Inside the Tea Party
Sarah Palin's and Glenn Beck's tweets and teary theatrics serve as valuable spiritual fodder, but in a decentralized movement that has been compared to a starfish, here are 10 movers and shakers you should know about, some in the public eye, some in the shadows.
In February 2009, long-simmering conservative frustrations got the outlet they needed in the form of a televised rant on CNBC. Commentator Rick Santelli started frothing at the mouth on the trading floor at the mention of the financial bailout, yelling, "How many of you people want to pay for your neighbor's mortgage?" When young and disgruntled social networkers got wind of the rant, the Web went wild. Santelli, who still broadcasts, galvanized a movement that continues to change the face of American politics.
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