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In this Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017 photo, people react as U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz speaks during a town hall meeting at Brighton High School in Cottonwood Heights, Utah. Some attendees of the contentious town hall hosted by Chaffetz have sent the congressman fake invoices after he claimed some people there were paid protesters. Rick BowmerAP

Ideas

Ferguson was Deputy National Press Secretary and Senior Spokesperson for Hillary Clintons 2016 campaign for President.

On August 25, 2009, Democratic Congressman Bart Gordon held a town hall meeting in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. A local news report called it a discussion about the nation's health care that led to loud boos and heckling from the crowd. On February 9, 2017, Republican Congresswoman Diane Black elected to Gordons seat in the fall of 2010 held a town hall meeting in the same city. A local news report headline proclaimed, Diane Black, GOP lawmakers faced defenders of Obamacare at lively town hall . Sounds similar, right?

The zeitgeist is quickly setting in: Republicans right now face a backlash akin to what Democrats faced from the Tea Party in 2009 and 2010. Some have gone so far as to call this resistance the Democratic Tea Party. Its a convenient comparison: Democrats like it because the Republican Tea Party was successful in 2010, and the media appreciates it as a simple and straightforward story. I've been guilty of leaning on it myself.

But the Democratic resistance and the Tea Party actually differ in a number of important ways, each of which tells a different story about where our country is and where our politics may be headed.

For starters, the Tea Party was forged as an opposition to a societal reality in our country, while todays resistance is opposed to a political reality. The Tea Party began before the election of President Obama, as a reaction to President Bush and the bank bailouts of 2008. Tea Partiers believed that society and the economy had all left them behind. The movements anger was stoked by the realization that the country had changed to the extent that it would elect someone like Barack Obama and support his liberal policies like the Economic Recovery Act (the so-called stimulus) and the Affordable Care Act (scornfully dubbed Obamacare). These members wanted the entire country to revert to a set of values that more closely resembled what they saw on Leave It to Beaver .

On the other hand, the current resistance isn't based on a belief that our country has gone astray from some former golden age. It's a political backlash, borne out of Donald Trumps policies and his presidency. Its participants arent rejecting the social structures of American society. They are embracing and defending our evolving structures of diversity and inclusiveness. The people stepping forward to resist the Trump Administration are standing against an Administration that doesnt respect the core values that this nation holds: that we are all equal and that we can all achieve our own dreams.

Second, these movements were forged in entirely different political situations. Members of the Tea Party believed they had been marginalized and had to fight back against this new oppression. They represented a minority, losing the 2008 elections by almost 200 electoral votes and 10 million people, while Democrats gained a more significant majority in the House and a filibuster-proof 60-vote majority in the Senate. Headlines announced a permanent progressive majority. The Tea Party disapproved of their country going in this new direction, which bred their movements anger.

Todays resistance is almost the complete opposite. While Trump is indeed president winning the Electoral College by approximately 75 votes he lost the popular vote by nearly 3 million. While Republicans maintained their control of the House and the Senate, they lost seats in both. The current resistance isnt reacting to its lost status as the majority in American politics, as the Tea Party was. It is speaking out for the majority of Americans who feel inadequately represented in Washington. This resistance is giving political voice to those the political system has deprived of a voice. They are speaking for the silenced majority.

The third major difference is in how these movements act. There are certainly some tactical similarities both use rallies and town hall meetings to attract attention to their causes but the undercurrents are very different. The Tea Party was truly a movement of anger at the system, at the country and at the movements members declining station in life. This best manifested in their slogan, from the American Revolutions Gadsen flag, Dont Tread on Me demanding that people and government just leave them alone to their familiar ways.

While todays resistance certainly has some anger, the basic emotions fueling it are alarm and fear. We are alarmed by what the current political system, and its leadership, will do to us, our friends and our country. We are fearful that our family and neighbors might be barred from entering the U.S. by a Muslim ban or might lose their access to health care if the Affordable Care Act is recklessly repealed. We are worried that the political system now serves corporate interests and the Presidents far-flung (but undisclosed) business interests, not the interests of the people or their nation. We are alarmed that people we know and love wont be treated equally or fairly under the new Administration. The Tea Party consisted of people angry about their own perceived situation; the resistance is people alarmed and fearful about what might happen to others.

The best distinction between the two movements, though, is the one that is most important to our President: crowd size. The largest Tea Party rallies reported were between 150,000 and 250,000 people, depending on the source. The Womens March last month irrefutably included over 4 million people nationwide a 16-fold difference. Washington, D.C., alone likely doubled the largest Tea Party totals.

While it would be easy and convenient to pronounce that 2017 is merely 2009 redux, the simplicity of that comparison belies the underlying and important reality. The Tea Party sought to fix our country and align it with Tea Party politics; the democratic resistance seeks to fix our politics and align them with our countrys values. The movements may share some tactics, but the spirit that drives them are, and the consequences of them will be, very different.

Ferguson was Deputy National Press Secretary and Senior Spokesperson for Hillary Clintons 2016 campaign for President; before, he was Executive Director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Independent Expenditure.

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The Resistance Is the Majority of Americans Not a New Tea Party - TIME

Three times every day, now and for the foreseeable future, Brina Bujkovsky is placingcalls to Washington D.C. one to her representative in Congress and one to each of her U.S. senators.

So do thousands of other members of Together We Will, one of a number of activist groups that sprouted up in recent weeks to target President Donald Trump and representatives who support him.

The phone calls, which have overwhelmed switchboard operators at the House of Representatives more than once, are one of the tools activists are using to try to regain a foothold in turbulent political times.

They are demanding town-hall meetings, they picket outside congressional offices and they write letters to editors. Their efforts bring to mind many of the same tactics used by the conservative tea party eight years ago.

In recent days, they bought a full-page newspaper ad to try to dragoon Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, to a town hall in his district Tuesday night even though it was likely to be packed with critics.

Instead, Issa made an impromptu appearance as protesters and supporters clashed outside his Vista office Tuesday morning, taking questions from both sides.

The call for town halls has also arisen in East County, where thegroup circulated a mock wanted poster of Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, accusing him of going AWOL onconstituents.

Were trying to shed light on the fact that our Congress members are not making themselves available to speak with their constituents, said Bujkovsky, a San Marcos business owner who is coordinating Together We Wills activities in Hunters 50th Congressional District. A lot of people feel like its an emergency situation.

Hunter has said he will host a community meeting next month.

The wave of activism washing across San Diego County and elsewhere largely centers on the Trump campaign pledge to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the 2010 legislation known as Obamacare.

The resistance movement also focuses on other initiatives pushed by the new president since he was sworn in last month, including immigration policy, climate change regulations and controversial Cabinet nominations.

Many of their strategies come from Indivisible, a playbook for political activism developed by former congressional staffers who watched the tea party movement take root soon after Barack Obama moved into the White House.

The current political landscape is similar to the atmosphere that ignited the tea party after the 2008 election. Eight years ago there was a Democrat in the White House and Democrats running the House and Senate. There is still one party rule, but Republicans are the ones in charge this time.

Like us, you probably deeply disagree with the principles and positions of the tea party, Indivisibles handbook for grassroots activism says. But we can all learn from their success in influencing the national debate and the behavior of national policymakers. To their credit, they thought thoroughly about advocacy tactics.

The handbook gives activists advice on where to sit at town hall meetings (spread out through the room to give the impression of broad support),how to hold a microphone when asking a hostile question (tightly, so that a staffer cant cut the interrogation short without appearing physically aggressive) and to how to get called on to ask a question (look neutral).

Both movements developed their own vernacular, with tea party members labeling Obama a socialist and Trump supporters being called fascists.

The Indivisible guide, which takes its name from a key word in the Pledge of Allegiance, has been downloaded more than 1.7 million times in recent weeks. Almost 5,000 community groups have been set up under its direction.

We want to take something thats really dark right now, with a lot of looming threats all over the place, and turn it into some positive progress, said Kathy Stadler of Indivisible San Diego, one of the local chapters that emerged from the nationwide model.

Iman Salehian is a graphic designer from San Diego who works with Swing Left, an organization focused on electing more progressive candidates to Congress in 2018 and beyond. She said she became involved with Indivisible after attending the Womens March in January.

I did read an Indivisible guide, Salehian said. I think that has formed a lot of people's strategies going forward.

The various resistance efforts are generating a lot of attention locally and nationally, which may contribute to outcomes such as Issa coming out to hear the people outside his office Tuesday for more than an hour.

No matter what side of the political spectrum youre on, people are worried about what the future holds for their health care, Issa told the crowd.

The hubbub outside Issas office was part of a broader effort targeting members of Congress across the nation.

So-called Resist Trump Tuesday protests have been staged in scores of communities every week since the inauguration. Some meetings hosted by Republican members of Congress have showcased angry voters and pushed some lawmakers to cancel or leave early.

Longtime political strategist Bob Shrum said he has not seen the Democratic Party so energized since the Vietnam War. He said that if the momentum keeps up, turnout for the midterm election will soar.

People really care, and they are reacting to events, said Shrum, who teaches political science at the University of Southern California. Republican members of Congress, especially in districts that are reasonably competitive, ignore this at their own peril.

Shrum said the Trump resistance is similar to the tea party not only because participants employ many of the same strategies but because they each grew out of public concern over access to health care. But this latest movement, he said, is more organic.

This is spontaneous, he said. Its like the womens march. This is coming from grass roots. Its coming from the bottom up. The tea party was a mix. It was somewhat from the bottom up but there was a lot corporate money spent too.

Former tea party leader Mason Weaver does not see many similarities between the two efforts. He said the Trump resistance is fueled by an orchestrated drive to de-legitimize a change-agent president and noted the violence that has erupted at some recent protests.

We didnt get paid to demonstrate. We didnt break windows. We didnt start fires, said Weaver, who is an author and keynote speaker. I dont see a groundswell. I see liberal-trained people who are generally dissatisfied.

Weaver said the town-hall meetings his teams attended were always respectful.

Disallowing people to talk was never part of the tea party, he said. Many of these folks are just organized as a mob.

Hundreds of people are expected to attend upcoming events by Hunter and Rep. Susan Davis, D-San Diego.

And Rep. Scott Peters, D-San Diego, held a town hall at constituents urging on Monday night. He said it used to be difficult to get people interested in attending such gatherings.

Unfortunately, it took the election of Donald Trump to remind people that we are fighting for democracy, Peters said.

At the town hall without Issa Tuesday night,Vista resident Minna Riber, 75, said she has not been political since the civil rights movement in the 1960s but she is now.

If I drop dead right now, I know I would have done something I had to do, she said standing outside theoverflow event in Vista. We are a participatory democracy. This is what democracy looks like.

Staff writers Teri Figueroa and J. Harry Jones contributed to this report

jeff.mcdonald@sduniontribune.com(619)293-1708@sdutMcDonald

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Resistance to Trump takes some cues from the tea party - The San Diego Union-Tribune

Fran Foster, The Newsweekly 12:03 a.m. ET Feb. 22, 2017

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Food items were all princess-themed, as well, including these Cinderella pumpkins and red licorice representing Meridas hair from "Brave."(Photo: FRAN FOSTER/THE NEWSWEEKLY)

Ladies dressed in gowns, tiaras and jewels partook of the regal tradition of the afternoon tea at the City of Vero Beach Recreation Departments 14th annual Mother-Daughter Tea Party at the Vero Beach Community Center on Feb. 11.

In addition to tea cups and dainty morsels, the event was an afternoon filled with crafts, dancing, food and tea, games and prizes. Both mothers and daughters were encouraged to dress as their favorite princess character or in formal tea party attire. They posed for many pictures in the photo booth to capture the moment.

The best part about putting on such a big event like the Mother-Daughter Tea Party is seeing all of the smiles from the little girls and their parents, and knowing that you were the reason behind that smile, said Angela Holshouser, City of Vero Beach recreation supervisor.

The 104 participants had a wonderful time and the memories of dancing with princesses, taking funny photos in the photo booth and winning prizes are priceless.

A special thank you went to Tea and Chi, which sponsored all of the teas for the events as well as volunteers, such as Liz Hancock, who supplied cupcakes. Hancock has been part of the event for nearly 15 years and says she loves being involved.

Other volunteers entertained guests by dressing up as princesses and leading activities.

The best part of the afternoon had to be the presence of multiple generations of ladies great-grandmothers and aunts, as well as first-time mothers embracing their little princesses and their own princesses within.

I would not change a thing, Holshouser said. The hard work definitely pays off. I cannot wait until next year to do it all over again.

For more information, please contact Holshouser at772-770-3775 or visit the recreation page at http://www.covb.org.

Read or Share this story: http://www.tcpalm.com/story/specialty-publications/vero-beach/2017/02/22/tea-party-generations/97958154/

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A tea party for the generations - TCPalm

The protests began immediately upon the election of Donald J. Trump to the presidency. Stunned by an election defeat they did not see coming; the far reaches of the Left reacted by taking to the streets in a brat fit seldom seen in American politics.

The temper tantrum has not subsided.

In the weeks and months since the 2016 presidential election celebrities have vented on award shows, the aggrieved (even those who dont know why they are aggrieved) have taken to the streets, to airports and even to the gates of President Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort. Lacking any discernible set of principles let alone a strategy for implementing them, it seems the only tactic remaining is for powerless Left wingers to complain and to do so loudly.

The pending repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act which turned out to be not so affordable has sent protesters scurrying to town hall meetings held by various Republican members of congress. This has given rise to comparisons to the grassroots TEA party movement that gained considerable influence early in the Obama presidency.

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But this is not your fathers TEA party. The differences between the TEA party movement of the Right and what we see happening today transcend mere ideology. The TEA party movement is reviled by the Left precisely because it occupies that sweet spot in American politics that brings together conservatives and much of the center. Its goals are clear; its principles are strongly rooted in the nations history and culture; and at its core it presents an optimistic vision for the future.

The effectiveness of the TEA party scared the bejesus out of the Obama Administration to the point it began using government power, namely the Internal Revenue Service, to hinder and harass development of the movement. Efforts at countering the TEA party surge with a hapless group loosely known as the Occupy movement ended up being nothing more than an opportunity for frustrated campers to spend a few weeks in public parks.

The week after the Presidential inauguration and the so-called womens march protests that followed I was in Washington, D.C. As I sat at a downtown restaurant awaiting a breakfast meeting I struck up a conversation with the server and commented that the previous week must have been exciting. The expression on his face changed to one of anger as he recounted how protesters had smashed out the windows of the restaurant causing it to have to close for a day. For him that meant a day of lost wages.

This illustrates a key difference between the TEA party movement and what is happening today on the American Left. TEA partiers did not vandalize buildings and set fire to cars. Protesters opposed to the Dakota Access pipeline, apparently lacking in employment, spent weeks in an encampment. When they left litter and debris was strewn across acres of formerly pristine land. TEA party activists are respectful of public places, value private property and channeled their anger into policy reform.

And the TEA party movement is about free speech and helping average Americans make their voices heard in the halls of government. The current blob of Left wing protesters seeks to stifle free speech. They have kept conservatives from speaking at college campuses and even blocked Education Secretary Betsy DeVos from entering a public school. This is a favorite tactic of the Left: when you cant win the argument, prevent the other side from arguing.

Then there are the optics. When the TEA party rallies you see American and Gadsden flags, not women parading about town wearing hats replicating their private parts. Americans in the persuadable middle of the political spectrum are not going to be swayed on policy matters by violence and pornographic headwear. If a rally or protest looks like a Barnum & Bailey sideshow, then it wont be taken seriously by average Americans who are looking only for family sustaining jobs for themselves and better educational opportunities for their children.

No, the endless protests are not going to morph into a TEA party of the Left. Rather what you have is a pity party thrown by a group of people with nothing to offer but footage to fill the screens of the mainstream news media.

Lowman S. Henry is chairman & CEO of the Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research and host of the weekly Lincoln Radio Journal. His email address is lhenry@lincolninstitute.org

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LOWMAN S. HENRY: Democrats forming a pity party, not a TEA Party - The Mercury

A constituent of Congressman Dave Brat, R-Va., gestures as she responded to the congressman during a town hall meeting with him in Blackstone, Va., Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017.

A constituent of Congressman Dave Brat, R-Va., gestures as she responded to the congressman during a town hall meeting with him in Blackstone, Va., Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017.

Congressman Dave Brat, R-Va., back to camera, answers questions during a town hall meeting with the congressman in Blackstone, Va., Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017.

Congressman Dave Brat, R-Va., back to camera, answers questions during a town hall meeting with the congressman in Blackstone, Va., Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017.

Congressman Dave Brat, R-Va., gestures as he answers questions during a town hall meeting with the congressman in Blackstone, Va., Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017.

Congressman Dave Brat, R-Va., gestures as he answers questions during a town hall meeting with the congressman in Blackstone, Va., Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017.

Constituents of Congressman Dave Brat, R-Va., hold signs as he answers questions during a town hall meeting with the congressman in Blackstone, Va., Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017.

Constituents of Congressman Dave Brat, R-Va., hold signs as he answers questions during a town hall meeting with the congressman in Blackstone, Va., Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017.

Constituents of Congressman Dave Brat, R-Va., hold signs as he answers questions during a town hall meeting with the congressman in Blackstone, Va., Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017.

Constituents of Congressman Dave Brat, R-Va., hold signs as he answers questions during a town hall meeting with the congressman in Blackstone, Va., Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017.

Constituents of Congressman Dave Brat, R-Va., hold signs as he answers questions during a town hall meeting with the congressman in Blackstone, Va., Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017.

Constituents of Congressman Dave Brat, R-Va., hold signs as he answers questions during a town hall meeting with the congressman in Blackstone, Va., Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017.

Congressman Dave Brat, R-Va., answers a question during a town hall meeting with the congressman in Blackstone, Va., Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017.

Congressman Dave Brat, R-Va., answers a question during a town hall meeting with the congressman in Blackstone, Va., Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017.

Congressman Dave Brat, R-Va., answers a question during a town hall meeting with the congressman in Blackstone, Va., Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017.

Congressman Dave Brat, R-Va., answers a question during a town hall meeting with the congressman in Blackstone, Va., Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017.

Constituents of Congressman Dave Brat, R-Va., hold signs as he answers questions during a town hall meeting with the congressman in Blackstone, Va., Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017.

Constituents of Congressman Dave Brat, R-Va., hold signs as he answers questions during a town hall meeting with the congressman in Blackstone, Va., Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017.

Brat, who rode Tea Party rage to office, faces angry constituents

BLACKSTONE, Va. -- Rep. Dave Brat, R-Va., who drew national notice after complaining that women were "in my grill" because he was reluctant to hold a town hall meeting, finally relented and came face to face with those women - and plenty others - at a raucous public event Tuesday night.

Brat held the meeting in a tiny town in Nottoway County, a rural community carried by Trump in November. It's about an hour south of the most populous part of Brat's district, but that didn't stop a stream of people from driving into town and filling up the town hall, with scores shut out on the sidewalk.

For a little more than an hour, Brat was heckled nonstop as he fielded questions on health care, President Donald Trump's policies and the border wall.

His answers seemed to antagonize most in the crowd of 150, who yelled back at him, at points drowning him out and prompting a few of his supporters to leave early in disgust.

At one point, Brat launched into a goofy impression of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., apparently intended to illustrate they agree that voters are frustrated with what they see as a corrupt Washington.

Toward the end of the town hall, Mary Mullins, a 61-year-old constituent and professor at Virginia Commonwealth University who lives in Chesterfield, stood up and briefly held the floor, demanding that Brat give direct answers.

She prodded him to add some detail to one of his usual lines about his value system: "Some actual principles please, not this Judeo-Christian generality," she said.

Before the event got underway, she pondered how she could teach her students critical thinking when the Trump administration seems "based on superstition and who's the biggest bully."

"He certainly seems to be riding the wave," she said of Brat.

On four separate occasions, Brat awkwardly plugged his book, saying it's an effective sleep aid. The joke fell flat each time.

Some of the loudest jeers came over Republicans' promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act as people held up red cards signaling their discontent.

"The problem is Obamacare has just collapsed," said Brat, who stood at a podium in the Blackstone Herb Cottage. The crowd began shouting: "No, it has not!"

The town hall came after constituents, many of them organizing online, made daily calls and sent repeated emails to Brat's office to ask for a public meeting.

Participants began to line up along Main Street hours before the doors opened at 6:30 p.m. Many held signs referring to Brat's recent gaffe, including one that read "VA 7th district, it's grilling time!"

Another sign said, "This grandmother drove 165 miles to be in your grill, Mr. Brat and no one paid me to be here!" - a reference to an interview Brat had with a Richmond paper in which he dismissed protesters as "paid activists."

As he ticked off the names of the counties he has visited in the district, a few in the crowd yelled "Arizona," a jab at his plans to attend a town hall meeting with Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., in Gold Canyon, Arizona, on Thursday. Brat had accepted that invitation before agreeing to hold a town hall in Virginia, a move that enraged some of his critics.

Blackstone Mayor Billy Coleburn acted as an emcee, reading written questions collected from the crowd. Asked "Do you deny climate change?" Brat said "No, the climate changes all the time." His apparent attempt at a joke angered the crowd, some of whom yelled, "Answer the question!"

Asked how as a fiscal conservative Brat could justify the cost of the wall along the southern border promised by Trump and estimated to cost between $15 billion and $25 billion.

"The answer is 'easily,' " Brat said. "Then you pay for it!" a woman in the audience shot back.

He also gave an unpopular answer when asked if he agreed with Trump that the administration was running smoothly so far.

"The answer to that is, given the obstruction in D.C., it's remarkable what he has gotten done," he said. The crowd drowned out his answer forcing him to struggle for a moment - "The stock market is going like 'zing!' for the first time" - before moving on to a question about the Second Amendment.

Nicole Subryan, 44, a registered nurse from Petersburg, which is not in Brat's district, kept up a loud running commentary through the town hall and held up a sheet of paper with the word, "LIE."

She and others seemed unimpressed with Brat's recitation of his grass-roots credentials, which helped him topple House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in 2014. Cantor was criticized for being aloof and out of touch with his constituents - many of the same accusations now plaguing Brat.

"I was one of the first to run as an outsider against the establishment and the crony deals on Wall Street. I think we're going to drain the swamp," he said, invoking one of Trump's favorite lines. The comment sent the crowd into an uproar once again.

"I want to get the power out of D.C. and Wall Street and back to Main Street," Brat said. To which a man yelled, "Wall Street's in the Cabinet now."

"Are the words yes and no in your vocabulary?" Subryan yelled. Then she added, "You're full of [it]!"

Another constant heckler was Alyssa Mitchell, 21, a college student from Richmond, which is not in Brat's district. At one point she yelled: "How about Trump! Why doesn't he pay his taxes?"

Again and again she shouted: "You're misinformed!"

Brat, who seemed a little startled at the beginning of the evening, said afterward that he didn't mind the constant jeering and that he understood the country's divisions have deepened since the election.

"I thought it was going to be worse," he said.

Jenna Portnoy covers Virginia, Maryland and D.C. politics for The Washington Post. @jennaportnoy

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Brat, who rode Tea Party rage to office, faces angry constituents - seattlepi.com