Posted on 04/05/2010 12:55:34 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Four in 10 Tea Party members are either Democrats or Independents, according to a new national survey.
The findings provide one of the most detailed portraits to date of the grassroots movement that started last year.
The national breakdown of the Tea Party composition is 57 percent Republican, 28 percent Independent and 13 percent Democratic, according to three national polls by the Winston Group, a Republican-leaning firm that conducted the surveys on behalf of an education advocacy group. Two-thirds of the group call themselves conservative, 26 are moderate and 8 percent say they are liberal.
The Winston Group conducted three national telephone surveys of 1,000 registered voters between December and February. Of those polled, 17 percent – more than 500 people -- said they were “part of the Tea Party movement.”
“It’s a good sample size,” said David Winston, the polling firm’s director. “It will certainly give us an initial base to follow where these folks are.”
The group is united around two issues – the economy/jobs and reducing the deficit. They believe that cutting spending is the key to job creation and favor tax cuts as the best way to stimulate the economy. That said 61 percent of Tea Party members believe infrastructure spending creates jobs. Moreover, given the choice Tea Party members favor 63-32 reducing unemployment to 5 percent over balancing the budget.
It isn’t a “purely homogeneous” group, said Winston.
The group has a favorable view of Republicans generally but that drops from 71 to 57 percent if they’re asked about Congressional Republicans. Congressional Democrats are viewed very unfavorably by 75 percent of Tea Party members – a uniquely strong antipathy. An overwhelming 95 percent said “Democrats are taxing, spending, and borrowing too much.”
The group also vehemently dislikes President Barack Obama – even more so than those who called themselves Republicans in the survey. Over 80 percent of Tea Party members disapprove of the job he’s doing as president, whereas 77 percent of Republican respondents said they disapprove of Obama. The Tea Party members are also strongly opposed to the Democrats’ healthcare plan, with 82 percent saying they oppose it -- only 48 percent of respondents overall were opposed.
Tea Party members are more likely to be male, slightly older and middle income. Almost half the members of the group reported getting their news about national issues from Fox News, 10 percent of respondents said that talk radio is one of their top two sources, which is seven-points higher than the average voter.
Having blogged with Tea Party originals at Texas Darlin’s now defunct blog, I can tell you they despise political corruption of any stripe, Democrat or Republican, and are uninhibited supporters of the U.S.Constitution.
It was from these folks that I heard first hand reporting of Obama’s campaign corruption, bussing college students from Illinois into Iowa to pack the cauci with Obama supporters. Those kids were described as all carrying new Ipods, and how they bragged about how the Obama campaign had given them those machines.
I don’t for a moment confuse a Democrat Tea Partier with a Republican Tea Partier, but I never doubt they love this country and are angry at the Democrat Party for selling out to the Chicago Machine and to Socialism.
[How does one accurately survey such a disparate group of people?]
I don’t think it’s possible. But Chris Christie and Scott Brown both got elected this year in states dominated by Democrats. People who voted for them may not have been card carrying Tea Party members but they share the sentiment.
I’m at a loss on party structures here. I would love to read about the party transitions from Washington to present day. We had Whigs and Federalists and Republicans and Democrats... weren’t all of those parties interested in maintaining the Constitution, or have there always been parties trying to take us down the path to socialism or some other historical -ism?
I have been registered Independent all my life. So far I have been to three Tea Parties in the Pittsburgh area.
I even met Kenneth Gladney at one of them.
My wife has been registered Democrat all her life. She has been to the three Tea Parties with me.
We both plan to attend the next one.
Over the next few months employers should be calling their employees together to tell them how their deductions are likely to increase dramatically. This should bring these issues home to the masses before the next elections.
Olbermann’s revamped headline: Four out of 10 Tea Partiers are concerned but confused citizens; six out of 10 are racists. /sarc.
Obama MSM says that the Tea Party is NO threat to the Dims.
Though amplifying widespread voter anger at the political establishment, the tea party movement is unlikely to dramatically affect the congressional elections - unless their local affiliates forge alliances with Republican candidates. And how likely is that? Republican operatives look at the possibility of GOP-tea party collaborations with some anxiety, and many tea party activists frankly don’t want to see them.
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