at least not yet. “I’ve been watching this closely since it all started looking for that, and I can’t find it,” says Charlie Davis of Baton Rouge, a well-known Republican operative and consultant. “It’s pretty amazing.”
Whether the movement is real is irrelevant at this point, since elected officials are taking notice on the state and federal levels. Tea party voters, chiefly categorized as frustrated Republicans or no-party individuals toeing the libertarian line, are also now being built into campaign strategies by elephants and donkeys alike.
And while it’s tough to judge the impact of the movement today, onlookers suggest that the next 19 months in Louisiana will serve as a litmus test of sorts.
Already on the legislative level, there are a few resolutions up for debate in the ongoing regular session calling for 10th amendment protections, a favorite among tea party specialists. Activists are also tracking and weighing in on various bills that would create a Firearms Freedom Act and nullify the national push for a standard identification card and for a cap-and-trade system. Legislative participants, from lobbyists to lawmakers, are quick to point out that many of these bills were filed as a result of tea party noise.
In particular, there’s a lot of interest in House Bill 94 by state Rep. Kirk Talbot, a River Ridge Republican, which states, among other things, “that no federal law or rule shall compel any person, employer, or health care provider to participate in any health care system.” It’s aimed directly at bucking President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul. States like Virginia, Utah and Idaho have already passed similar statutes, and Arizona voters will soon decide on their own constitutional amendment. “We’ll see what else comes up in this regular session, but so far [the Talbot legislation] has generated the most e-mails and phone calls,” Madsen says.
A duplicate version of the legislation can likewise be found in Senate Bill 26 by state Sen. A.G. Crowe, R-Slidell.
The Baton Rouge Tea Party, which estimates members come from 4,000 households in the region, shouldn’t be confused with the Tea Party of Louisiana, which is also headquartered locally. The latter focuses on federal issues, while the Baton Rouge chapter has more of a local interest, Madsen says. No one holds a copyright on the tea party phenomenon, she adds, and the different factions are attempting to work together.
Pat Bergeron, a Baton Rouge consultant who has worked for three governors and on the congressional level, says he also expects the differing tea party factions to eventually come together this session to oppose the raiding of the state’s protected funds, proposed to help address the coming budget shortfalls. “I can’t presume to speak on behalf of the tea parties, but it’s something to keep an eye on,” he says. “I’ve done this for 30-plus years, and I’ve never seen a true grass-roots movement like this.”
Bergeron, who operates lanewslink.com, has constructed teapartycac.com as a hub of sorts for Louisiana-related tea party news. He says he isn’t working for any tea party group, but wanted to contribute something and be at the front end of what could be a revolutionary call to action. “I think we’ll see exactly what this movement is made of in the coming election cycles,” he says. “Next year, I think they’re really going to focus on legislative races. I really see them jumping into that.”
While some factions have taken to endorsing candidates, the Baton Rouge Tea Party is working on a system that Madsen says will “very mathematically” rank candidates for public office as well as elected officials. To build the foundation for this system, she says, the Baton Rouge Tea Party, technically a political action committee, will poll its membership on what’s important to the office. “You’ll end up with a percentage of how much [candidates] support key tea party issues,” Madsen says.
Bergeron says he expects more like groups to follow suit.
On the federal level, U.S. Sen. David Vitter, a Metairie Republican, has been catering to tea party groups unlike any other member of Louisiana’s delegation. Vitter, who faces opposition from Congressman Charlie Melancon, a Napoleonville Democrat, and maybe others this fall, has made frequent stops at tea party gatherings.
During a speech last month at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans, Vitter made no bones about on which side of the fence he believes tea party followers sit. “The Republican Party will be the vehicle for positive, conservative change this November,” he says. “The tea party movement will be the fuel that charges, even supercharges that vehicle.”
GOP sources contend that Vitter is on his own mission to make sure the tea party movement doesn’t become its own third party, but instead evolves into a subset of the Republican Party.
When asked if Vitter or any other elected official had reached out with monetary contributions yet, Madsen shook her head. But what if they did? Would the local chapter take the loot? “If we were to take donations from a political campaign or a candidate, we would then be beholden to that candidate,” Madsen says. “I think a number of politicians find themselves in that situation today.”
Vitter, however, could be navigating treacherous grounds, some suggest, since activists seem bent on shaking up the current establishment. Of course, Vitter’s challenger, Melancon, showing all spin, much like the tea party itself, is open to interpretation.
“To the extent that the tea party groups in Louisiana have any unified and coherent agenda, they have clearly expressed an anti-incumbent sentiment,” says Kevin Franck, a spokesperson for the Louisiana Democratic Party. “The recent entrance of a tea party candidate in the U.S. Senate race against David Vitter shows just how deep this sentiment runs.”
Franck is referring to Lafayette business owner Mike Spears, who recently jumped into the race as a no-party candidate and self-described tea party believer. When online news sites picked up the story of Spears’ announcement, reader remarks ranged from insulting to inspiring for Spears’ campaign.
Right now, that comes with the territory, Madsen says, and tinfoil hat jokes only have as much credence as the targets give them. Time will be the true test of the movement’s strength, she adds. “It’s not what they call you,” Madsen says. “It’s what you answer to.”
