Tea party groups share views but don’t work together

BY DAVID LIGHTMAN, The Miami Herald

WASHINGTON — Without question, the tea party movement has more passion and energy than any other force in American politics today. But it also has no coherent central organization or plan, raising questions about its potential impact on the 2012 elections.

“They are the most powerful emotional force in American politics,” said Bruce Buchanan, a professor of government at the University of Texas at Austin, “but they’re disorganized and have no long-term strategy.”

Tea party loyalists proudly concede that they’re a diffuse, diverse bunch who are bound by a commitment to smaller, less intrusive government. They abhor government authority that’s too big and dictatorial. They even recoil at the notion of any hierarchical structure controlling their own effort.

“That’s part of the beauty of the movement,” said Vincent Harris, a Republican consultant who’s also based in Austin.

There are three prominent national organizations that pledge allegiance to the tea party _Tea Party Express, Tea Party Nation and Tea Party Patriots — as well as dozens of local groups that may or may not be affiliated with any of them.

There’s little evidence that these groups want to band together to elect like-minded candidates. They seem to include too many folks like Jeff Luecke, a co-organizer of the Dubuque (Iowa) Tea Party.

“We don’t follow any of those national groups,” he said. “We like the fact that we’re not taking orders.”
Who are these guys?

Tea Party Nation is headed by Judson Phillips, 52, a Nashville lawyer who grew increasingly unhappy with President George W. Bush. The 2003 Medicare prescription-drug benefit, Phillips said, was a budget-buster. When the GOP nominated John McCain, whom Phillips saw as too eager to work with Democrats, as its presidential candidate in 2008, Phillips was steamed.

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