Posted on 08/29/2010 11:22:33 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
With mid-term elections just over two months away, roughly one-in-four U.S. voters (26 percent) say they consider themselves part of the Tea Party movement or have close friends or family members who are involved with it.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 13 percent of voters say they themselves are Tea Party members. Thirteen percent (13 percent) more say they have close friends or family members who are part of the Tea Party movement, a loose knit group of Americans nationwide protesting big government and high taxes.
Sixty percent (60 percent) say they have no ties to the movement, but that’s down nine points from late May. Fourteen percent (14 percent) are not sure.
Forty-three percent (43 percent) of voters have a favorable opinion of the Tea Party movement, while 36 percent view it unfavorably. Twenty-one percent (21 percent) are undecided. These numbers have changed little in surveys all year.
In April of last year, however, after the first “tea parties” were held on Tax Day, 51 percent of Americans had a favorable view of those gatherings, including 32 percent who said their view of the events was Very Favorable.
The Political Class continues to view the Tea Party movement with a jaundiced eye. While 56 percent of Mainstream voters have a favorable view of the movement, 89 percent of those in the Political Class view it unfavorably.
Nearly one-out-of-two voters (48 percent) believe the Tea Party movement is good for the country, comparable to findings in May. Twenty-nine percent (29 percent) say the movement is bad for America, and 13 percent say it’s neither.
But just 29 percent say they are at least somewhat likely to attend a Tea Party rally, including eight percent (8 percent) who say they are Very Likely to do so. Sixty-five percent (65 percent) are unlikely to attend such a rally, with 29 percent who are Not At All Likely to go. These findings also are unchanged from May.
Twenty-five percent (25 percent) of Republicans say they are members of the Tea Party movement, compared to just two percent (2 percent) of Democrats and 14 percent of voters not affiliated with either major party.
GOP voters and unaffiliateds are much more likely than Democrats to regard the movement as good for the country.
Sixty-one percent (61 percent) of Mainstream voters say the Tea Party movement is good for America. Seventy-four percent (74 percent) of the Political Class think it’s bad for the country.
The Tea Party movement defies easy description. But earlier Rasmussen Reports surveying provides some glimpses into the movement, including the overwhelming beliefs among its members that the federal government is a special interest group and that government and big business work together in ways that hurt consumers and investors.
Sixty-five percent (65 percent) of voters remain at least somewhat angry at the current policies of the federal government, including 40 percent who are Very Angry.
In April, 48 percent of voters said the average Tea Party member is closer to their views than President Obama is. Forty-four percent (44 percent) said the president’s views are closer to their own.
Forty-eight percent (48 percent) of voters now regard Obama’s political views as extreme. But slightly more (55 percent) describe the views of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, a favorite of many Tea Party members, as extreme.
Most voters in the country now believe the president and the average Democratic member of Congress are more liberal, politically speaking, than they are.
Fifty-seven percent (57 percent) think the Democratic congressional agenda is extreme. A plurality (45 percent) view the GOP agenda as mainstream.
Fifty-two percent (52 percent) said in a March survey that they believe the average member of the Tea Party movement has a better understanding of the issues facing America today than the average member of Congress.
Most voters continue to say it would be better for the country if the majority of Congress is thrown out this November.
And every member votes, every time.
These are the people who ARE going to vote.
Big Numbers equaling Conservatism.
Big Numbers equaling Conservatism.
Big Numbers equaling Conservatism.
Big Numbers equaling Conservatism.
My bad...
Presently smacking finger.
WOW! Quadruple post! LOL!
![](http://www.pbase.com/wm25burke/image/117160156/medium.jpg")
Pretty impressive
An example of a “tea party” commercial would have an every day Joe or Jane on camera saying something like: “I’m the tea party. I want government to stop spending us into oblivion. What’s so radical about that?”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Do you mean someone like Chris?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04LjTYRR7gs
OR Lanny?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEdHIFeDAio
OR James?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJ0i7mHsleA
OR Gerri?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AglYEdfXjs0
The TEA Party isn’t about the speakers. It’s about the PEOPLE who come to the TEA Parties. They are not racists or bigots in spite of how some people attempt to portray them. They are just ordinary folks. Most have never been involved in any political movement whatsoever. However, they all have one thing in common. They are fearful of the direction our country is heading.
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