But for the online right, many of whom have been energized by Obama's presidency in the same way President Bush galvanized the online left, today's tea parties are just one step in building a conservative grassroots movement. To conservative blogger Matt Lewis, who writes for PoliticsDaily.com, today's parties "are just one small step in the right direction."
"Look, the online conservative movement, if you compare it to what the liberals have with MoveOn and the like, is still in its infancy," Lewis said in an interview. "And there is no one person, or one organization, controlling it."
That movement flexes its new muscles today.