The Tea Party movement is made up of local, state, and national groups that formed on April 15th, 2009, in response to Obama's economic policies. Named after the Boston Tea Party, this relatively new populist (populism means political ideas and activities that are intended to represent ordinary people's needs and wishes) movement now protests against a variety of Obama's policies including health care.
I recently read this article, which discusses the current state of the Tea Party. Right now, the group faces an inner-struggle with members who tend to act too extreme. John Feehery, a CNN contributor, stated that, "While most Tea Party activists are genuinely concerned about the future of the country, some others see conspiracies around every corner and use unacceptable rhetoric to communicate their displeasure with the president." There is fear that these "fringe" members of the group are tainting the public's opinion of the Tea Party and therefore the public's support.
This conflict within the Tea Party addresses the idea of effective free speech. In this circumstance, the overall goal of the Tea Party is to express dislike Obama's policies to make them change. The best way to do this is to gain supporters, but the extremists within the group are preventing that goal from being achieved. Free speech is actually hindering the success of the Tea Party, and that makes me think about which types of free speech are the most effective.
What do you think? What types of free speech are the most effective? Is free speech more effective in certain situations or at certain times?
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