To be sure, the Tea Party’s brand of aggrieved populism – and its composition of mostly white, angry, middle-class voters – has deep roots in the United States, flaring up during times of change. But observers who have drawn comparisons to the Know-Nothings, the racist, paranoid, anti-Catholic, and anti-immigrant party that surged in the 1850’s, are reading the movement far too superficially.
诚然，茶党那种满嘴牢骚的民粹主义政治面目 —— 以及其主要来自愤怒的白人中产阶级的拥护者 —— 在美国有着悠久的历史，且每逢变革之时就兴盛不已。但那些将茶党与在 19 世纪 50 年涌现的美国“无知运动”（ Know-Nothings ， 一个崇尚种族主义，偏执，反天主教反移民的政党）相提并论的观察家对当前这场运动的理解可就太肤浅了。