I think the Tea Party has finally falsified for good the theory that what drives people in politics is their self-interest as economically understood.
A disproportionate number of Tea Party activists are small business owners/managers of some sort. A lot of them are also relatively affluent (not really rich, but relative to the general population...) and/or retired individuals who have at least
some personal safety net. Not to mention, the influence of certain segments of the American economic elite in the Tea Party "movement" is important to consider.
But I do agree, there is a mixture of anti-intellectual resentment, racism, and pining for the "good ole days" along with the usual small business-owner paranoia about unions or such, and overused platitudes about "individual liberty" and "freedom from the government" that have become defining features of so-called "movement conservatism."
