Fad or Movement? March Tests Sway of Tea Parties

PACs compete for 2010 donations from anti-tax activists

(NEWSER) - As Tea Party wrath brews, conservatives are hoping the anti-tax activists put their money where their mouth is in 2010—and a plethora of political action committees are springing up, angling for a piece of the pie. Dick Armey's Freedomworks Foundation launches its Take Back America PAC this week and the group, which aims to support conservative Republican candidates nationwide, is entering an increasingly crowded field. More»

(NEWSER) - When the tea party protesters converged on Washington, one leader, radio demagogue Mark Williams, repeatedly described them as “working stiffs” who felt left out. It’s no wonder they’re angry, writes Timothy Egan for the New York Times, because it’s been a lost decade for “working stiffs.” In 2008 the poverty rate hit an 11-year high and the median household income fell to $50,303, less than it was 10 years earlier. More»

(AP) - Whipped up by conservative commentators and bloggers, tens of thousands of protesters staged "tea parties" around the country today to tap into the collective angst stirred up by a bad economy, government spending, and bailouts. Protesters even threw what appeared to be a box of tea bags toward the White House, causing a brief lockdown at the compound. Click on Slideshow at left to see photos. More»

(NEWSER) - Want to get in on the fun and excitement of the anti-Obama Taxpayer Tea Party? Here’s how, writes Marc Cooper in the Los Angeles Times: “Go to a hobby store. Buy a scale model of a UN One-World-Government Black Helicopter and a tube of glue. Toss the model kit. Sniff the entire tube of glue. You’re all set for the party.” More»

15 arrested in showdown

(NEWSER) - After the cleanup of Wall Street protesters' Zuccotti Park base was postponed , the occupiers were feeling inspired—so they poured onto Broadway for a new march. The result: 15 arrests, the New York Post reports. Police were waiting for protesters, who were blocking traffic; cops pursued and grappled with protesters, some of whom flipped a police bike, in what the Post calls a "melee." As police made arrests, the crowd chanted, "The whole world is watching!" More»