Is the Coffee Party a real political movement?
By: Amanda Anderson
For the last few months, the media has been focused on the Tea Party Movement and their significant victories in recent elections. Proclaimed as the latest grassroots movement for “real people,” the conservative based organization has created a stir in supporters and critics alike. While most people don’t consider the movement anything more than a Republican ploy, Tea Party activists are no where close to becoming the third political party we were all waiting for. And although the organization is making serious political waves, we all knew it was just a matter of time before another organization would form and become the answer to the Tea Party madness. Meet the Coffee Party.
While the Tea Party deserves credit for using the effectiveness of grassroots campaigning, they were unable to reach a base of voters that don’t deem themselves as Conservatives. One of the reasons the Tea Party movement failed to reach out to more Americans is their attachment to divisive political language.
While most Americans were turned off to the controversial rhetoric, another movement was in the process of building. Founded by Annabel Park, the Coffee Party is clearly the movement that does not rely on divisiveness to get the attention of elected officials. This is perhaps one of the reasons why the organization is creating so much steam while only being a year old.
While the Tea Party movement is about less government, the Coffee Party wants to work with the government that we already have. The Tea Party also tends to only work with Republicans and Conservatives, while the Coffee Party wants to truly work with both political parties.
Independents, liberals, conservatives and moderates are attracted to the new organization because it is considered more neutral than the conservative based Tea Party. The organization is neither conservative, liberal, progressive, or centrist. The group boasts that it is label-less since it’s political labels that have caused so much division in the country. This is a huge advantage for the new organization, and this could be the factor that will eventually make the Coffee Party an organization that politicians will begin to take seriously.
Members of the Coffee Party choose to make use of their right to democracy and believe that it is necessary that citizens actually become involved in the political process of the nation. Self-described as a “call to action,” members work to make sure the interest of the people holds more rank than the interests of corporations.
However, the organization is not without its controversy. Park has worked on President Obama’s presidential campaign. To critics, this indicates that she has aligned herself to the left. Conservatives continue to attack Park’s credibility while refusing to acknowledge that the Tea Party is composed of Conservatives and backed by Republicans. The attack of the Right-Winged supporters shows that they too feel they have something to worry about.
And although conservative critics and Tea Party activists claim the organization is not a threat and not truly a grassroots organization, even Tea Party members made an appearance at the group’s first nation wide coffee meet and greet. All around the country, citizens met in coffee shops to respectfully discuss politics. As the event was a huge success, it is evident that the Coffee Party is only just beginning their influence in the world of Politics.