So if you have two eyes and a brain, this poll should not surprise you.
What I think this poll shows is that taxes and spending are not by any means the only issues that define TPM members; they are largely united in being unsympathetic to African Americans, militant in their hostility toward illegal immigrants, and very conservative socially. At a minimum, these data throw cold water on the view that the TPM is essentially libertarian. Based on these data, I would say that TPM members have much more in common with social conservatives that welcome government intervention as long as it’s in support of their agenda.
And before you go on about how liberals just wanna make the Tea Party look bad (BZZZT! They've got that handled on their own) this is Bruce Bartlett speaking. So let that sink in.
It also shouldn't be a surprise as to how popular the Tea Party has become. Hatred has always sold well in America. Shouting "rabble rabble rabble" may be a solid political strategy, but I'll be interested to see how it pans out when put into legislation.
Don't you get it? They're harkening back to an earlier, simpler time, where you could throw tea into the sea, instead of paying taxes; a time when you weren't a 'crazy person'if you had a lot of guns in case some king decided to bust into your house; a time when men where real men, women were real women, and we all owned slaves.
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