A grass roots political movement that was started in 2009 in Boston. The name references the Boston Tea Party protest of 1773. The movement is made up of several independent organizations, which all came together under a powerful, leaderless Tea Party movement. The movement grew rapidly, protesting pork barrel and government spending, the appropriation of the banking and auto industry, government takeover of Healthcare, the national deficit, and earmarks from congressional backroom deals. They showed up at Townhall meetings and decried politics-as-usual incumbents. The movement backed candidates replaced many incumbents during the 2010 election cycle.