What to make of the Tea Party? To some, it is a grassroots movementaiming to reclaim an out-of-touch government for the people.To others, it is a proto-fascist organization of the misinformed andmanipulated lower middle class. Either way, it is surely one of themost significant forms of reaction in the age of Obama.

In this definitive socio-political analysis of the Tea Party, AnthonyDiMaggio examines the Tea Party phenomenon, using a vast arrayof primary and secondary sources as well as first-hand observation.He traces the history of the Tea Party and analyzes its organizationalstructure, membership, ideological coherence, and relationship tothe mass media. And, perhaps most importantly, he asks: is it reallya movement or just a form of “manufactured dissent” engineeredby capital? DiMaggios conclusions are thoroughly documented,surprising, and bring much needed clarity to a highly controversialsubject.