The Tea Party movement is not a political party, but a loose grouping of conservative grass roots activists who oppose the health care bill and taxes and who want to reduce the power of the federal government.

VOA: standard.2010.03.28

Many were members of the Tea Party movement, which is made up of loosely organized groups of grass roots conservative, Libertarian and anti-tax activists who oppose the Democrats' health care plan, saying that it imposes too much government involvement in the economy and people's lives.

VOA: standard.2010.03.25

"It's a huge blow to President Obama, and a big boost to the Republicans, particularly to the Tea Party grass roots, " says Dean Clancy, a health specialist at Freedomworks, a conservative campaign group.

BBC: President Obama faces tough choices on healthcare

Members of the Tea Party Express, a leading arm of the grass-roots movement, have traversed the state by bus in support of Cruz.

CNN: Texas GOP Senate primary heads to runoff

Politically inclined grass-roots activism on both the right and left is alive and well on Meetup in the thriving number of tea party and Occupy Wall Street groups using the site.

CNN: From Howard Dean to the tea party: The power of Meetup.com