Tea Party Star Leads Movement On Her Own Terms
The National Tea Party convention is on Thursday — though it's probably more accurate to call it a Tea Party convention, not the Tea Party convention.
But despite the convention, questions remain for the fledgling movement: Where is it heading? And can the Tea Party become a unified organization?
Liberty Belle: Rising Tea Party Star
Keli Carender, blogger, teacher and star of the movement, organized some of the earliest Tea Party-style protests — before they were even called Tea Party protests. As far back as February of 2009, Carender held a rally against the economic stimulus package in downtown Seattle.
She built a following, and by Tax Day, she had more than 1,000 demonstrators in downtown Seattle. Dressed as Alice in Wonderland, Carender took the stage and channeled Janis Joplin with her rendition of "Obama, won't you buy me a Mercedes-Benz." The song was YouTube gold.
But her most viral video came last August during the health care town hall protests. In this one, Carender is at a microphone, holding up a $20 bill, challenging Democratic Congressman Norm Dicks of Washington to come get it.
"You come and take this $20 from me," Carender said, "and take it as a down payment for the health care plan!"
Not Your Typical Tea Partier
Months later, that clip still makes Carender smile.
"I tried to boil down in essence what makes me so angry about it," Carender says. "And it was this idea that he and other people decide what the needs are in society. They get to decide. But in order to fund those things, they have to take from some people in order to give to the other people."
Carender is not the stereotypical Tea Partier. She's classic Seattle — hipster glasses, a couple of tattoos, that certain Northwestern fashion sense. She even works for a nonprofit, teaching math and resume-writing to low-income adults. But when it comes to politics, she doesn't really fit Democratic-leaning Seattle — and she knows it.
"I was at a place watching the Scott Brown results, and some of us were cheering it on," Carender says. "And this guy comes over and says, 'Why? Why the bizarre reaction to this?'"
Carender seems to enjoy getting a rise out of people. In her spare time, she does improv comedy. She also likes the social aspect of politics. When asked for an interview, she suggested meeting at the Young Republicans Happy Hour, which she really didn't want to miss.
Young Republicans like Jennifer Fetters are somewhat in awe at Carender's ability to rally a crowd.
"It sounded totally cool, but totally out of my league," Fetters says. "So I was impressed that she was willing to start up something like this."
Rejecting Republicans
Still, there's a potential ideological divide. Most of the young people at this Happy Hour are Republicans, first and foremost, who happen to support the Tea Party movement. For Carender, it's the other way around.
"I think the Tea Party part of me is going to stay," Carender says. "And I think the Republican part of me is the more flexible part."
Republican party leaders would very much like to harness the Tea Party energy. Just last week, former Congressman Dick Armey's organization "Freedom Works" invited Carender and dozens of other Tea Party organizers to Washington for training and networking sessions.
But Tea Partiers don't want to be harnessed. They've shown a willingness to reject Republican candidates they don't like. On the other hand, they're not about to start their own national political party, as evidenced by the backlash within the Tea Party against the Nashville convention. It's a movement without a central organization, and Carender likes it that way.
"If you have a machine, you know exactly how to attack it, exactly how to shut it down," she says. "If you have 3 million machines coming at you, you don't know where to turn."
Carender was scheduled to speak at the convention, but the controversy over the event has given her second thoughts. With only two days to go, she still doesn't know if she'll attend. She says she'd hate to waste her airline ticket, but she's less concerned about missing an opportunity to network and spread the word.
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RENEE MONTAGNE, host:
The huge deficit is the rallying point for Tea Party activists, who oppose what they see as excessive government spending. Theres a Tea Party convention planned this week in Nashville. The supporters of the movement are having their own internal differences about the way its being organized.
The Tea Party activists have quickly developed a national following, and as NPRs Martin Kaste shows in his profile, one Seattle woman has become a star of the movement.
MARTIN KASTE: Keli Carender was a Tea Partier before there even was a Tea Party movement. As far back as last February, her anti-stimulus package protests were making the news in her home town of Seattle.
Unidentified Man #1: These protestors are responding to a call from a local Internet blogger who, on the Web, calls herself Liberty Belle.
Ms. KELI CARENDER (Tea Party Organizer): This is about freedom, individual freedom, individual liberties.
KASTE: Carender quickly built a following, and by tax day, she had a real rally on her hands. Taking the stage in the middle of downtown Seattle, Carender channeled Janis Joplin.
(Soundbite of music)
Ms. CARENDER: (Singing) Obama, won't you bring my mortgage rate down?
KASTE: That line - Obama, won't you bring my mortgage rate down - was YouTube gold. But Carender's most viral video came later in August, during the health care town hall protests. You may have seen this one. She's at a mic holding up a $20 bill, challenging Democratic Congressman Norm Dicks.
Ms. CARENDER: You come and take this $20 from me and use it as a down payment on this health care plan.
Unidentified Man #2: Okay, yeah.
(Soundbite of cheers and applause)
KASTE: Months later, that clip still makes Carender smile.
Ms. CARENDER: I tried to boil down in essence what makes me so angry about it. It's this idea that he and other people decide what the needs are of society, and what - who's more important and what gets prioritized. And in order to fund those things, they have to take from some people to give to the other people.
KASTE: Carender is classic Seattle. She has the hipster glasses, a couple of tattoos, and that certain Northwestern fashion sense. She even works for a nonprofit, teaching math and resume-writing to low-income adults. But when it comes to politics, she knows she doesn't fit in in this Democratic town.
Ms. CARENDER: I was at a place watching the Scott Brown results, and some of us were cheering it on. And this guy came up to me and he goes: Why is - why the bizarre reaction to this?
KASTE: She seems to like getting a rise out of people. In her spare time, she does improv comedy. She also enjoys the social aspect of politics. For instance, she hates to miss the Young Republicans Happy Hour.
These Young Republicans, people like Jennifer Fetters, were awed last year by Carender's ability to rally a crowd.
Ms. JENNIFER FETTERS: It sounded really cool, but totally out of my league. So I was impressed that she was willing to start up something like this.
KASTE: Still, there is a potential ideological divide here. These young people are Republicans, first and foremost, who happen to support the Tea Party movement. For Carender, it's the other way around.
Ms. CARENDER: I think the Tea Party part of me is going to stay, and the Republican part is the more flexible part.
KASTE: Republican party leaders are trying to harness that Tea Party energy. Just last week, former Congressman Dick Armey's organization Freedom Works invited Carender and dozens of other Tea Party organizers to Washington for training and networking.
But Tea Partiers have shown a willingness to reject Republican candidates that they don't like and even split the conservative vote. On the other hand, they're not about to start their own party, as evidenced by the backlash within the movement against the Tea Party Convention in Nashville. This is a movement where nobody's really in control, and Carender likes it that way.
Ms. CARENDER: You know, we don't have a machine.
KASTE: Do you want a machine?
Ms. CARENDER: Do I want a machine? No. No. You can - if you have a machine, you know exactly where to attack it. You know how to shut it down. If you have three million machines coming at you, you have no idea where to turn.
KASTE: Carender was invited to speak at the national convention, but the controversy over the event has now given her pause. With only two days left, she still hasn't made up her mind whether she's going. She already has her airline ticket and she'd hate to waste that. But as to the political value of the convention itself, she shrugs it off, because really, who needs a convention when you've got YouTube?
Martin Kaste, NPR News.
(Soundbite of music)
MONTAGNE: You're listening to MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.
