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COLUMBUS Five-year-old Cora Owens adjusted the pink feather boa around her neck before carrying on a conversation with others seated at her table.

Her sister Faith Owens, 3, was too busy nibbling on a cookie to join the chat.

Both girls were dressed to the nines in dresses, hats and a touch of makeup for a fancy afternoon of tea on Saturday.

About 40 children and their parents visited Lavender Thyme in downtown Columbus for the tea party. The young guests were invited to bring along stuffed animals and dolls to join them.

The event served childrens tea, a special type suited for young taste buds sold at the store inside Pioneer Plaza, along with sliced strawberries, petit fours, mints and cookies.

Linda Sutton, owner of Lavender Thyme gift shop, set up the event using pieces from her own collection of decorative tea cups and kettles to serve the guests.

I do tea parties with my grandkids and I thought it would be fun, she said.

She and other adults served the children. Hats, boas and necklaces were handed out for the guests to wear as they enjoyed sipping tea and their light snacks.

A fashion show was also part of the day. Children dressed in clothing from the store before sashaying along a makeshift catwalk.

Participants were able to keep the clothes they modeled.

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Children's tea party a fancy affair | Local | columbustelegram.com - Columbus Telegram

By Vanessa Williamson and Theda Skocpol By Vanessa Williamson and Theda Skocpol May 11

The next four years are likely to see a lot of activism on both left and right. Observers and activists have compared the contemporary resistance to President Trump to the tea party movement that opposed President Barack Obama eight years ago. Already, activists on the left have had some success using tea party tactics, turning the repeal of the Affordable Care Act from a presumed certainty into a drawn-out battle.

How much more is there to learn from the tea party?

We studied the tea party movement as it happened, documenting the movement at its grass roots, in the conservative media, and at the elite levels, and demonstrating how these forces combined to push the Republican Party to the right. Based on our research, here are four lessons that todays activists might learn from the experience of the tea party.

1. Engage in state elections and party politics.

About 900 grass-roots tea party groups were active in 2009 and 2010. Many of these local activists were very politically sophisticated. Tea party groups followed local politics closely, and their members showed up at school boards, town meetings, and state legislature hearings when issues they cared about were up for debate. Even when activists held very inaccurate views of actual policies for instance, believing that the Affordable Care Act contained death panels they knew how to navigate our political institutions to have a real impact on policymaking.

[Why did Trump win? More whites and fewer blacks actually voted.]

This is particularly relevant for activists on the left, who sometimes suffer from the opposite problem: a high level of policy knowledge with a naive vision of politics. In recent years, Democrats have tended to focus on the federal government and especially the presidency, neglecting the state and local races that have huge effects on whether and how policies get implemented.

This is one reason liberals have been losing. After the November elections last year, the Republican Party had control of 32 state legislatures (they had veto-proof majorities in 17 of these) and 33 governorships an almost unprecedented level of dominance at the state level. Republican state level control limited the impact of the 2008 Democratic wins at the national level. As of Jan. 1, 19 states had chosen not to adopt the Medicaid expansion that would have brought health-care coverage to millions of their citizens.

The tea party activists we met had a pragmatic relationship with the Republican Party. Tea party activists were mostly very conservative Republicans, and were often disgusted by their own politicians compromises. However, that disgust did not turn tea party members away from the party; instead, it strengthened their motivation to engage in party processes. For example, some tea party activists became precinct captains. Others involved themselves in sleepy local Republican Party meetings and quickly came to dominate those committees. This gave them far more power over local Republican officials than they had as individual voters.

Of course, tea party activists were voters, too. Occasionally a tea party-infused Republican primary cost the activists a seat or two, when the Republican candidate was too far out of the mainstream to win in a general election. But tea party activists did not only organize on behalf of ideologically pure conservatives. They were ready to campaign and to vote for candidates, like Scott Brown in Massachusetts, who were far from their ideal legislator but vastly more conservative than their Democratic opponents.

What this suggests for activists is that power comes from engaging with the political process at all levels. States power will matter in the Trump era on everything from environmental regulation to immigration enforcement. The major political parties are institutions through which activists can assert themselves.

2. Prioritize policies that build power.

When the tea party-fueled Republican Party came to power, state legislators focused on priorities that make them more likely to continue to be in power in the future. For instance, 20Republican-controlled legislatures have passed legislation since 2010 that is likely to lower voting by traditional Democratic constituencies such as young people, African Americans and Latinos. Seven states have passed laws sharply limiting union activity.

These measures fit with the symbolic and ideological commitments of the Republican Party, but they are also clever strategic moves. Crippling unions and reducing minority turnout are bad for the Democrats, who rely on these constituencies. Similarly, efforts to defund Planned Parenthood appeal to social conservatives opposed to family planning. They also undercut a powerful player in Democratic Party politics.

[This is what Americans will really dislike about the House Trumpcare bill]

Right-leaning activists are likely to continue in this vein. Democrats could also prioritize policies that will help build political power for the future. These could include voting reforms that ease the registration process, and social policies with benefits that are easier for voters to recognize and therefore easier to campaign on.

3. Use civic experience and invest in building relationships with fellow activists.

The most memorable organized actions of tea party activists were their big colorful marches. However, it isnt marches that make political engagement last in the long term. As Hahrie Hans research on effective political activism reveals, you cannot just mobilize people for one-off big events and expect to build a movement. Instead, successful movements organize activists in interdependent networks that work together and make decisions together, creating many leaders rather than just a few. This style of organization means investing in personal relationships between activists.

At local tea party meetings, there was always time for socializing, so people got to know one another. The demographics of the tea party helped them they tended to be older people, retirees and small-business people with flexible schedules, and some stay-at-home moms. It also helped that many tea party members had a lot of civic experience to draw from years of church socials and PTA meetings so they knew how to organize a meeting, get volunteers signed up for a committee and set up the kind of structures that keep activists engaged over time.

The tea partys lesson here is that not every event should be a march or policy lecture. Social connections are crucial to effective political organization.

4. Look further afield for inspiration.

Though the movement substantially shifted the Republican Party rightward, the tactics of the tea party should not be the limit of any activists political repertoire. At the grass-roots level, the local tea party groups that were so prominent early in the Obama administration went into decline soon after the 2010 midterm elections. We found that about a third of those local groups had disappeared within a year.

But U.S. history does provide examples of civic organizations that lasted not just a few years, but decades, and created tremendous social and political change. There is also a great deal to learn from movements that have not succeeded, such asa national movement for gun control. Activists of all political stripes can and should draw lessons from recent movements, but also the long history of U.S.political organizing.

Vanessa Williamson is a fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution and author of the new book Read My Lips: Why Americans Are Proud to Pay Taxes.

Theda Skocpol is the Victor S. Thomas professor of government and sociology at Harvard University and director of theScholars Strategy Network.

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Analysis | What can (or should) activists learn from the tea party? - Washington Post

When Central Valley Congressman Jeff Denham this weekfaced a crowd of voters furious with his vote to killthe Affordable Care Act, he like many Republicans around the country might have wondered where all the energized protesters came from.

At least somewereinspired by Ezra Levin and Leah Greenberg, two 30-year-old former congressional staffers who founded Indivisible, an anti-Trump group.In the last five months, a how-to-resist-Trump guide publishedby the D.C.husband-and-wife duo has gone viral and blossomed into a bona fide grass-roots movement. But even as Indivisiblehas energized activists around the country and added a shot of drama to town hall meetings, its also ruffled feathers, including those of some liberal Bay Area politicians.

Levin and Greenberg arehoping to spark a progressive version of the Tea Party movement, in which conservative protesters hounded members of Congress for supporting former President Barack Obamas signature health care law. The two had seen the power of the Tea Party firsthand: Greenberg worked for former Congressman Tom Perriello, a Virginia Democrat who lost his seat in the 2010 Republican wave.

We know what works,Levin, who talks quickly and has a face full of freckles, said during a recent interviewin the Bay Area. Putting aside their racism and their violence, the Tea Party was smart on strategy.

Along with friends who had worked in Congress, Levin and Greenberg wrote up a Google Doc distilling what they had learned about advocacy. Their advice: Go to congressional town hall meetings, pressure your representatives to publicly oppose President Donald Trump and his agenda, and keep calling them and showing up at their office until they agree to speak out against the president.

Every single member of Congress cares more about their own re-election than they care about anything that the Trump administration wants to get done, Levin said.

Levin tweeted the document which he says still had a lot of typosfrom his personal account to 650 followers on Dec. 14.

Within a few days, the guide racked up hundreds of thousands of views and wasshared by prominent politicos such as RobertReich, the former secretary of labor, and George Takei, the Star Trek actor andTrump critic. It was way more exposure than we ever expected to get, Greenberg said.

So Levin and Greenberg built a website and encouraged people to make their own groups. Its not very formal with a few clicks, anyone can create an Indivisible group in their own town or neighborhood, and invite other people to events. So far, there are at least two groups in every congressional district in the country, andmore than 900 groups in California. Activists around the country have followed the guides advice, packing town hall meetings and haranguing members of Congress.

Its attracted people likeEmily Morris, 27, a San Mateo woman who works for a nonprofit and was never politically involved before she joined Indivisible San Franciscoin January. The election turned my world completely upside down, she said.

Morris said meetingother outragedDemocrats energized her. Indivisible was this kind of antidote to despair, she said.

Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a longtime political analyst at the University of Southern California, said Indivisible was smart to demand town hall meetings as a tool to put pressure on representatives.

We didnt used to have town hall meetings, she said. They are being demanded by constituents now, to great effect.

She notedthat a desire for ideological purity from Tea Party activists led to several 2010 Senate races in which conservative nominees lost races that moderate Republicans likely would have won.

Levin said it was important for members of Congress to oppose Trump at every turn. While some Democratshadtalked aboutcutting deals with Trump on an infrastructure bill, for example if you dont resist, youre going to have a Muslim refugee ban, and you might build a few roads, hesaid.

Indivisibles activities havent gone over well with congressional Republicans. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach, called members of the groupenemies of American self-government and democracy after protesters with Indivisible got into a scuffle with his staff members in February.

Though the protesters think of themselves as idealists, they engaged in political thuggery, pure and simple, Rohrabacher said.

Indivisible groups have also put pressure on Democrats and liberals. In February, the Indivisible East Bay group requested a meeting with California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, and held an Oakland event with an empty chair to represent her when she couldnt make it. Members of the group also showed up at a fundraiser she held in Los Angeles.

Finally, Feinstein agreed to hold public town halls. In two meetings in San Francisco and Los Angeles last month, hundreds of people showed up, booing, jeering and grilling her on why she wasnt doing more to oppose Trump.

In Contra Costa County, members of Indivisible once arrived unannounced at Rep. Mark DeSaulniers district office and demanded to meet with him even though he was in Washington at the time.

DeSaulnier, D-Concord, said in a recent interview that he thought the Indivisible guide unfairly portrayed members of Congress as Pavlovs dog or shameless scum.Still, DeSaulnier said hes enjoyed meetingswith local Indivisible members. Im really pleasantly surprised and really happy that they want to stay engaged in a way that is constructive and respectful, hesaid.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, had never heard of Indivisible when a group of 50 members metwith her earlier this year. Now shes seeingthe busiest town hall meetings of her 22-year congressional career, she said.

None of these people Ive ever seen before in Democratic Party politics, Lofgren said. They want to do something.

The biggest challenge now for Indivisible is how to keep people energized for the long haul. The group has been sending its members training documents, like scripts for phone callswith Republicans who voted to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, or a briefing on why groups should demand an independent investigation into Russian influence over U.S. elections.

Levin and Greenberg have quit their day jobs to work on Indivisible full-time and hired 16 other staff members with funding from donations. Going forward, theyre planning to endorse specific congressional candidates. But they say theyll let the local grass-roots groups lead the movement.

As they wrapped up an interview in a San Jose coffee shop, the guy at the next table Andre Davitoria, a 25-year-old recent grad witha man bun leaned over to say hed overheard their conversation with a reporter.

Noting that hed just signed up to do phone calls for his local Indivisible group, he asked Levin: Can I shake your hand?

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Meet the founders of anti-Trump group Indivisible - The Mercury News - The Mercury News

BBC News

Royals host tea party for children of killed soldiers BBC News Prince Harry and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge became children's entertainers while hosting a party for the families of servicemen and women killed while serving their country. Among those at Buckingham Palace were the widow and son of Fusilier ... 'The Palace gardens have not seen this much fun, ever': Royals throw huge tea party for bereaved military childrenTelegraph.co.uk Kate chooses an elegant cream dress for children's Palace tea partyhellomagazine.com Young Royals Host Tea Party at Buckingham PalaceForexTV.com Evening Standard -ITV News -Mirror.co.uk all 48 news articles »

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Royals host tea party for children of killed soldiers - BBC News

On Friday, the group of about a dozen lawmakers derailed an entire slate of more than 100 bills that were on the Local and Consent Calendar, an expedited path for legislation that is not expected to be controversial or face opposition. Bills on that calendar sail through unless at least five members object.

Some Lege watchers, playing off the upcoming holiday, began calling the incident the Mothers Day Massacre. As the dust settled, lobbyists, lawmakers and activists began to assess the damage.

Among the bills that likely died this week: a proposal to tackle the states farmworker housing crisis, a medical marijuana bill, two that wouldve addressed Texas alarmingly high maternal mortality rate, an anti-lunch-shaming bill that wouldve kept schools from identifying students who receive free or reduced lunch, an anti-gentrification measure and proposals to add protections for LGBT people to housing and employment laws. While theres a chance several of the proposals that did not advance this week such as priority anti-abortion measures will find life this session as an amendment or Senate version, the majority will have to wait for 2019.

The Texas Senate voted Tuesday to license immigrant family detention centers, which critics call baby jails, as child care facilities. The bill, which was written by a private prison corporation, allows the state to exempt the centers from any minimum standards it deems necessary in order to license them. Under the legislation, the centers could detain immigrant children for the duration of their asylum cases much longer than current law allows.

Conservatives in the House advanced a religious freedom bill this week that could result in the denial of prospective adoptive parents who are LGBT, unmarried or dont attend church weekly. House Bill 3859 could also shield faith-based foster families who subject gay children to harmful conversion therapy or refuse to provide reproductive health care to teens.

A stripped-down version of the Sandra Bland Act unanimously passed the Texas Senate Thursday. The bill isnt the uncompromising criminal justice overhaul its author intended, but it does raise standards of care for inmates with mental health issues.

A GOP-backed bill speeding through the Texas Legislature would abolish straight-ticket voting, the option that allows Texans to vote for a partys entire roster of candidates with a single selection. In 2016, 63 percent of Texans cast a straight-ticket ballot. Democrats have called the bill a form of voter suppression and said it could embroil Texas in yet another civil rights lawsuit.

More than half the Texas House signed on to legislation that would legalize medical marijuana for patients with a debilitating medical condition, but the proposal fell victim to legislative deadlines this week. House Bill 2107 was declared dead by its Republican and Democratic authors, who said the bill gained unheard of momentum for pro-marijuana legislation in Texas. They vowed to pass the measure during the 2019 legislative session.

Late last Sunday night, Texas Governor Greg Abbott sparked criticism when he signed Senate Bill 4, the controversial sanctuary cities ban that allows local police officers to be deputized to enforce federal immigration law. Abbott decided against a press conference or notifying the media and signed the bill into law around 7 p.m. after a five-minute, vertically filmed speech on Facebook Live.

We spent an afternoon with the king of birding in Texas, Victor Emanuel. His new memoir, One More Warbler, hit shelves this week. Birders are the luckiest people, Emanuel says. If youre interested in tropical fish, you have to go to where you can see them. You want to see art, you have to go to an art museum. We dont have to do any of that! Beauty is all around us. Birds are all around us. We can see birds everywhere. At least the ones that are left.

Join us Saturday, May 20, at 6 p.m. at Book People in Austin, where author and Observer contributor Rachel Pearson will read from her new memoir, No Apparent Distress: A Doctors Coming-of-Age on the Front Lines of American Medicine. Observereditor Forrest Wilder hosts the conversation. Read an excerpt from Pearsons book in our April issue and get more details about the event at the Book People website.

This years MOLLY National Journalism Prize gala, a celebration of great reporting and nonprofit journalism on June 8, will feature a keynote conversation with Jamelle Bouie, chief political correspondent for Slate. Get your tickets now!

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This Week: In 'Mother's Day Massacre,' Tea Party Caucus Derails 100+ Bills - The Texas Observer