My Canadian Two Cent Take on the Tea Parties:

The original Boston Tea Party in 1773 was a dramatic pre-revolutionary tax revolt against the British colonial power.

The present “Tea Parties” seem to be nothing of the kind and pale in comparison. Rather they seem to be more akin to simple political organizing events for the right wing of the GOP.

Some extreme right wingers see these gatherings as recruitment opportunities for their own far right fringe groups - this seems like an irrelevant red herring.

BTW, why do the organizers call these gatherings “Tea Parties”? To do so seems misleading at best. Do they hope thereby to gain some kind of legitimacy by trading off the name of a bona fide historical event?

In any case, the concept of organizing the right wing of the GOP into a cohesive faction is what some perceive as a threat to the very existence of the GOP, while others see it as an attempt to hijack the GOP.

What seems to be lacking is any kind of comparable organizing activity by the centre of the party. And I guess that is upsetting a lot of folks.