As President Obama nears the end of his second year in office, America is still coming to grips with numerous challenges. Despite forecasts that the economy has begun to rebound after the recession, millions remain jobless. American troops are still in Afghanistan seven years after America’s invasion, and only now have we begun to gradually withdraw from Iraq. In spite of Obama’s vision to stall partisan divide, the country remains as polarized as ever. Public approval of Congress is as low as it was during the Bush years. This leads directly to the Tea Party. They have attempted to evoke an image of everyman populism with an “independent” and “revolutionary” streak. Their objectives are to tap into the discontent and alienation of certain voters and funnel it into support for arch-conservative Republican candidates.

Albert Hunt on Bloomberg News stated that “the Tea Party is already the big winner of 2010,” with Tea Party-backed candidates winning primaries in far-flung states such as Colorado, Kentucky, and Delaware.

I am afraid to concede that Hunt’s prediction may have an air of truth to it. In primary after primary, conservative Republicans with the backing of the Tea Party have defeated more moderate candidates to represent their party in this November’s midterm elections.

Even in the most unexpected places, such as California and New York, Tea Party Conservatives have won surprising primary victories and are poised to square off with more experienced Democratic opponents.

How is it that the Tea Party has received a multitude of “grassroots” support despite the near extremist views expressed by some of its members? These are not just conservative views, which I would tend to disagree with, but statements that constitute hate speech. Many of the representations of Tea Party members reveal reactionary and vile opinions.

The current disappointment and disillusionment with the Obama administration is understandable. Like many others who voted for him two years ago, I had hoped that his presidency would bring a transformation that would finally end partisan divide and extremism. Unfortunately, two years later no magic spell has revived the struggling economy or restored our integrity on the international stage. However, there has been progress.

The Matthew Shepherd Hate Crimes Bill and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act were passed within the first year of the Obama administration. And despite limited progress, Obama has attempted to renew negotiations between Israel and Palestine.

Meanwhile, across the country, Tea Party supporters continue to question Obama’s American citizenship, and his religion.

Rather than representing the maverick populism they aspire to, the vast majority of those in the Tea Party movement seem to counter any progressive measure taken by the government.

Larry J. Sabato’s Crystal Ball, a polling firm sponsored by the American Center for Politics, currently predicts that Republicans will pick up eight seats in the U.S. Senate this year, out of 34 total races. This mirrors the number of seats picked up by the Democrats in 2006 and 2008.

Americans are distrustful of their government and wish to see it changed. However, it is important that we do not allow that change to turn back the clock into a dark past of bigotry and militaristic aggression.

As college students, it is easy to be apathetic about the political process, which seems to disregard the concerns of younger voters. As a student at a Quaker institution, I am morally compelled to support candidates who will value equality and integrity in our national government. The record of the Republican candidates and the Tea Party movement supporting them reveals just how distanced they are from these ideals.