International protest groups take up ‘Tea Party’ flag in Moscow, Tel Aviv and the Hague

“We will arrive with protest signs and flags — both Israeli flags and Gadsden Flags,” Karpa said. “We’ve even arranged to have several Gadsden flags produced with ‘Don’t Tread on Me’ printed on them in Hebrew.”

As the movements grow, organizers hope they will coalesce into a transnational organization, especially in Europe, where much the political and decision-making power rests with the EU.

“More and more European parliamentarians want to introduce a European-wide tax system. We already gave up our immigration — the EU decides who gets into our country and who doesn’t,” Hofkamp said. “The Italian Tea Party and our party have good contact and we hope that more countries will follow. We are working on ideas to unite soon in Brussels, in front of the EU-parliament.”

It remains to be seen whether Tea Party groups, both international and domestic, will ultimately achieve their goal of halting, even temporarily, the leftward ratchet of growing government. But in the end, whether individual organizations rise or fall, the most profound influence of the Tea Party story isn’t about any specific issue, platform or policy — it’s about the process.

“People are re-learning that popular movements are not just the province [of] socialists and supporters of big-government policies,” Karpa said.