In 2009, Tea Party protests were formed to critique United States government tax and spending policies. The term refers to those who originally participated in an email campaign titled "Mailing Tea Bags to Washington, DC" which the New American Tea Party blog disavowed. The tactic was and continues to be advocated, though sometimes for tea bag labels only, on multiple "tea party" websites. The verb to "tea bag", hence "tea bagger", to describe these protesters has been used by several pundits and journalists after it appeared self-referentially on signs at Tea Party rallies, distributed by . Anderson Cooper apologized for using the term. Ridiculing the movement has produced death threats. The term's growth in the political arena earned attention by the Oxford American Dictionary, and the word "teabagger" achieved finalist status for the OAD Word of the Year, with final judgment rendered thus: :As a reference to members of the currently active Tea Party, the word has been used in speech and print by both liberals and conservatives. In this context, the term "teabagger" is a reasonably conceived informal name for an affiliate of the Tea Party, and as a word in the news, it earned a mention for the year 2009.
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