Sarah Palin departure from Fox News: Tea party movement demise or call for change?

I think the tea party will be around in some shape or fashion for a number of years. - Everett Hamilton, Tea Party Patriots of Central Pa.

Marty Williams(right) and his son, Jonah, of Harrisburg attend a Tea Party Rally on the steps of the Capitol.10/23/2010 Sean Simmers, The Patriot - News

What does it say about the tea party movement that Sarah Palin and Fox News have parted ways? Not a whole lot, say tea party movement activists.

The media has done a super job of creating many myths. Shes one of them, said Everett Hamilton, of the Tea Party Patriots of Central Pennsylvania. I like what she stood for but the media you have stories to do...it got to a point where they become a farce. Doesnt make a difference if its conservative media or mainstream media.

Palin, Hamilton said, had long become irrelevant to a grassroots movement that continues to evolve from one front-and-center of national attention to one wielding its influence with far less flair.

Its decided to go more on the local and state level, he said. It stays away from the national. The days of marching, thats pretty much over....for most part people are trying to educate themselves on issues and trying to contact congress people like any other group. Weve turned into more of a lobbying group.

Palins departure from Fox had been precipitated by contractual negotiations, but seems to have been amicable, according to Real Clear Politics, which broke the story.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin The Associated Press/file

Palin may have been the poster woman of the tea party movement, but the populist movement never had a leader.

The beauty with the tea party movement is there is no autonomy. They are very much all over the place, said Katy Abram, a member of Americans for Prosperity.

Abram, founder of the Lebanon 9-12 project, an offshoot of the tea party, said the anti-tax movement may not be grabbing headlines the way it did between 2009 and 2010, but it continues to expand its scope and membership.

The idea that the movement is somehow dying, I dont see that. We are constantly finding new groups that we work with, she said. I think what you see, no matter what side of the aisle you are in, nobody is an activist until they feel something is walking through their front door until they personally feel affected by whatever that issue may be.

Still, its easy to see why Palins departure from Fox has fueled speculation that the tea party movement has lost its clout.

The former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate, was at the height of her fame one of the most polarizing figures in the country. When she wasnt firing up the Internet with her musings on mama grizzlies, guns, Bibles and her foreign policy acumen, Palin was playing GOP kingmaker -- her endorsements practically guaranteeing success at the polls for little-known candidates.

With Palin as the standard bearer, tea party activists dealt major victories for fiscally conservative Republicans in the 2010 midterm elections, winning back control of the House of Representatives and seats in the Senate.

Thousands of Americans - armed with the movements anti-tax rhetoric - rallied on state capitals and Washington to demand fiscal responsibility.

Pennsylvanians by the thousands joined the movement, banding behind groups named Pennsylvania Tea Party Coalition, the Tea Party Patriots of Central Pa,, the Philadelphia Tea Party Patriots; The Thomas Jefferson Club; Valley Forge Patriots; Delaware County Patriots; Pittsburgh Tea Parties; Southwestern PA Tea Party; and The Pennsylvania Freedom Fighters.

These days, not only has Palin lost her luster, tea party favorites like Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann had to fight for her political life,just narrowly defeating her Democratic challenger by only 1 percentage point in the recent election.

When you start off with such a bang and have such success, in many ways its hard to sustain, said Muhlenberg College political analyst Chris Borick. I think thats exactly what we are seeing wit! h the tea! party.

Cohesion was never a trademark of the movement, but these days it struggles to keep desparate members -- some espousing classic libertarian ideas, others socially conservative ideals -- from rendering it ineffective.

And in the midst of internal tension, public views on the movement grows increasingly negative, says Borick,

What happens when those things occur is you either find ways to reinvent yourself or reframe goals and motives, or you start to fade from the political scene, Borick said. And they are at that point now....if its going to have a lasting impact, it has to figure out exactly what its role is, what its identity is.

Palin may be gone, and the rallies disbanded, but for many, the sentiments and demands -- voiced with posters that read Less Government Restore the Public, and Strike Three Get Out, are very much alive.

Stephen Matlock of Harrisburg carries a Don't Tread on Me flag during a Post-Tax Day Tea Party Weekend Protest/Rally held on the front steps of the Pennsylvania State Capitol on Saturday morning. Approximately 150 people were in attendance. JOE HERMITT, The Patriot-News

The American public is very concerned about the size and scope of the federal government. That view is embraced by people who call themselves tea party members and its embraced by people who dont call themselves tea party members, said U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent, of t! he 15th c! ongressional district.

The tea party movement, said Dent a Republican elected in 2005, is far from dead.

It certainly brought a lot of energy but its not just the tea party, Dent said. This is a much bigger issue than the tea party. You had the Occupy Wall Street movement, which I could never figure out what it was about. Theres is a genuine large number of people in this country concerned about size and scope of the government. It doesnt include just the tea party.

Those who consider the movement largely defunct look no further than the changing demographics of this country for the tea partys dwindling influence .

I think it rose because people were concerned about what they could see - the new demographics which was middle class, white folks werent going to dominate politics, said Michael Morrill, executive director of Keystone Progress, a liberal, left-leaning group. A new coalition with blacks, women, Hispanics, gay people and middle-class whites saying this is what America looks like. It will be a new paradigm of politics in this country. That scared people. I think thats what happened.

Morrill, who in 2008 was a videographer who filmed several of the rallies, said his organizations first summit -- estimated, he said in excess of 600 participants -- was larger than any tea party rally at the time. While the tea party rallies garnered considerable media coverage, his summit got very little news coverage.

It had clout but that clout was overemphasized. The clout was in the Republican party becoming much more conservative, Morrill said.

Abram said her group will continue to engage in the political process at the state level.

If someone says we want to do a rally, I cringe, she said. Im personally rallied out...if we hold one there is going to be a strategic reason for doing it.

Rallies or no rallies -- Palin or no Palin! , the tea! party movement remains alive and robust, Hamilton said.

I think the tea party will be around in some shape or fashion for a number of years, he said More groups will coalesce certainly within conservative groups. Youll have years of that coming up.

But without clear leadership, the movement faces a tough transition.

You cant keep catching lightning in a bottle like you did at that time, Borick said. It was the right movement for right time and place. American history is littered with political movements that rise quickly and fade quickly. The ones that are successful are able to adapt.