What IS the tea party?

[Anonymous]

Okay no one posted the Pew/WaPo racism statistic - so we're having to take your word for it, but here is a link to a Gallup poll showing that the Tea Party is made up by and large of the same percentage of various racial groups that make up the general population.

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

Tea party supporters: 79% non-Hispanic white, 6% non-Hispanic black, and 15% other.

US population: 75% non-Hispanic white, 11% non-Hispanic black, and 15% other.

So I guess the 21% non-White members of the Tea Party don't realize that they support a racist organization.

I'm sure that you can find extremes at any group, and suggesting that there are a few crack-pots at Tea Party rallies and thus they should all be judged on those few, is like assuming that the 9/11 Truthers, and the Bush/Cheney/Halliburton conspiracists represent the Democrat party.

As for potential bias in the Pew Charitable Trusts and their statistics, here are some links:

In the 2008 and 2010 election cycles, employees of the Pew Research Center contributed a total of $4850 to Democratic candidates. Presidential Candidate Barack Obama received $4600 from a person who is or claimed to be an Editor at Pew Research Center. No Republicans received any campaign contributions in those two cycles.

http://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/search.php?name=&state=&zip=&employ=Pew+Research+&cand=&c2010=Y&c2008=Y&sort=N&capcode=rr9mx&submit=Submit

During the same two election cycles, members of the Pew Charitable Trusts contributed $19,055 to Democratic candidates. Barack Obama received the lions share of these contributions at $11,755. Again, no Republican candidates received contributions from any member of the Pew Charitable Trusts.

http://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/search.php?name=&state=&zip=&employ=Pew+Charitable&cand=&c2010=Y&c2008=Y&sort=N&capcode=rr9mx&submit=Submit

But by all means, continue to denigrate the tea party with your smug self-assurance and recognize that there's a good chance that on November 7th you will wake up and ask yourself, "what the heck just happened?"

[Anonymous]

Please tea party = republican that's it, nothing new, just republicans. I know a lot of tea partiers, they weren't voting dem! They are pissed b/c they can not understand how they are getting left behind(ie children not doing better than their parents etc, like most Americans) U all are in control of house and have done nothing, Let's see what November 7 brings, I don't think anyone is happy with the job being done...And yes they are racist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Okay no one posted the Pew/WaPo racism statistic - so we're having to take your word for it, but here is a link to a Gallup poll showing that the Tea Party is made up by and large of the same percentage of various racial groups that make up the general population.

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

Tea party supporters: 79% non-Hispanic white, 6% non-Hispanic black, and 15% other.

US population: 75% non-Hispanic white, 11% non-Hispanic black, and 15% other.

So I guess the 21% non-White members of the Tea Party don't realize that they support a racist organization.

I'm sure that you can find extremes at any group, and suggesting that there are a few crack-pots at Tea Party rallies and thus they should all be judged on those few, is like assuming that the 9/11 Truthers, and the Bush/Cheney/Halliburton conspiracists represent the Democrat party.

As for potential bias in the Pew Charitable Trusts and their statistics, here are some links:

In the 2008 and 2010 election cycles, employees of the Pew Research Center contributed a total of $4850 to Democratic candidates. Presidential Candidate Barack Obama received $4600 from a person who is or claimed to be an Editor at Pew Research Center. No Republicans received any campaign contributions in those two cycles.

http://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/search.php?name=&state=&zip=&employ=Pew+Research+&cand=&c2010=Y&c2008=Y&sort=N&capcode=rr9mx&submit=Submit

During the same two election cycles, members of the Pew Charitable Trusts contributed $19,055 to Democratic candidates. Barack Obama received the lions share of these contributions at $11,755. Again, no Republican candidates received contributions from any member of the Pew Charitable Trusts.

http://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/search.php?name=&state=&zip=&employ=Pew+Charitable&cand=&c2010=Y&c2008=Y&sort=N&capcode=rr9mx&submit=Submit

But by all means, continue to denigrate the tea party with your smug self-assurance and recognize that there's a good chance that on November 7th you will wake up and ask yourself, "what the heck just happened?"

I don't know how citing a public opinion poll is smug self-assurance. However I do know that it is silly to try to invalidate a research study over a few grand in contributions instead of doing the obvious- to read the poll and it's methodology to determine if it's results are meaningful. I read WSJ and Rasmussen polls. I don't dismiss them merely because of their conservative CEO or the money they make off of research for conservative candidates.

My point on racism and WAPO was not to say that all tea Partiers are racist but merely to counter the claim that it is liberal "projecting". There is more to the issue than that.

[Anonymous]

This is the pew poll data on the tea party. http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1903/tea-party-movement-religion-social-issues-conservative-christian

It would be lovely if you could comment on problems in methodology, or perhaps show contradicting poll data , in your critique.

The tea party is what it is, not necessarily what you want it to be or what it advertises.

[Anonymous]

Racism is such an easy and self-executing criteria, that eliminates any need to focus on their argument. I'm surprised that some haven't thrown homophobia, or sexism into the mix as well. Opposition to President Obama does not equal racism.

Congressman Allen West is probably the most influential Tea Party member of the freshman class of 2010, chosen to speak as the keynote speaker at CPAC for example, and now represents the 22nd District of Florida. The district is 82.3% white, and 3.8% black, and voted for Gore, Kerry, and Obama over the GOP candidate in 2000, 2004, and 2008.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida%27s_22nd_congressional_district

And West happens to be black. So, please explain the racism theory here. Is he just an "Oreo," a "sell-out," and "Uncle Tom," "house slave" and the other derogatory terms he has been called? And how is that not racist?

Here he is this year laying out the Tea Party argument, which is mostly economic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSzOTS1b1GY

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Racism is such an easy and self-executing criteria, that eliminates any need to focus on their argument. I'm surprised that some haven't thrown homophobia, or sexism into the mix as well. Opposition to President Obama does not equal racism.

Congressman Allen West is probably the most influential Tea Party member of the freshman class of 2010, chosen to speak as the keynote speaker at CPAC for example, and now represents the 22nd District of Florida. The district is 82.3% white, and 3.8% black, and voted for Gore, Kerry, and Obama over the GOP candidate in 2000, 2004, and 2008.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida%27s_22nd_congressional_district

And West happens to be black. So, please explain the racism theory here. Is he just an "Oreo," a "sell-out," and "Uncle Tom," "house slave" and the other derogatory terms he has been called? And how is that not racist?

Here he is this year laying out the Tea Party argument, which is mostly economic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSzOTS1b1GY

On the other hand here is Dale Robertson, the founder of TeaParty.org holding a sign with the N word:


http://washingtonindependent.com/73036/n-word-sign-dogs-would-be-tea-party-leader

This is not just a liberal invention, and having a fee black supporters does not prove anything. Even Hesse Helms and David Duke had a few black supporters.