Written by: Kristine Pratt
ontherecord@abc4.com
The 2010 election season saw a very interesting movement. People began to part from the two party system and develop their own views. Many candidates went back to the basics and held town hall meetings. And what is now known as the Tea Party movement really took shape. The organizer of the Tea Party in Utah goes
On the Record to talk about what made him organizer the party here in Utah.
David Kirkham says that he was inspired to start the Tea Party movement in Utah after he watched about 20,000 people lose their jobs when a factory shut down. He thought that "it's too big to fail. This is the failure of the government."
After watching that factory shut down, Kirkham worked to turn it into another working factory. He took his ideas to other countries including Russia.
From what he had seen and learned, Kirkham says, "I had seen things that were too big to fail, and I had to do something." So he drove up the Utah State Capitol and decided to hold a tea party.
Kirkham says his inspiration was watching all those people get laid off. "When you see 100 men begging for work, it changes you."
Since then, the number of supporters in Utah has grown. The email list currently sits around 10,000 people.
But now as we look forward to the 2012 election, the movement will have a big impact. During the 2010 election, we saw how the want for change got incumbent Senator Bob Bennett ousted while still in the convention. In the next segment, we look at those up for reelection in the 2012 season.
