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# Freedom of all varieties of production and trade
# Freedom of all varieties of production and trade
# Respect for the [[United States Constitution]]
# Respect for the [[United States Constitution]]
==Relations with Republican Party==
A debate is now raging about the relationship to the Republican Party. Michael Steele, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, hailed the movement because, "It puts in stark relief where the American people are, how they feel and what they feel...."It’s important for our party to appreciate and understand that so we can move toward it, and embrace it." Most Republican politicians are keeping their distance.
Many local Tea organizers display a visceral distrust of the GOP. "If you want to have revenge against the Republican Party for using you for so many years, the best way is to turn around and use the Republican Party to your advantage," proclaimed Eric Odom, a Tea Party activist in Chicago who recently started a political action committee. He urges Tea Partiers to stop complaining about the Republican Party and "move in and take it over." There is a thinly disguised hostility toward immigrants and business, shown in the deamnd that politicians answer "Should corporate executives who encourage illegal immigrants to stay because it is good for business be hauled off to jail?"<ref> Kate Zernike, "In Power Push, Movement Sees Base in G.O.P." ''New York Times'' Jan, 14, 2010 </ref>
== Characteristics ==
== Characteristics ==