The Tea Party has been the most high profile and controversial social movement in the US of recent times. But real analysis of the Tea Party remains slim - is it a genuine social movement or a topdown interest group created by the Republican Party and corporate funding? Crashing the Tea Party is based on first-hand observation of local Tea Party chapters, and undertakes a critical journalistic and scholarly examination from the national and local level. Paul Street and Anthony DiMaggio provide a carefully documented account which challenges conventional wisdoms. Crashing the Tea Party fills the gap in public understanding about this particular social movement, and how social movements in general relate today to the ideologies of left and right and the mass media.

The Tea Party has been the most high profile and controversial social movement in the US of recent times. But real analysis of the Tea Party remains slim - is it a genuine social movement or a topdown interest group created by the Republican Party and corporate funding? Crashing the Tea Party is based on first-hand observation of local Tea Party chapters, and undertakes a critical journalistic and scholarly examination from the national and local level. Paul Street and Anthony DiMaggio provide a carefully documented account which challenges conventional wisdoms. Crashing the Tea Party fills the gap in public understanding about this particular social movement, and how social movements in general relate today to the ideologies of left and right and the mass media.

Introduction: manufacturing dissent in a time of public distrust -- Don't call it a movement: the Tea Party as a mass uprising -- The Tea Party does not exist: observations on the ground in Chicago -- The counter-revolution will be televised: the Tea Party as a mediated rebellion -- Mediated populism: the Tea Party captivates public opinion -- The plot to kill grandma: the Tea Party, mass media, and health care reform -- Manufacturing dissent: fostering resistance to health care from the top down.

A leading activist-scholar on what’s next in the Sanders revolution Bernie Sanders shocked the political establishment by winning 13 million votes and a majority of young voters in the 2016 Democratic primary. Since that upset, repeated polls have judged this democratic socialist to be the most popular politician in the United States. What lessons can be drawn from his surprising insurgent campaign? Longtime author and activist Heather Gautney was a Policy Fellow in Sanders’s Washington, DC, office and a volunteer researcher and organizer on his presidential campaign. In reviewing what enabled Sanders to reach out to an unprecedented number with a socialist message—and what stalled his progress—she draws lessons on the prospects and perils of building a progressive movement in the United States. Gautney’s poignant account of the role that race and class played in this election cycle, her anatomy of the conflicting dynamics of movement and electoral ambitions, and her clear-eyed analysis of the Democratic position following Trump’s victory will serve as a useful starting point for many readers newly aware of the limitations of the Democratic Party and the immensity of the challenges ahead.

The Teavangelicals is a one-of-a-kind book chock-full of original reporting from the 2012 presidential race with an up-close look at how evangelicals and the Tea Party are plotting strategy to reclaim America. In his trademark breezy, funny, and engaging style, David Brody takes you inside the blossoming Teavangelical movement and describes how it is having a major effect on today’s politics with an eye on dominating the political affairs of tomorrow. The author takes his niche for getting interviews and inside access with all the big-name political and evangelical newsmakers and now shares that exclusive access with readers. The author offers a rare, behind-the-scenes glimpse along the campaign trail within the three key factions working tirelessly to overcome President Obama and his political machine: evangelicals, the Tea Party and the GOP presidential contenders. Brody, embedded with leading Tea Party and evangelical groups, shares what he learned from private emails, memos, and conversations that shed light on campaign strategy and voter mobilization efforts. In addition, this book highlights Brody’s exclusive interviews, stories, and travels with all the 2012 GOP presidential candidates as they try to be the candidate that takes on President Obama and ultimately change the course of direction in America. The author travels to the key early Primary states of Iowa and South Carolina where Evangelicals will have a major say in who the GOP nominates for President. The author gives readers the inside scoop on the power of evangelical groups and how they’re making a difference early on in the process. Additionally, how will these GOP candidates appeal to evangelicals and how well will it work out? At the same time, the candidates are catering to the Tea Party crowd. We’ll go inside the living rooms of major Tea Party organizers to get inside access on the chatter. Are these presidential candidates passing the Tea Party “smell test”?

Unlike previous books on the Tea Party, this work looks at the second phase of party growth to show that what was once considered a monolithic movement is truly a collection of different opinions. Since the Tea Party exploded onto the American political scene, it has matured and changed, but the differences that now exist within the movement are largely unacknowledged. A more nuanced understanding is called for. Previous treatises have sought explanations for the rise of the movement and focused primarily on its early days. This book, in contrast, focuses on understanding the diversity within the party, challenging the notion that the Tea Party is a homogeneous political movement defined mainly by its ultra-conservatism, regionalism, and rigid political orthodoxy. To accurately depict the Tea Party as it exists today, the book explores how the party evolved from its first phase to its second, examining important distinctions in terms of who has joined and who has served in Congress and other offices. Differences in Tea Party organizations around the country are examined and their funding sources considered. The book also explores the political positions taken by Tea Party members, looking at the voting records of party legislators to see if they've adhered to stated movement objectives. Finally, and perhaps most intriguingly, the author speculates on what this all means and suggests possible futures for the diverse Tea Party strands.

"Bracing and immediate." - The Washington Post Once at the center of the American conservative movement, bestselling author and radio host Charles Sykes is a fierce opponent of Donald Trump and the right-wing media that enabled his rise. In How the Right Lost Its Mind, Sykes presents an impassioned, regretful, and deeply thoughtful account of how the American conservative movement came to lose its values. How did a movement that was defined by its belief in limited government, individual liberty, free markets, traditional values, and civility find itself embracing bigotry, political intransigence, demagoguery, and outright falsehood? How the Right Lost its Mind addresses: *Why are so many voters so credulous and immune to factual information reported by responsible media? *Why did conservatives decide to overlook, even embrace, so many of Trump’s outrages, gaffes, conspiracy theories, falsehoods, and smears? *Can conservatives govern? Or are they content merely to rage? *How can the right recover its traditional values and persuade a new generation of their worth?