US Politics: The Tea Party and the Arizona BUYcott (Haddigan)

As Sacramento, California, becomes the latest city council to announce its intent to boycott Arizona, this weekend sees the first of a series of fightbacks by some Arizonans and affiliated Tea Parties. With little nationwide attention, unlike the 15 April Tax Day protests, BUYcott Arizona campaigns are being advertised by networking sites and word-of-mouth.

How much support they generate will point to the effectiveness of the supposed grassroots emphasis of the Tea Partiers.

US Politics: The Arizona Immigration Law (Haddigan)

As the name suggests, the BUYcott Arizona campaign urges individuals and corporations outside Arizona who support its controversial immigration legislation topurchase support Arizonan companies and spend their vacation dollars in the Grand Canyon State. Conversely, Arizonans are being asked to cancel vacations in cities that that are boycotting them and stay at home instead.



No one can predict the economic consequences for Arizona, but the figures make it a potentially vital issue. State officials of the state estimate that Arizona received $18 billion in tourist revenues in 2008.

This Saturday night a  ‘Stand With Arizona’ rally, organized by the Dallas (Texas) Tea Party, the national coordinating group Tea Party Patriots p), and local activists, will be held at Diablo Stadium, Tempe. Attendees will listen to speakers including Dr. Gina Loudon, who launched the BUYcott Arizona campaign in Missouri early in May, 2010.

Loudon was the inspiration behind a similar initiative in St Louis, Missouri, in September 2009. In early August, John Mackey, the Chief Exective Officer of Whole Foods, wrote an opinion for The Wall Street Journal () that questioned President Obama’s healthcare reforms. Some unions called for the boycott of Whole Foods, Dr. Loudon and the St. Louis Tea Party responded with a BUYcott of the store on 1 September which, they claim, raised $50 000 in sales for the company.

The real litmus test in Arizona comes the following weekend. Two Tea Party activists, Sonja Schmidt and Tony Katz, are inviting out -of-state Tea Party members to make a road trip for 4 June and "Buy Arizona! Now". Events will promote Arizona businesses, and the focal point will be the Phoenix Rising Rally on Saturday in support of the immigration legislation, SB 1070. The rally website claims, “This promises to be the largest rally in American history demanding that the states and federal government secure our borders and crack down on illegal immigration.” (

They are words that may come back to haunt the Tea Party movement if the numbers don’t meet expectations. Or they may signal the movement has the energy and drive to be more than a temporary irritant for politicians in Washington. Either way, the next two weekends in Arizona are a significant checkpoint in the history of America’s latest populist movement.