by Mary Claire Kendall

Created on: November 10, 2010   Last Updated: November 27, 2010

No question, the Tea Party movement was a success in 2010, making all the difference on election night when, from Scranton to Oshkosh, the Congressional district map turned from solid blue to solid red.  Truly, it was a tidal wave of voter unease, expressed by a wholesale rejection of Democrats. 

The meteor that catapulted this movement was CNBC's Rick Santelli, who on February 19, 2009, called out President Barack Obama’s Homeowners Affordability and Stability Plan, with its too-generous bailouts for "promoting bad behavior." 

That day, Santelli raised the possibility of a "Chicago Tea Party” on April 15, 2009 to speak up for the working stiff, who was footing the bill.  The idea caught on and spread like wild fire, with rallies and organizing efforts continuing well beyond that first Tax Day protest.

When Obama had the temerity to bulldoze through a health care bill that the country didn't ask for and didn't want – when jobs were the pressing need – that was it!  Independent Tea Party-minded Americans bolted – just like early American patriots, who threw out King George’s high-tax tea into Boston Harbor.

At town hall after town hall meeting the summer of 2009, Tea Partiers signaled their distaste for Obamacare, that went too far and was too expensive, and their decided yen for that 18th century Boston Harbor tea party maneuver. 

Then, folks like Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachman and Tea Party leaders across the country, help galvanize the movement, giving it a concentrated focus and media attention.  It was Tea Party calling out government as being too fat, too bloated and too cozy with elite, moneyed special interests who engineer deals that benefit themselves but not the broad swath of hard-working Americans, who "play by the rules."

And, sure enough, independent Tea Partiers took that anger and resolve all the way to Election Day. While 18% of Independents voted for Democrats in their takeover of the House and Senate in 2006, 18% of independents swung back and voted for Republicans in their takeover of the House and near-takeover of the Senate in 2010.

Of course, not all the Tea Party-backed candidates won – showing, it’s not enough to assert one’s determination to get America back on track and back to its roots; you also need to be able to argue your case persuasively.  This was particularly true in the Senate races, where candidates like Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), strongly backed by the Tea Party, fared well; whereas candidates who sometimes left voters scratching their heads, like Christine O’Donnell (R-DE) and Sharron Angle (R-NV), though very able, came up short on Election Day.  In the House, on the other hand, the mood of the country was perfectly reflected in a sea change, bright with red, not seen since World War II. That’s exactly how the founders intended it.  The House of Representatives was designed to be more responsive to the mood of the country, whereas the Senate would be the less reactive body – putting on the brakes lest the new course proves ultimately misguided.

What a ride – so utterly American!  As Santelli said before the very first rally, "I think that this tea party phenomenon is steeped in American culture and steeped in the American notion to get involved with what’s going on with our government.” And, while he didn’t do any organizing and had to work during the first Tea Party rally, he said, “I have to tell you — I’m pretty proud of this.”

America is too.

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