S.C.'s Tea Party Support Steeped in Political Tradition

While the tea party movement has swept the nation in recent years, and has led to concerns that it's just a fading fad, the principles behind the group have been a major part of S.C. politics for years.

Nearly all of the 2012 GOP presidential contenders have been featured across the state in town hall forums — a hallmark of the tea party — bringing the candidate to the floor where potential voters can interact with them. 

In a state known for its sweet tea, this isn't a new flavor for its political identity, like it may be for the rest of the nation.

"I would argue that the tea party really encapsulates a lot of the South Carolina ideology that existed already," said Kendra Stewart, a professor at the College of Charleston.

"It has bubbled up to reflect what a lot of South Carolinians feel about politics … It really goes back to the very beginning for South Carolina. There has always been a sentiment of limited government. These are all very core traditions in South Carolina politics."

The bottom line: While the nation has caught tea-fever only a few years ago, 2012 candidates don't have to change their message much in South Carolina. Its voters have always responded well to conservative values.

How much hold the tea party will continue to hold over the state will depend on its current governor and , according to Stewart. Will they keep their word? And will it work out for the best for South Carolina?

And Stewart said that even in a few short months before the January primary, South Carolina voters could be judging the state's lawmakers and take that to the ballot box.

"It is going to influence who we vote for in January," Stewart said. "If the tea party can't demonstrate at least some movement forward in the right direction, that's going to be very problematic."

But the state's tea party isn't unanimous in its support.

Businessman Herman Cain recently took the lead among probable S.C. GOP primary voters, according to the American Research Group, partly on the back of tea party supporters. Of the 47 percent who identified themselves as a supporter of the tea party, Cain had overwhelming support at 35 percent. Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney polled at 16 percent and 15 percent, respectively, among tea party supporters.

As is, the tea party here isn't the party of outsiders.

Politicians like S.C. Sens. Larry Grooms and Mike Rose, U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint and more have signed up mid-career onto the tea party wagon, and the tea party candidates are nearly halfway through their first terms. 

According to Lexington Tea Party founder Corey Norris, more than just politicians have jumped on that wagon — some of which, like FreedomWorks, are not welcome additions.

"So many of the factions of the tea party have been hijacked or have succumbed to the lure of popularity that it is sad," Norris said Monday. "A lot of the Republican establishment in South Carolina have seen it as a chance to get reelected. They all put on Don't-Tread-on-Me flag on their desk and claim that they are tea party."

Not being outsiders here means candidates will have to pitch something other than the maverick card, Stewart said. And that something will likely be moral values.

"South Carolina will probably stick to whoever the most religiously to the right, which they have tended to do," Stewart said.

Here, the tea party may have a stronger link to religion than the rest of the nation — though some disagree.

"The traditional voter, Southern Baptist, in the South has a little more problem supporting a candidate who's not out espousing their religious values," Stewart said, citing then-candidate George W. Bush's 2000 S.C. primary win over John McCain.

"For any party to be successful in South Carolina, they have to have some kind of religious ties and a traditional Southern religion. The tea party wouldn't be successful if it was being aligned with Catholicism or Judaism … In other states, the tea party looks more like the Libertarian party, which is completely devoid of religious fundamentalism. In South Carolina, the tea party is representing values. It's not necessarily a fad like it probably is in these other states."

Charleston Tea Party Chair Mike Murphee took issue with that statement about his group. 

"Our main focus has been taxed enough already. You bring in the social issues — we want to stay focused on the structure of government," Murphee said. "We appreciate the social conservatives and we want them on board and we need them on board.

"But the main thing is we need to get our hands around the deficit."

Murphee called the S.C. tea party "a tent," which comfortably houses social conservative values among other values.

"We want to spread our tent wide," Murphee said. 

Norris said the tea party ties to Christianity should be in morals only, not in legislation.

"I'm a Christian but I don't believe we should be legislating morality in anyway," Norris said. "Morality being the driving force, but not the end goal ... I know that a lot of other groups is, that's not only what they believe in, but what they want to enforce and that's unfortunate." 

Traveling in northern Virginia Friday, GOP presidential nominee hopeful Rick Santorum told Patch that the S.C. tea party is a "unique phenomenon" and a "powerful addition to the conservative cause." He likened the national tea party movement to the movement behind Ross Perot in the 1990s.

"There was another movement like this but it was around a person and not a cause," Santorum said. "This is much more substantive and much more cohesive as a group from the grassroots level as opposed to something funded from a person who had there own objectives."

He credited the tea party with his continued fight for the nomination. At the recent Values Voters straw poll, Santorum won 16 percent of the vote and was selected in the top four for vice president favorites. 

But Santorum and Rick Perry's top S.C. operative didn't separate the state's tea party as a different breed from the rest of the nation — but perhaps as just slightly more rooted in conservative values. 

"I've found there's a lot of similarities between the tea party groups," Santorum said. "In South Carolina, they are more unlike some in other places; their concerns are broader based. They are folks that see the concern is not just economic."

Santorum would not elaborate specifically on if he meant religious values in the state, he only added, that in the Palmetto State, "it's a broader-based conservative movement."

S.C. Director of Rick Perry for President Katon Dawson spoke to Patch Saturday. 

"They're all different (from state to state); that's the beauty of the tea party," Dawson said. "We're a party that's getting bigger and stronger. What I can tell you is that I'm all for them and all in with them."

Recently, some have also called the national tea party weak. Norris said that's likely because of the message getting hijacked. Santorum said the national media might have something to do with that. 

"Right now if you look at the candidates that are doing really well, they're not doing a lot of door-to-door campaigning," Santorum said. "Big speeches and debates, that seems to be, early on, what's catching on …

"We'll wait and see whether the tea party is one that is truly grass roots or if that group goes for more what goes on in a viral environment."

So who are S.C. tea partiers? Murphee called followers of the tea party movement "tea partiers;" over the years, some have referred to them as "tea party patriots." Tea party patriots are also often associated with the national movement.

"The folks are very conservative, very oriented toward small government, Constitutional and bill of rights driven and they're very concerned about the country and the direction its going," Murphee said. "They're not looking for middle of the road."

The tea party in the state — much like its Glenn Beck-associated cousin 9-12 groups — has also become educational focused. Later this month, the Charleston Tea Party will start classes on Campaigning 101 for the 2012 season. 

"We're right here. We're learning our system," Murphee said. "We're learning how to get involved."

Murphee said saying the tea party is weakening nationally or in the state is just a fairy tale that "makes liberals make happy in the morning" when they pick up the paper. 

"We're still aggravating and obnoxious as hell," Murphee said. 

So how steeped in the tea party is the state?

One only has to look to one of the state's most well-known politician to see that not everything here is what the tea party stands for. Strom Thurmond nearly invented the "Need something? Call your congressman" pork, Stewart said. 

"Constituent services has been an important part of getting officials elected to office here," Stewart said. "There is still good-ole boy politics in South Carolina that might talk about reducing government and government spending.

"But, at the end of the day, is more supportive of politics as usual, when people with true tea party values are elected become very anti-government this does butt up against traditional Southern politics, providing things for constituents."