Hosting the Tea Party: Mobilization in a Conservative Bubble

The research presented here examines the role of social networks in Tea Party mobilization in central and southern Virginia. It shows how polarization and socio-political segregation contribute to the production of a “conservative bubble” in which the social networks that people inhabit are homogeneously conservative, and where opposing views are marginalized or less visible. However, my informants have not merely been passive figures in these large-scale social processes, but have been actively engaged in shaping their own lives and in doing so, the communities around them. This political homogeneity allows Tea Party participants to feel that their activism is supported by those around them, even by people who are not activists. This is manifest in Tea Party recruitment, in which local groups merely have to make their presence known in particular areas in order to attract dozens of new participants. This research speaks to the place of Tea Party mobilization in mainstream society by showing how it is both connected and yet distinct from mainstream social networks