Coffee Party USA
Encyclopedia
The Coffee Party USA is an American
political movement
that was initially formed in January, 2010, as an alternative to the Tea Party movement
, and has since grown into an increasingly diverse organization.
The Coffee Party USA officially identifies itself as a 501(c)(4) social benefit organization. The organization's mission states that it is based on the underlying principle that the government is "not the enemy of the people, but the expression of our collective will, and that we must participate in the democratic process in order to address the challenges we face as Americans." Its slogan is "Wake Up and Stand Up." Its stated goals include getting cooperation in government and removing corporate influence from politics.
The organization's first National Coffee Party Day was held on March 13, 2010.
. It was founded by documentary filmmakers and political activists Annabel Park
and Eric Byler
. After becoming increasingly frustrated with the incivility and obstructionism in political discourse, and the media narrative that the Tea Party represented America, Park posted a rant on her Facebook page. Numerous positive responses from friends prompted her to start a "Join the Coffee Party Movement" fan page.
The group rapidly grew to over 155,000 Facebook fans in size from word of mouth and social networking in under six weeks. Newsweek noted the Facebook membership had surpassed 200,000 by April 2010, and every status update was receiving about a million views. Contrasting the Coffee Party with the Tea Party, Park noted:
After collecting input from the first round of national gatherings, the Coffee Party outlined three initial steps to promote participatory democracy
. "The first step is creating a public space for open and civil dialogue. The second step is collective deliberation, considering facts and values to arrive at a decision. The third step is working toward implementing the decision." Local Coffee Party groups are not yet legally affiliated or authorized to raise funds under the Coffee Party USA name.
In March 2011, the organization announced the dissolution of its interim board, and the establishment of a larger Transition Team charged with creating an organizational infrastructure and a permanent Board."
Coffee Party spokesman Camron Moore, Republican
, said the movement is neither liberal nor conservative, and even Tea Partiers are welcomed to crash their party. The Coffee Party addresses the issue directly, stating "Coffee Party USA is not liberal, centrist, progressive, or conservative. [It] is best described as a grassroots movement calling on all Americans to become active citizens. Members and leaders nationwide have diverse orientations, diverse affiliations, and diverse political experience. No single person's previous participation or expression reflects the entirety of the organization."
, the Shareholder Protection Act
and a constitutional amendment to reverse corporate personhood
." As of July, 2011, the Coffee Party's stated advocacy goals included "reinstituting campaign finance laws, reforming the tax code and restoring Wall St. oversight."
Additional areas of concern involved issues of environment, clean energy and immigration reform
.
participated in one of the meetings, which was covered by C-SPAN
and was crowded, and she observed that not all of the participants were behaving in a civil manner. Newsweek reported, "They were angry. They hated the Tea Party, and the Republican Party. They wanted to get even. One audience member said America was under the thumb of oligarchs and denounced 'moneyed interests.' A few people hissed when Sarah Palin
's name was mentioned. Also on hand were the usual suspects drawn to the C-Span bat signal." Some in the crowd even decided they wanted a new leader for the movement, "not someone that says we can all work together." Park said later, "If they want to fire me, this may not be the group for them. We don't want conflict and confrontation."
Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky
from September 24 to 26, 2010. Some 350 chapter leaders and organizers met to hone their message before heading across the country in an effort to get people involved in what it considered a responsible way.
Featured events included a "Mock Constitutional Convention" co-chaired by Republican communication strategist for Bush and McCain, Mark McKinnon
, and Harvard Law School Professor Lawrence Lessig
; Across the Political Divide: A Transpartisan Dialogue with Joseph McCormick
and a roundtable with journalist Linda Killian of U.S. News and World Report on the question, "What Can We Do for Our Country?" There were also scheduled workshops and panel discussions including members of both major political parties, chairwoman Amy Kremer of the Tea Party Express
and co-founder Annabel Park of the Coffee Party.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
political movement
Political movement
A political movement is a social movement in the area of politics. A political movement may be organized around a single issue or set of issues, or around a set of shared concerns of a social group...
that was initially formed in January, 2010, as an alternative to the Tea Party movement
Tea Party movement
The Tea Party movement is an American populist political movement that is generally recognized as conservative and libertarian, and has sponsored protests and supported political candidates since 2009...
, and has since grown into an increasingly diverse organization.
The Coffee Party USA officially identifies itself as a 501(c)(4) social benefit organization. The organization's mission states that it is based on the underlying principle that the government is "not the enemy of the people, but the expression of our collective will, and that we must participate in the democratic process in order to address the challenges we face as Americans." Its slogan is "Wake Up and Stand Up." Its stated goals include getting cooperation in government and removing corporate influence from politics.
The organization's first National Coffee Party Day was held on March 13, 2010.
Origins and development
The Coffee Party USA was established on January 26, 2010, on the social networking site FacebookFacebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
. It was founded by documentary filmmakers and political activists Annabel Park
Annabel Park
Annabel Park is a documentary filmmaker, political activist and community volunteer.- Early years :Born in 1968 in Seoul, South Korea, Annabel immigrated to the United States with her family when she was nine years old, and was raised in Texas and Maryland...
and Eric Byler
Eric Byler
Eric Byler is an American film director, screenwriter and political activist. He identifies as hapa biracial, born to a Chinese American mother and a white American father. He grew up in Virginia, Hawaii , and California. He graduated from Wesleyan University in 1994, majoring in film...
. After becoming increasingly frustrated with the incivility and obstructionism in political discourse, and the media narrative that the Tea Party represented America, Park posted a rant on her Facebook page. Numerous positive responses from friends prompted her to start a "Join the Coffee Party Movement" fan page.
The group rapidly grew to over 155,000 Facebook fans in size from word of mouth and social networking in under six weeks. Newsweek noted the Facebook membership had surpassed 200,000 by April 2010, and every status update was receiving about a million views. Contrasting the Coffee Party with the Tea Party, Park noted:
After collecting input from the first round of national gatherings, the Coffee Party outlined three initial steps to promote participatory democracy
Participatory democracy
Participatory Democracy, also known as Deliberative Democracy, Direct Democracy and Real Democracy , is a process where political decisions are made directly by regular people...
. "The first step is creating a public space for open and civil dialogue. The second step is collective deliberation, considering facts and values to arrive at a decision. The third step is working toward implementing the decision." Local Coffee Party groups are not yet legally affiliated or authorized to raise funds under the Coffee Party USA name.
In March 2011, the organization announced the dissolution of its interim board, and the establishment of a larger Transition Team charged with creating an organizational infrastructure and a permanent Board."
Reception
The Coffee Party has been referred to by some in the media as "more academic and centrist than some of its members had hoped for but nevertheless, it is a timely and welcome development of a more intellectual form of political activism"; "a latte-sipping, liberal reaction to the populist conservative Tea Party movement"; "left-leaning"; a group that "welcomes everyone and embraces diversity -- ethnic, geographical and even political diversity"; and "a liberal-esque and pro-Obama answer to the conservative tea party movement" with meetings that are "visibly more diverse than the average tea party gathering."Coffee Party spokesman Camron Moore, Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, said the movement is neither liberal nor conservative, and even Tea Partiers are welcomed to crash their party. The Coffee Party addresses the issue directly, stating "Coffee Party USA is not liberal, centrist, progressive, or conservative. [It] is best described as a grassroots movement calling on all Americans to become active citizens. Members and leaders nationwide have diverse orientations, diverse affiliations, and diverse political experience. No single person's previous participation or expression reflects the entirety of the organization."
Political positions
After holding a National Coffee Summit and several votes and polls utilizing internet technology, the Coffee Party determined that the overwhelming concern of its members was money in politics, with "95 percent of members voting for a specific course of action, based on support for the Fair Elections Now Act, the DISCLOSE ActDISCLOSE Act
The Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections Act, commonly known as the DISCLOSE Act and also known as H.R. 5175 , was a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Chris Van Hollen on April 29, 2010 and in the U.S...
, the Shareholder Protection Act
Shareholder Protection Act
The proposed Shareholder Protection Act is a bill that was introduced to the United States House of Representatives in 2010. It would amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require that any solicitation of a proxy, consent, or authorization with respect to any security of an issuer: describe...
and a constitutional amendment to reverse corporate personhood
Corporate personhood
Corporate personhood is the status conferred upon corporations under the law, which allows corporations to have rights and responsibilities similar to those of a natural person. There is a question about which subset of rights that are afforded to natural persons should also be afforded to...
." As of July, 2011, the Coffee Party's stated advocacy goals included "reinstituting campaign finance laws, reforming the tax code and restoring Wall St. oversight."
Additional areas of concern involved issues of environment, clean energy and immigration reform
Immigration reform
Immigration reform is a term used in political discussion regarding changes to current immigration policy of a country. In its strict definition, "reform " means to change into an improved form or condition, by amending or removing faults or abuses....
.
National Coffee House day
The Coffee Party held its initial National Coffee House day event on March 13, 2010. Some 370 events took place across the US and the world, including Tokyo and Jakarta, with the intent to "encourage our existing and soon-to-form chapters to facilitate informative and civil dialogue about issues that affect all of us, collectively. We will ask them to report back to us on what consensus they reach, and take action from there."National Coffee Summit
On March 27, 2010, approximately 500 Coffee Party meetings took place across the United States. Coffee Party co-founder Annabel ParkAnnabel Park
Annabel Park is a documentary filmmaker, political activist and community volunteer.- Early years :Born in 1968 in Seoul, South Korea, Annabel immigrated to the United States with her family when she was nine years old, and was raised in Texas and Maryland...
participated in one of the meetings, which was covered by C-SPAN
C-SPAN
C-SPAN , an acronym for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, is an American cable television network that offers coverage of federal government proceedings and other public affairs programming via its three television channels , one radio station and a group of websites that provide streaming...
and was crowded, and she observed that not all of the participants were behaving in a civil manner. Newsweek reported, "They were angry. They hated the Tea Party, and the Republican Party. They wanted to get even. One audience member said America was under the thumb of oligarchs and denounced 'moneyed interests.' A few people hissed when Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
's name was mentioned. Also on hand were the usual suspects drawn to the C-Span bat signal." Some in the crowd even decided they wanted a new leader for the movement, "not someone that says we can all work together." Park said later, "If they want to fire me, this may not be the group for them. We don't want conflict and confrontation."
Coffee Party Convention
The First Annual Coffee Party Convention was held at the Galt HouseGalt House
The Galt House is a 25-story, 1300-room hotel in Louisville, Kentucky. The original hotel was erected in 1837. The current Galt House is presently the city's only hotel on the Ohio River. Many noted people have stayed at the Galt House, including Jefferson Davis, Charles Dickens, Abraham Lincoln...
Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
from September 24 to 26, 2010. Some 350 chapter leaders and organizers met to hone their message before heading across the country in an effort to get people involved in what it considered a responsible way.
Featured events included a "Mock Constitutional Convention" co-chaired by Republican communication strategist for Bush and McCain, Mark McKinnon
Mark McKinnon
Mark McKinnon is a Republican political advisor in the United States, Global Vice-Chairman of Hill & Knowlton, Inc., a leading international communications consultancy, providing services to local, multinational and global clients, and the President of Maverick Media. Originally a Democrat,...
, and Harvard Law School Professor Lawrence Lessig
Lawrence Lessig
Lawrence "Larry" Lessig is an American academic and political activist. He is best known as a proponent of reduced legal restrictions on copyright, trademark, and radio frequency spectrum, particularly in technology applications, and he has called for state-based activism to promote substantive...
; Across the Political Divide: A Transpartisan Dialogue with Joseph McCormick
Joseph F. McCormick
-Early Life:Born to an aerospace engineer father, his mother was a nurse, McCormick was raised in Pawling, New York. He moved to Albany, Georgia in 1994.-Career:...
and a roundtable with journalist Linda Killian of U.S. News and World Report on the question, "What Can We Do for Our Country?" There were also scheduled workshops and panel discussions including members of both major political parties, chairwoman Amy Kremer of the Tea Party Express
Tea Party Express
The Tea Party Express is a California-based group founded in the summer of 2009 to support the Tea Party movement. Founded as a national bus tour to rally Tea Party activists, the group's leadership also endorses and promotes conservative candidates running for state and federal offices...
and co-founder Annabel Park of the Coffee Party.