By the way, does anyone know how you actually become a member of the TEA Party? I know you can't declare that as your party affiliation when you register to vote in Iowa. Here are the political parties recognized in Iowa:
| Iowa Democratic Party | |
| Iowa Socialist Party | |
| Libertarian Party of Iowa | |
| Natural Law Party of Iowa | |
| Republican Party of Iowa |
From what I know of the TEA party, the "members" do not have an allegiance to the party, such as a lot of Democrats or Republicans do. In other words, they have an allegiance only to principles, and not to a political machine known as a party. I know the "Don't Tread on Me" flag is kind of a symbol for what is known as the TEA party, but I don't believe there is any one head of the party, or any one spokesman for the party,, etc. So I don't believe anyone is really a member in the classic sense. It looks like you can only be a supporter and not a member. In other words, you support the principles and cause and not individuals at all costs. I think you can contribute to the functions (the old TEA Party express, and the TAX Day gatherings, etc.), but I'm not sure you can contribute to the party, the same as you can to the Dems or Repubs.
So when I hear someone criticizing the TEA Party, I assume they don't know what they are talking about. They really are criticizing either a particular function or functions, or a particular principle or set of principles.
