Leave it to The New York Times to find Spartacus, the true leader of the Tea Party movement. Turns out Spartacus has a nose ring, does stand up comedy, and lives in a neighborhood with a bunch of immigrants. Oh, one more thing, Spartacus is a female.
Here’s the Times summary of Keli Carender’s year-long journey from political obscurity to a Washington, D.C. seminar on how to change the nation’s political balance of power:
“This weekend, as Tea Party members observe the anniversary of the first mass protests nationwide, Ms. Carender’s path to activism offers a lens into how the movement has grown, taking many people who were not politically active — it is not uncommon to meet Tea Party advocates who say they have never voted — and turning them into a force that is rattling both parties as they look toward the midterm elections in the fall.
“Ms. Carender’s first rally drew only 120 people. A week later, she had 300, and six weeks later, 1,200 people gathered for a Tax Day Tea Party. Last month, she was among about 60 Tea Party leaders flown to Washington to be trained in election activism by FreedomWorks, the conservative advocacy organization led by Dick Armey, the former House Republican leader.”
For the rest of a surprisingly solid piece of reporting from the Times, go here.
