I do not believe that the Tea Party is—directly—a terrorist organization. But—

They are a bunch of very angry people, ranging in political orientation from conservative to extreme Right-Wing, most of whom identify themselves as Republicans, but some of those who are furthest to the Right are calling for a third party, the nature of which they have not delineated, but who argue for little or no government at all and complete elimination of regulations on financial institutions—and on corporations.

They also tend to embrace the writings and philosophy of Ayn Rand.

[Note to Gfs:   This is NOT "opinion." This is what they say themselves.]

Note:    Ayn Rand's philosophy, while not identical, has many strong parallels with the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche, especially Nietzsche's concept of the Übermensch, literally "Overman," but generally translated as "Superman." The Übermensch is above the morality of ordinary people. They determine their own morality. You can get an idea of where Ayn Rand is going with this from the title of one of her non-fiction books, The Virtue of Selfishness. And you can see this idea of the "Superman" playing itself out in Ayn Rand's novels, in portrayals of some of her characters in, for example, Atlas Shrugged:   Hank Reardon, Dagny Taggart, Francisco d'Anconia, and, especially, John Galt.   

It should not be necessary to remind people that Nietzsche, especially his concept of the "Superman," was embraced by Adolph Hitler and his cabal in Germany in the 1930s. And that Benito Mussolini defined Fascism as "The combined power of the Corporations and the State."

The current trend in this country, pushed by the Right Wing in general, and by seeming loose groups like the Tea Party (but carefully steered by people like the Kochs) strike me as very ominous echoes of the same ideas that were steering Germany in the 1930s.

Judging from the behavior of some, there are people who appear at political events at which the Tea Party is present who would make very good, and more than willing, Brownshirts. And judging from some of the placards carried, racism is rife in the Tea Party.

Is the Tea Party a terrorist group? Well, I think that depends on how you define "terrorist group."

Don Firth

P. S.   It is interesting to note that a large percentage of Tea Party members identify themselves as evangelical Christians. Despite their objections to government regulations, not to mention their insistence on strict obedience to the Constitution, they want the government to pass laws prohibiting behavior that their particular churches regard as sinful. And some have gone on record as endorsing the assassination of doctors who work in abortion clinics, and/or fire-bombing the clinics themselves.