The Branding of Right-Wing Activism

From the start of Barack Obama's presidency in 2009, conservative populist groups began fomenting political fractiousness, dissent, and surprising electoral success. The Tea Party was one of the major characters driving this story, changing the tone, tenor, and shape of the political landscape, one that this book sees as a product of media branding. Beyond the creation of the Tea Party, this project also investigates what the mass-mediated construction of the Tea Party tells us about the current media and cultural moment, specifically the role of journalism in a Web 2.0 age and contemporary American notions of democracy, citizenship, and belonging.