Media pundits and the general public have long been at a loss to explain the rise of the Tea Party over the last couple of years. Outsiders have pondered whether or not it is actually a third party, in and of itself, or just a branch of extremists within the Republican ranks.
To most reasonable people, the behavior of those who associate themselves with this movement may seem odd and outside the bounds of reality, but if we shift the context of the Tea Party, moving its manifestation beyond the pall of everyday politics to that of classic psychological behavior, we discover a surprisingly reasonable, logical explanation for its existence.
In her 1969 book, On Death and Dying[ref]Kübler-Ross, Elisabeth. On Death and Dying. (New York): Macmillan, 1969.[/ref], Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross identified five stages of grief that we all experience following a painful loss: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance.
If we view the Tea Party as the embodiment of Republican grief over losing the 2008 presidential election, it all starts to make sense. This is a group of people who simultaneously experienced agonizing emotional suffering when their candidate, John McCain, was soundly defeated by Barack Obama, and they have been slowly working their way through the griving process.
“At some point in our lives, each of us faces the loss of someone or something dear to us. The grief that follows such a loss can seem unbearable, but grief is actually a healing process. Grief is the emotional suffering we feel after a loss of some kind. The death of a loved one, loss of a limb, even intense disappointment can cause grief.”
Thus, we can understand the conduct of Tea Partiers by examining their behavior in the context of Kübler-Ross’s breakthrough research.
By identifiying the five stages of grief in the Tea Party, it becomes evident it was not formed as a political movement at all, but as a way for its participants to grieve a devastating loss:
1. DENIAL AND ISOLATION
At first, we tend to deny the loss has taken place, and may withdraw from our usual social contacts. This stage may last a few moments, or longer.
After the 2008 elections, a large segment of the Republican Party could not accept their candidate’s loss to Barack Obama, America’s first African-American President. They were in denial that he was the legitimate president and commander-in-chief. Their denial was so strong, they even questioned his parentage and authenticity of his birth certificate.
These grieving Republicans withdrew from the mainstream, isolating themselves in a fringe political organization called the “Tea Party,” which separated them even further from society
2. ANGER
The grieving person may then be furious at the person who inflicted the hurt (even if she’s dead), or at the world, for letting it happen. He may be angry with himself for letting the event take place, even if, realistically, nothing could have stopped it.
GOP anger was directed at fellow Republican John McCain, their candidate who they blamed for losing the White House. They were furious with him and rebuked him as a RINO (“Republican in Name Only”), one of the worst epithets to attach to a Republican.
Their anger was also directed at the amorphous “Government,” for allowing a system where their views could be defeated in such an overwhelming manner, especially by someone who they didn’t even accept as being American.
Their anger was also directed at the Democrats and at Obama, in the form of oppositional defiance and hatred. In the congressional session after Osama’s victory, Republicans refused to go along with any Democrat initiated legislation, even if they were the ones who originally proposed it. Remember the “Party of ‘No'”?
3. BARGAINING
Now the grieving person may make bargains with God, asking, “If I do this, will you take away the loss?”
The Tea Party congressional members’ refusal to increase the debt ceiling was their form of bargaining with God: “If we are inflexible and unyielding in our commitment to cutting spending and lowering taxes — even to the point where it may cause harm to others — will you take away the loss (of the 2008 presidential election)? If we stand firm on all these other extreme positions, will you make Barack Obama go away? Please God, make him go away. What if I signed my name to a pledge that I will never raise taxes? If I did that, will you make George W. Bush the president again?”
4. DEPRESSION
The person feels numb, although anger and sadness may remain underneath.
Numbness and sadness are already taking hold, as Tea Partiers realize their extremism is getting them nowhere. There will no doubt soon be a rise in anti-depressants filled by D.C. pharmacists.
5. ACCEPTANCE
This is when the anger, sadness and mourning have tapered off. The person simply accepts the reality of the loss.
A handful of mainstream Republicans seem to have only recently gotten to the stage where they accept the reality of 2008. Hopefully the Tea Partiers will not be stuck in stages 3 and 4 much longer, so our government can once again be functional.
While we can shake our heads in bafflement at the Tea Party movement and those who associate with it, if we understand where they’re really coming from, perhaps we can help them reach Stage 5 in an expeditious manner.
That is why Speaker John Boehner and others in the Republican leadership are having so many problems wrangling concensus among Tea Partiers — they are not dealing with a political faction joined together by common ideals, but rather a group of hurting individuals recovering from the throes of emotional distress.
Hopefully their government-provided health care benefits will allow them to afford a professional who can help them navigate the remaining stages of grief.
Once they have accepted the political realities of the 2008 elections — the fact that their candidate lost to an African-American Democrat — their journey through the grieving process will be complete, and Tea Partiers will be able to rejoin the mainstream of American Conservatives.
In laymen’s terms, “they need to get over it.”
And then the Tea Party will exist only as an odd narrative in American history books and back issues of Psychology Today.