The Rise of the Tea Party

What to make of the Tea Party? To some, it is a grassroots movement

aiming to reclaim an out-of-touch government for the people.

To others, it is a proto-fascist organization of the misinformed and

manipulated lower middle class. Either way, it is surely one of the

most significant forms of reaction in the age of Obama.

In this definitive socio-political analysis of the Tea Party, Anthony

DiMaggio examines the Tea Party phenomenon, using a vast array

of primary and secondary sources as well as first-hand observation.

He traces the history of the Tea Party and analyzes its organizational

structure, membership, ideological coherence, and relationship to

the mass media. And, perhaps most importantly, he asks: is it really

a movement or just a form of "manufactured dissent" engineered

by capital? DiMaggio's conclusions are thoroughly documented,

surprising, and bring much needed clarity to a highly controversial

subject.