Myth-busting polls: Tea Party members are average Americans

Chukpike

Chukpike

Banned
Myth-busting polls: Tea Party members are average Americans, 41% are Democrats, independents

"For upwards of 12 months now members of the so-called Tea Party protest movement have been stereotyped, derogated and often dismissed by some politicians and media outlets."....

"Alas for stereotypes, they're convenient, often catchy. But not necessarily true."...........

"The Tea Party adherents broke down 28% independent, 17% Democrat and only 57% Republican. Not coincidentally, this bipartisan breakdown has been the way that Tea Party favorite Sarah Palin has often described movement members as "commonsense Americans" worried and...."
 
The Other Guy said:
Ah, so they're just stupid people, not necessarily Republicans.
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Could be, but you would need to click on the link and read the article to decide.:)
If you were a candidate for an office and dismissed them as such, you thinking you could win, would probably match their "stupidity".

It is always better to be aware of the opposition.
 
Not surprisingly, Gallup showed very different results. Its poll showed only 8% are Dems and that only 28% of Americans actually support the tea bag movement. The same poll also showed that only 7% were liberals. While 70% were conservatives.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/127181/Tea-Partiers-Fairly-Mainstream-Demographics.aspx

A big difference right? I decided to find out more about who did the original poll in the LA Times and I discovered it was done by the "Winston Group". I had never heard of them before so I did a little checking because I was suspicious of their results. And sure enough, the Winston refers to its President Mr. David Winston, who also happens to be president of the Uber-Conservative Heritage Foundation, which is about as bi-partisan as FOX NEWS is. So take its results with a grain of salt.
 
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mmarsh said:
Not surprisingly, Gallup showed very different results. Its poll showed only 8% are Dems and that only 28% of Americans actually support the tea bag movement.

The same poll also showed that only 7% were liberals. While 70% were conservatives.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/127181/Tea-Partiers-Fairly-Mainstream-Demographics.aspx
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Probably a different Gallup Poll as the one referenced in the article talked about the Tea Party not the tea bag movement.

"A new Gallup Poll out this morning of 1,033 finds nothing fringe about self-proclaimed Tea Party adherents; they are slightly more likely to be employed, male and definitely more conservative. But otherwise Gallup's Lydia Saad writes, "their age, educational background, employment status, and race -- Tea Partiers are quite representative of the public at large.""

Also the Gallup poll states:
"Fully 87% told Gallup they oppose Obama's healthcare legislation."

Contrary to some people's misconceptions Republican incumbents may not benefit from the Tea Partiers.


"While the inconvenient polls may make media generalizers uncomfortable, it could also discomfit both major parties just seven months out from those crucial midterm elections. Congressional Republicans fare awfully in Tea Party minds, too, despite rhetorical efforts to catch up with the movement at times."
 
Right wing doesn't necessarily mean Republican. It just means conservative.

I'm surprised at you, Chukpike. I figured you'd know that.
 
Rob Henderson said:
Right wing doesn't necessarily mean Republican. It just means conservative.

I'm surprised at you, Chukpike. I figured you'd know that.[/QUOTE]
Good thing I know you are not trying to bait me, I just hope the moderators realize it.:-P


"Right wing doesn't necessarily mean Republican. It just means conservative."

As a conservative independent I know you don't have to be Republican to be conservative, but I didn't think you did.:-)

I also now that mmarsh has not got a glue who the Tea Partiers are as he stated on the Topic: House Democrats Pass Healthcare Reform Post 90:

"2. The fact that the radical right is made up mostly of older white people. You can bring up the odd black or Hispanic tea-partier but they represent a very small portion of the movement and they also don't represent the views of the majority of blacks. They are a small fringe minority who in my opinion seem to be suffering an self-identity crisis.

3. The fact that at some of these tea party conventions are beginning to resemble Ku Klux Klan rallies with the imagery and racists remarks. which isn't really surprising as because many of the White Supremacists groups have joined the Tea-party." quote mmarsh

Plus he cannot read very well either. As The original article I posted from the LA Times lists two Polls for the article. The Gallup Poll he referenced and the Winston Group poll and they were very close in their results.

It is obvious that mmarsh has no basis for his claims that the Tea Party is either White Supremacists or older white people

Neither poll described the conservatives as Ku Klux Klan or older white folk.
The Gallup poll states:
But otherwise Gallup's Lydia Saad writes, "their age, educational background, employment status, and race -- Tea Partiers are quite representative of the public at large."

You can see the age and race breakdown by going to mmarsh Gallup poll link it is a cross section of the general public..

And as you have pointed out to me many times journalist can't lie. :-P
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Chukpike said:
As a conservative independent I know you don't have to be Republican to be conservative, but I didn't think you did.:-)
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All Republicans are conservative, not all conservatives are Republican.

But this is all neither here nor there, as we have established (and I'm sure mmarsh would agree with me) that all conservatives are the right wing (in some form). And seeing as supporters of the Tea Party Movement are conservative, it can be concluded that Tea Party supporters are, in fact, radical right wing nut jobs. :D


But like I brought up in the other thread about liberals being smarter than conservatives, a poll of 1,000 people does not provide an accurate cross section of the American population.
 
Rob Henderson said:
All Republicans are conservative, not all conservatives are Republican.

But this is all neither here nor there, as we have established (and I'm sure mmarsh would agree with me) that all conservatives are the right wing (in some form). And seeing as supporters of the Tea Party Movement are conservative, it can be concluded that Tea Party supporters are, in fact, radical right wing nut jobs. :D


But like I brought up in the other thread about liberals being smarter than conservatives, a poll of 1,000 people does not provide an accurate cross section of the American population.
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What I have derived from the article is that the Tea Partiers may represent about 1/4 of the voters. And I agree with the conclusion of the article:

"And if a sizable chunk of Obama's own party base crumbles away, as it did in 2009 gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey and in the January special Senate election in Massachusetts over healthcare, Nancy Pelosi could soon join the ranks of ex-House speakers. A change of only 40 House seats would shift control to the GOP.
The counter-intuitive good news for Obama in all that is that a Republican House would give him a handy target for any blame in his anticipated 2012 re-election bid, something he wouldn't have if both houses remained under their currently large Democrat majorities that have earned such low approval ratings."


I believe most of the smart politicians, be they Democrat or Republican, will try to gain some favor from this group if they want to get elected.
 
17% is a quarter? Strange, I thought a quarter was 25. *puzzled looks*


This is nothing more than a fad. The Tea Party movement is not going to gain enough mass to be a serious threat to anyone. And I can assure you that "Impeach Everybody" isn't going to accomplish ANYTHING positive. They are radical right wing idealists who think that a perfect world is a world without government. I'd like to see how well they get on without any government provided services.
 
Rob Henderson said:
This is nothing more than a fad. The Tea Party movement is not going to gain enough mass to be a serious threat to anyone. And I can assure you that "Impeach Everybody" isn't going to accomplish ANYTHING positive. They are radical right wing idealists who think that a perfect world is a world without government. I'd like to see how well they get on without any government provided services.
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6 months later the picture has changed a bit. TEA Party has knocked off Murkowski, Castle, a senator from Utah(forgot name).
 
The old adage about wrestling with pigs in their sty may apply to this thread - the pigs love it and you just get dirty.
"Body-count math is 3 guerrillas (terrorist, extremist, whatever) plus 1 probable plus 2 pigs(goats, camels, etc.) equals 37 enemy K.I.A.’s." MURPHY’s 22nd law of combat
 
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