Question

During the 2008 election, the Republican Party was not pleased with having John McCain as their candidate, and rebelled by forming ______. Group of answer choices a) the Traditional Values Party b) the Anti-Establishment Party c) the Neo-Conservative Party d) the Tea Party.

Answer 1

The Tea Party was created in early 2009 following a divergence of opinions within the Republican Party during the 2008 presidential elections.

In the context of a new financial crisis, John McCain alienated the more conservative wing of the Republican Party because of his:

• approach to national debt,
• lack of coherent economic solutions,
• close ties with then unpopular President George W. Bush,
• and immigration policies.

For example, he endorsed a piece of legislation which had very little support among Republicans: the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007.

Republicans also had trouble trusting his judgement because he chose Sarah Palin as a vice president if elected, who many voters considered too inexperienced and unprepared.

As a result, the Tea Party was formed to promote fiscally conservative responses to the recession, including lower taxes, a reduction of government spending, limited state intervention in the private sector, and more tightly-controlled immigration.

The name "Tea Party" is a reference to the Boston Tea Party of 1773, when American colonists threw British tea overboard and into the Boston harbor to demonstrate against Great Britain's unfair taxation of Americans.