When Canadian rock band The Tea Party formed in 1990, they had no idea they would soon share their moniker with one of the most controversial right-wing groups in America. Now, reported Bloomberg Businessweek, they’re considering selling their website – teaparty.com – for $1 million dollars. And the question to ask is – who’s buying?
The band holds the rights to the website as of now, and the page has been the source of endless confusion for right-wingers who may be seeking out Michelle Bachmann, and instead finding what the media describes as “Canadian Moroccan roll.” The band however, established on their website the fact that they’re not interested in the right-wing implications of their name, through their message, “No politics. Just rock ‘n roll.”
However, said bassist Stuart Chatwood, “So much damage has been done to our name [by the Tea Party movement] that we’re considering selling.”
Though they just might cash in on U.S. political interest, The Tea Party ultimately expressed a desire to sell their website to someone progressive, if at all possible.
Bassist Stuart Chatwood said, “We’ve considered lending the name to Stephen Colbert or Jon Stewart to have them dispel some of the stuff the Tea Party says.” However, he added, “We’ve got families.” Essentially, this is to say that $1 million could help them, even if that means taking a step over a moral line and selling to the highest bidder. The issue, the band seemed to expressed, is a complex one.
With so many groups and politicians observing the domain name with envious eyes, the report continued, it’s just a matter of time before someone capitalizes on the potential of the Tea Party brand. This could also tie in with a recent series of moves by the GOP to get a tight grip on the Internet and social networking.
Odd, it might be, that the future of the ultra-Right – at least on the web – is resting on the decision of a Middle Eastern-influenced rock band. And it seems likely they’ll sell, sources believe.
Meanwhile, the outcome, based on who actually buys the domain name, could have a powerful political effect, as teaparty.com already appears high on Google search, said the report, despite the site’s actual content.
As noted in a report by Alternet, the Right Wing has always built up a powerful media advantage for itself, with the FOX News Network being the most obvious example. And, backed by conservatives, many fear that a collective movement is being established to dominate the Internet next.
Jerry Markon, a writer for the Washington Post, commented, “The ability of a single email to shape a message illustrates the power of a conservative network,” and he seemed to predict that the GOP and Tea Party movement were, through “loosely affiliated blogs, radio hosts, ‘tea party organizers,’ and D.C. institutions, binding together to fuel opposition to President Obama.”
Despite whatever hands their domain name may fall into, the Tea Party band maintained that the inception of their moniker was never intended to have any type of political implication.
Said Chatwood, the term “Tea Party” was “a euphemism that the Beat poets used to use for getting high, writing poetry, and vibing with each other.”
Whatever the outcome, Rolling Stone reported, The Tea Party, which broke up for a while in 2005, but reunited for a Canadian tour, will remain an active band for the time being.
Photo: Official photo, taken from The Tea Party’s official Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/theteapartyofficial
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