Koch Network Prepares Tea Party Mobilization After Santelli Rant

Following Rick Santelli’s CNBC rant criticizing Obama’s mortgage bailout, the Koch brothers’ network immediately mobilized to create the Tea Party movement. Within hours, Americans for Prosperity registered TaxDayTeaParty.com, while other conservative organizations quickly followed. Peer-reviewed research by Skocpol and Williamson confirms this was a coordinated effort by billionaire-funded groups like Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks to simulate a grassroots uprising.

Key findings from academic research:

• Immediate domain registrations revealed pre-existing organizational infrastructure
• Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks were primary organizers
• The movement represented a sophisticated corporate-funded political theater designed to create the appearance of spontaneous citizen outrage

Sources include Harvard political scientists’ peer-reviewed research documenting the Koch network’s strategic mobilization.