The "Tea Party" isn't a "party," it's just a semi-organized - but quite influential - faction within the Republican Party.

Sometimes they rationalize their self-chosen silly name as "Taxed Enough Already." As sciencegeek says, it was inspired by the "Boston Tea Party," which wasn't a political party at all: just guys dressed as Indians (for effect) dumping many, many chests of tea into Boston harbor in 1773 - in a very risky protest.

Most Republican Congressmen have signed an "official" Tea Party-inspired pledge that they will never, under any circumstances, increase taxes on any American citizen. That's "under any circumstances."

A Tea Party bigshot on CNN yesterday was asked whether in light of Obama's re-election and the looming "fiscal cliff" (created mainly by Tea Party intransigence), the Party would be ready to "meet the Democrats half-way" on taxes.

TP logic: "No. Because if you go half-way over a cliff, you've still gone over the cliff. So we will not compromise."

Get the idea? Instead of protesting "taxation without representation," they're against federal taxation for any purpose except defense, federal law enforcement, Social Security, Medicare, and a few other basics.