For the Tea Party to continue its growth going forward, it needs to remain focused on a few core issues: limited government, fiscal responsibility, Federalism, Founding Fathers and nothing more. These issues represent the political ‘center of mass’ for the American people (not to be confused with moderates, independents and reaching across the isle). Without a strong functioning economy, the rest of the issues facing our nation- Defense, Health care, Environment, Foreign Policy, Immigration etc. are strictly academic.

The Tea Party core issues reflect the values of the next wave of Americans that are fast approaching their mid 40′s and are ready to assume political leadership of our nation for the next 20 years. Via Uncommon Knowledge October 31st, 1997:

Welcome to Uncommon Knowledge. I’m Peter Robinson. Generation X, the 54 million Americans born between 1965 and 1978. It’s a generation that’s known neither war nor depression and that has attitudes fundamentally different from any generation that’s gone before. One of those attitudes- suspicion of government. Consider social security. Franklin Roosevelt enacted social security in 1935 and fifty years later, Ronald Reagan promised young Americans that social security still would be functioning when they retired. Generation X isn’t buying. In fact, in a recent poll- and this is true- nearly twice as many Generation Xers believed in the existence of UFO’s- piloted perhaps by cousins of my little magenta friend here- than believed that social security will still be sending out checks by the time they retire

Obviously, not all people in this, or any age group are Conservatives. But, many within this age group are Conservative with a large number being fiscal Conservatives. Furthermore, fiscal Conservatism is reflected in the Tea Party ideals of limited government (suspicion of government) and fiscal responsibility (social security will be gone) have been at the center of Generation X’s political identity going back to the mid 1990′s.

Once the 60′s radicals and Obama, who is steeped in 60′s radical ideals, assumed total control of our government and began implementing their massive government agenda (again, suspicion of government) it triggered a political awakening among conservatives everywhere and Gen Xer’s in particular. Who, up to this point, were busy raising a family, working on their careers and going through life.

2009 changed that.

Another Observation from the 1997 panel discussion:

Libertarian and self-reliant. With self-reliant slash Internet because it’s all really, we’ve to find some way to harness all that into this idea that they’re not going to, they’re unanchored to every institution. They’re not going to be going to the workplace.

After watching Republicans fail in reducing the size and scope of the federal government since the 1980′s and set the stage for today’s economic disaster, conservative Gen Xer’s had no political home that reflects their ideals. Even worse, Republican leadership is not inspiring confidence with all the talk of ‘working’ with Obama and his radical 60′s ideals.

This is the reason for the rise of the Tea Party and why it will become their political party (libertarian and self-reliant, unanchored to institutions) of Generation X.

More from the 1997 panel discussion:

I don’t think either party, Republican or Democrat, can lay claim to Generation X. They’re issues-orientated, you know. Both parties are going to have to actively seek their vote.

To reiterate the point, if the Tea Party movement maintains an issues-orientated agenda, they will draw more people to their cause.

Much of this 1997 panel discussion is really prescient. In many ways, the Tea Party movement is shaped by Gen X attitudes about government:

FITZPATRICK Well, Generation X does not like the burgeoning tax, tax burden that they have for a couple of reasons. A) It’s simply immoral, but B) many of them are trying to be entrepreneurs. Many of them are trying to start their own businesses, trying to chase their version of the American dream and their finding that the most difficult thing in doing so is not accessing capital, not being talented themselves or getting a good education, not hiring a trusted workforce in their small business, but in meeting all the regulatory and tax burdens and it’s tough on people. It’s very tough for them to achieve their American dreams this way. The other thing is I more and more out there are hearing younger people refer to the Social Security, the FICA withholding as a tax and they say if it’s going to be 14.7 percent at least call it what it is. It’s a tax. If you start to have an entire generation who already believes more in the existence of UFO’s than that Social Security will exist when they’re old enough to get it, and you start having them call…

ROBINSON Is, was that just sort of a magazine make-up thing or is it…

FITZPATRICK That is the truth. More Generation X’ers believe in that UFO’s exist than that Social Security will exist when they are of retirement age. But the point of all that is if you start having an entire generation start calling this duck a duck, that this is not withholding for some kind of social contract, this is a tax, that’s going to be very, very tough to overcome.

The Tea Party movement has people from all walks of life and from all age groups. By their sheer number (79 million people are Boomers) Conservative Baby Boomers strongly represented within the Tea Party movement. However, the energy and ideas are Gen X.