Okay, I’m switching to decaf. Our colleague Sophia Yan files this dispatch about a new online phenom:
Is the Tea Party losing its buzz for you? Slurp up a jolt from the month-old Coffee Party. With its slogan, “Wake Up and Stand Up,” it has hooked over 49,000 fans on Facebook. Its founder is filmmaker Annabel Park, 41, of Silver Spring, MD. A “100% grassroots” movement, the Coffee Party stands against lobbyists, pundits and “hyper-partisan strategists calling the shots.” Coffee Partiers say their movement “gives voice to Americans who want to see cooperation in government,” according to their mission statement. They want to “forge a culture of civic engagement that is solution-oriented, not blame-oriented.”
Healthcare is the most important issue for Coffee Partiers, followed by job creation and climate change, according to a informal online poll on their website Their site also is filled to the brim with YouTube videos, blogs, an events calendar and more. And since its inception, the Coffee Party has generated local chapters in about 30 states, reports the Washington Post.
On Facebook, the Coffee Party posted a message to Congress, expressing sentiments similar to the Tea Party: “You work for us, not for corporations. We hired you and we get to fire you. We pay you and give you health insurance. Now get to work serving the interests of the American people, or get out.”