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Local Tea Party Group in North Carolina

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TERROR, EDUCATION AND AMERICA: A CASE STUDY OF A LOCAL TEA PARTY GROUP IN NORTH CAROLINA by KRISTIN B. KELLY B.A., North Carolina State University, 2011 A THESIS submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree MASTER OF ARTS Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work College of Arts and Sciences KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY Manhattan, Kansas 2014 Approved by: Major Professor Robert K. Schaeffer Copyright KRISTIN B. KELLY 2014 Abstract Street and DiMaggio (2011) argue that the national Tea Party movement is an extension of the Republican Party in the United States, claiming that it’s an “ugly, authoritarian, and fake- populist pseudo movement directed from above and early on by and for elite Republican and business interests” (p.9). On the other hand, Skocpol and Williams (2012) argue that “the Tea Party is neither a top-down creation nor a bottom-up explosion” (p.12). I argue that the North Carolina movement, at the local level, represents a group of grassroots activists who were first mobilized on December 2nd, 2005, according to the “Triangle Conservatives Unite!” website. Because of the South’s history with race relations and Ku Klux Klan violence in North Carolina around the issue of public education, for the purposes of this study I want to pose the following questions: How is Tea Party “craziness” functional for the local 9/12 project group, “Triangle Conservatives Unite!”? How is symbolic racism used as a framing device by the Tea Party, as a social movement, around public education in North Carolina? In order to capture Tea Party member and civil society attitudes toward the Wake County Board of Education decision to scrap the old, nationally-recognized socioeconomic diversity policy in favor of one that much resembled the 1960s neighborhood/community schools policy, I use a case study approach to look at how the Tea Party Social Movement deals with race, with regard to the Wake County School Board decision to go back to neighborhood/community schools. When analyzing popular news sources, I draw on Bonilla-Silva’s (2014) theory of Color-Blind Racism. I also draw on Tilly’s (1978) Resource Mobilization Theory to explain how the Tea Party Movement came to power in North Carolina, affecting the Wake County School Board Decision to go back to neighborhood schools. Major findings suggest that sometime after 2005, the group began to adopt the goals and mission statement of the national 9/12 project group, led by conservative commentator Glenn Beck. I also find mixed support for Bonilla-Silva’s (2014) theory of Color-Blind Racism as well as support for Tilly’s (1978) Resource Mobilization Theory in my study. Table of Contents Dedication……………………………………………………………………………………viii Preface…………………………………………………………………………………………ix The Paradox of North Carolina Politics: At a Glance ............................................................... 1 The McCarthy Era and the Rise of the John Birch Society .................................................... 2 Jim Crow Segregation ......................................................................................................... 3 Neighborhood Schools & Integration ............................................................................. 4 The Socioeconomic Diversity Policy in Wake County, NC vs. Charlotte-Mecklenburg, NC ... 5 Controversy in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District ................................................... 7 Wake County Public School District in Comparison ......................................................... 7 Jesse Helms: A Lasting Figure in NC Politics ........................................................................... 7 Magnet Schools, Charter Schools and Ditching the Socioeconomic Diversity Policy in the Wake County, NC Public School District........................................................................... 8 The Rise of the “New Christian Right” in North Carolina ........................................... 10 A Perfect Storm: Creating the Conditions for a “Tea Party” to Emerge within North Carolina .................................................................................................................................................. 11 Chapter 2 - The Rise of the Tea Party in NC ................................................................................ 12 Chapter 3 - Theoretical Approach................................................................................................. 14 Resource Mobilization Theory & The Tea Party Movement ................................................... 14 Resource Mobilization Theory & The Tea Party Movement: In Summary ........................ 22 Color-Blind Racism & The Tea Party Movement ............................................................ 23 Chapter 4 - Discussion of Research Question............................................................................... 26 The “Triangle Conservatives Unite!” Tea Party Group and the Evolution of the Concept of Equality of Educational Opportunity ............................................................................ 26 Color-Blind Racism in Public Schools ......................................................................... 29 Chapter 5 - Methodology .............................................................................................................. 32 The Original Methodology for examining “Men and Women of the Tea Party Movement in North Carolina” ..................................................................................................................... 32 Overcoming Methodological Problems in the Field ......................................................... 32 v Discussion of “New” Methodological Approach ......................................................... 33 The History of the News and Observer (N&O) Paper .............................................................. 34 Chapter 6 - The Wake County School Board Story ...................................................................... 35 Wake County, North Carolina School Demographics .............................................................. 35 Making Headlines Again Over Ditching the Nationally-Acclaimed Socioeconomic Diversity Policy ................................................................................................................ 37 Chapter 7 - Analysis/Findings ...................................................................................................... 41 Social Media, Internet Technology and the Tea Party in NC ................................................... 41 The Public View: The Organizational Structure of the “Triangle Conservatives Unite!” Tea Party Group ........................................................................................................................... 44 The “Triangle Conservatives Unite!” Online Forums ...................................................... 48 Examining the “Triangle Conservatives Unite!” Tea Party Group Online................... 50 “Triangle Conservatives Unite!” Coming Undone: An Analysis of their Private Kitchen Table Meetups (KTMs) ....................................................................................................................... 52 Social Control Practices ........................................................................................................ 53 The Tea Party’s Cultural Control Practices ...................................................................... 54 The Tea Party’s Areas of Conflict &Uncertainty ......................................................... 55 The Tea Party’s Methods for Overcoming Uncertainty ........................................................... 58 An Analysis of Popular News Sources ................................................................................. 60 Theoretical Framework ..................................................................................................... 61 Color Blind Racism Frames .......................................................................................... 62 Abstract Liberalism ................................................................................................................... 62 Public Schools ....................................................................................................................... 62 Charter Schools ................................................................................................................. 64 Overcrowding in Public Schools .................................................................................. 66 Mobilizing Resources for the “Tea Party” Cause: The Rise of the Art Pope Empire ............. 67 Naturalization ........................................................................................................................ 69 Cultural Racism ................................................................................................................ 71 Minimization of Racism ............................................................................................... 73 Behind Closed Doors: Close Encounters with the “Triangle Conservatives Unite!” Local Tea Party Group ............................................................................................................................... 76 vi From Wake County Public Education to Higher Education: An Uncertain Future ............. 77 The “Triangle Conservatives Unite!” Local Tea Party Group: In Summary................... 78 Chapter 8 - Conclusion ................................................................................................................
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