TEA or "Taxed Enough Already" Protesters are conducting "tea parties" across the United States on April 15, 2009.Fox News: Tea Party Protesters Gird for Possible Liberal Backlash (April 14, 2009) The "Tax Day Tea Party" is a nationwide protest with the goal of pressuring Congress and states to reject government bailouts and excessive government spending with tax-payers' money.USA Today: Tax Revolt a Recipe for Tea Parties (April 13, 2009) The day is also the deadline for filing federal income tax returns.

Unlike the historic Boston Tea Party, the 2009 tea parties do not necessarily involve dumping tea into a harbor but rather, "tea" is an acronym for "Taxed Enough Already".CNN: Nationwide 'Tea Party' Protests Blast Bailout, though tea is still widely used as a symbol throughout the movement. A box of tea bags tossed onto the White House lawn on April 15, 2009 caused a temporary security alert for the nation's executive mansion before the package was identified.MSNBC: In the Middle of a Rainy Day Tea Party (April 15, 2009)

• On February 19, 2009, CNBC's Rick Santelli appeared on-air at the Chicago Board of Trade and ranted about President Obama's $75 billion bailout "rewarded bad behavior" of mortgage defaulters. Referring to the 1773 Boston Tea Party where colonists threw tea into the Boston Harbor to protest "Taxation without Representation", Santelli called for a new Tea Party to protest the 2009 government bailouts.

• YouTube recorded more than one million views of a video clip of Santelli's rant and social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook discussed Santelli's comments. Organized Tea Party protests began to form in Atlanta, Denver and St. Louis.USA Today: Tax Revolt a Recipe for Tea Parties (April 13, 2009)

Some have criticized The Tea Parties as nothing more than a Republican protest over Barack Obama as President. However, some organizers of the grassroots Tea Party movement say the rallies are non-partisan because both political parties are to blame since the Bush administration started the bailouts. Marilyn Jordan, one of the organizers of the Fort Bend Tea Party said, People think this is about President Obama, but it's not. It is about making a change in government. They're making bad decisions. These stimulus bills are out of control. I've worked hard all my life and no one has given me a handout."Houston Chronicle: Tea Party Society Sets Tax Day Protest (April 13, 2009)