Tea Party finds its voice

Like other blocs, Tea Party finds its voice, limits (Associated Press/Sidoti)
First, the independent Ross Perot contingent. Then, the liberal "net-roots" mobilization. Now, the conservative "Tea Party" coalition. No doubt this is democracy at work, a quintessential part of America. Will the latest political phenomenon become a society-changing movement influencing elections and beyond? "We are people who understand something wrong is going on in this country, and we want to change it," says Dan Garner, a married 40-year-old sales representative from Carthage, Tenn., who is new to politics. Like so many others, he has had enough. "The core thing is a loss of individual liberty." Retirees, stay-at-home moms, small-business owners, corporate executives and everyone in between — many political neophytes who aren't hardcore ideologues — are using the latest technology to come together and vent their frustrations about their country and plot to install a new group in charge of the government. They formed a loose network of grass-roots groups to speak out against President Barack Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress.