“Write about the benefits of the two-party system.”
It’s a command countless political science students have been given through the years, but it may soon (if not already) be taken as an insult. Recently a third party has entered the country’s political arena, and its members demand to be taken seriously.
The Tea Party is a grassroots movement with aims to reform the government and put governance back in the hands of U.S. citizens. Although Tea Party Web sites claim to be nonpartisan, beliefs tend to lean conservative, even more so than typical Republicans.
Eighteen percent of respondents in an April New York Times poll identified themselves as Tea Party supporters, and since then numbers have likely increased due to dissatisfaction with taxes, the oil spill, and the Obama Administration in general.
Despite the 18 percent self-identification nationwide, the Tea Party movement has not been as prominent in the political atmosphere of Pittsburg. Although the town is often seen as more conservative because of its location in the “Bible Belt,” both the Pittsburg section of the Tea Party Patriots Web site www.teapartypatriots.org and the less-official www.teaparty.org have only 11 members respectively.
The Pittsburg KS Tea Party page on Facebook is “liked” by 49 people, but “liking” takes much less commitment from someone with a casual interest than becoming an official Tea Party member. Caleb Hays, sophomore in computer science and Spanish, and member of PSU’s College Republicans, is at least one student involved in the Tea Party movement. Hays is the Labette County coordinator for conservative Kansas senatorial candidate Todd Tiahrt, and the contact number on the Pittsburg KS Tea Party page on Facebook leads directly to Hays’ personal voice mail.
Hays could not be reached for comment as of press time, but he and several other students and young adults are pictured at last fall’s Tax Day Tea Party, which took place in Gorilla Village in September.
The students (and at least one Pitt State employee) are seen holding signs expressing their dissatisfaction with the current administration. The signs have phrases such as “Freedom Works – Bailouts Hurt!” and “Print me a trillion while you’re at it.” Coverage of the event on the Facebook page is somewhat comprehensive, with links to a radio advertisement and the aforementioned pictures, but something is missing from the page – information regarding the future of the party. The latest post on the page is from April 23, and no information is given about upcoming events. Similarly, neither of the Tea Party Web sites have projects or events listed as in the works.
Posts on one site encourage members to sign petitions and forward e-mails concerning congressional reform and the election of Massachusetts senatorial candidate Scott Brown, who did win the Senate seat, but there are no signs of another Tea Party event in Pittsburg any time soon.
Has the Tea Party movement in Pittsburg died out already? Although there is no indication that a Tea Party event is in the town’s future, and although no Tea Party supporter could be contacted to discuss the issue, there may be more Tea Party action simmering just under the surface.