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Tea Partiers Are Fairly Mainstream in Their Demographics

BIG surprise... :rolleyes:

Tea Party supporters skew right politically; but demographically, they are generally representative of the public at large.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/127181/Te..._term=Politics

And so it goes...;)

Richard's $.02 :munchin

From the link:

Quote:

Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,033 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted March 26-28, 2010. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points.

In other words, the long-term goal of these pollsters is to be wrong 5% of the time.

It's good to see that polls are finally including the confidence levels associated with the error.
If the media had a clue about such things, they would have known that the 2000 election problem (calling a state wrong) was likely to happen.

And now the gov't wants to use sampling for the census...:rolleyes:

Quote:

Originally Posted by GratefulCitizen (Post 324062)

In other words, the long-term goal of these pollsters is to be wrong 5% of the time.

Perhaps you will find this link and its calculators of interest. LINK

Black conservative tea party backers take heat

Black conservative tea party backers take heat

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php...show_article=1

".................Black members of the movement say it is not inherently racist, and some question the reported slurs. "You would think—something that offensive—you would think someone got video of it," Bazar, the conservative blogger, said.

"Just because you have one nut case, it doesn't automatically equate that you've got an organization that espouses (racism) as a sane belief," Johnson said.

Hilary Shelton, director of the Washington bureau of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, suggested a bit of caution.

"I'm sure the reason that (black conservatives) are involved is that from an ideological perspective, they agree," said Shelton. "But when those kinds of things happen, it is very important to be careful of the company that you keep." .............."

Interesting, very interesting.

We have Huddleston down here taking on two other Republicans in the Primary for the chance to go after Kissell. Three other Republicans fighting it out to take on Ethridge. Gonna' be real busy down here the next couple of weeks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nmap (Post 324229)

Perhaps you will find this link and its calculators of interest. LINK

I should've put it in pink.

The comment was in reference to an old frequentist vs. Bayesian joke:
-A frequentist is a person whose long-run ambition is to be wrong 5% of the time.
-A Bayesian is one who, vaguely expecting a horse, and catching a glimpse of a donkey, strongly believes he has seen a mule.

A confidence level of 95% has shown to be reasonably effective in drawing inferences for most purposes.

A problem pops up when you have poll after poll ad nauseum.
Some of them are going to be wrong.

Take the case of the 2000 election.
Assuming they used a confidence level of 95% in their exit polling when they "called" a State, it would lead to problems.

What are the chances of getting at least one state out of fifty wrong?
Since the error is two-tailed, we only have to worry about getting it wrong in the "wrong" direction, so this gives an effective level of 97.5%.
1 - (.975)^50 = .718

There was a 72% chance that at least 1 state would be called wrong.
Let's just hope it wasn't an important one.

Ironically, as the returns kept coming in (as opposed to exit polling), the confidence level went high enough to reasonably conclude that Bush would win, regardless of recount.
(Jeffrey S. Rosenthal details some of this in Struck By Lightning)

The leftys learned their lesson on that one.
Guess why they keep going after the secretary of state offices throughout the nation?:munchin

Can you say al franken?

The OP really isn't news to anyone who's ever been to a tea party.

Poll Finds Tea Party Backers Wealthier and More Educated

From the New York Times <<LINK>>

Quote:

April 14, 2010
Poll Finds Tea Party Backers Wealthier and More Educated
By KATE ZERNIKE and MEGAN THEE-BRENAN

Tea Party supporters are wealthier and more well-educated than the general public, and are no more or less afraid of falling into a lower socioeconomic class, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

The 18 percent of Americans who identify themselves as Tea Party supporters tend to be Republican, white, male, married and older than 45.

They hold more conservative views on a range of issues than Republicans generally. They are also more likely to describe themselves as “very conservative” and President Obama as “very liberal.”

And while most Republicans say they are “dissatisfied” with Washington, Tea Party supporters are more likely to classify themselves as “angry.”

The Tea Party movement burst onto the scene a year ago in protest of the economic stimulus package, and its supporters have vowed to purge the Republican Party of officials they consider not sufficiently conservative and to block the Democratic agenda on the economy, the environment and health care. But the demographics and attitudes of those in the movement have been known largely anecdotally. The Times/CBS poll offers a detailed look at the profile and attitudes of those supporters.

Their responses are like the general public’s in many ways. Most describe the amount they paid in taxes this year as “fair.” Most send their children to public schools. A plurality do not think Sarah Palin is qualified to be president, and, despite their push for smaller government, they think that Social Security and Medicare are worth the cost to taxpayers. They actually are just as likely as Americans as a whole to have returned their census forms, despite some conservative leaders urging a boycott.

Tea Party supporters’ fierce animosity toward Washington, and the president in particular, is rooted in deep pessimism about the direction of the country and the conviction that the policies of the Obama administration are disproportionately directed at helping the poor rather than the middle class or the rich.

The overwhelming majority of supporters say Mr. Obama does not share the values most Americans live by and that he does not understand the problems of people like themselves. More than half say the policies of the administration favor the poor, and 25 percent think that the administration favors blacks over whites — compared with 11 percent of the general public.

They are more likely than the general public, and Republicans, to say that too much has been made of the problems facing black people.

Asked what they are angry about, Tea Party supporters offered three main concerns: the recent health care overhaul, government spending and a feeling that their opinions are not represented in Washington.

“The only way they will stop the spending is to have a revolt on their hands,” Elwin Thrasher, a 66-year-old semiretired lawyer in Florida, said in an interview after the poll. “I’m sick and tired of them wasting money and doing what our founders never intended to be done with the federal government.”

They are far more pessimistic than Americans in general about the economy. More than 90 percent of Tea Party supporters think the country is headed in the wrong direction, compared with about 60 percent of the general public. About 6 in 10 say “America’s best years are behind us” when it comes to the availability of good jobs for American workers.

Nearly 9 in 10 disapprove of the job Mr. Obama is doing over all, and about the same percentage fault his handling of major issues: health care, the economy and the federal budget deficit. Ninety-two percent believe Mr. Obama is moving the country toward socialism, an opinion shared by more than half of the general public.

“I just feel he’s getting away from what America is,” said Kathy Mayhugh, 67, a retired medical transcriber in Jacksonville. “He’s a socialist. And to tell you the truth, I think he’s a Muslim and trying to head us in that direction, I don’t care what he says. He’s been in office over a year and can’t find a church to go to. That doesn’t say much for him.”

The nationwide telephone poll was conducted April 5 through April 12 with 1,580 adults. For the purposes of analysis, Tea Party supporters were oversampled, for a total of 881, and then weighted to their proper proportion in the poll. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points for all adults and for Tea Party supporters.

Of the 18 percent of Americans who identified themselves as supporters, 20 percent, or 4 percent of the general public, said they had given money or attended a Tea Party event, or both. These activists were more likely than supporters generally to describe themselves as very conservative and had more negative views about the economy and Mr. Obama. They were more angry with Washington and intense in their desires for a smaller federal government and deficit.

Tea Party supporters over all are more likely than the general public to say their personal financial situation is fairly good or very good. But 55 percent are concerned that someone in their household will be out of a job in the next year. And more than two-thirds say the recession has been difficult or caused hardship and major life changes. Like most Americans, they think the most pressing problems facing the country today are the economy and jobs.

But while most Americans blame the Bush administration or Wall Street for the current state of the American economy, the greatest number of Tea Party supporters blame Congress.

They do not want a third party and say they usually or almost always vote Republican. The percentage holding a favorable opinion of former President George W. Bush, at 57 percent, almost exactly matches the percentage in the general public that holds an unfavorable view of him.

Dee Close, a 47-year-old homemaker in Memphis, said she was worried about a “drift” in the country. “Over the last three or four years, I’ve realized how immense that drift has been away from what made this country great,” Ms. Close said.

Yet while the Tea Party supporters are more conservative than Republicans on some social issues, they do not want to focus on those issues: about 8 in 10 say that they are more concerned with economic issues, as is the general public.

When talking about the Tea Party movement, the largest number of respondents said that the movement’s goal should be reducing the size of government, more than cutting the budget deficit or lowering taxes.

And nearly three-quarters of those who favor smaller government said they would prefer it even if it meant spending on domestic programs would be cut.

But in follow-up interviews, Tea Party supporters said they did not want to cut Medicare or Social Security — the biggest domestic programs, suggesting instead a focus on “waste.”

Some defended being on Social Security while fighting big government by saying that since they had paid into the system, they deserved the benefits.

Others could not explain the contradiction.

“That’s a conundrum, isn’t it?” asked Jodine White, 62, of Rocklin, Calif. “I don’t know what to say. Maybe I don’t want smaller government. I guess I want smaller government and my Social Security.” She added, “I didn’t look at it from the perspective of losing things I need. I think I’ve changed my mind.”

Marjorie Connelly, Dalia Sussman and Marina Stefan contributed reporting.

The Tea Baggers are vulgar, hurling Anti American chants, are racist and display outlandish behavior - so says Maxine Waters:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dg29GWk2nMc

Our Tea Party is at noon today, on the county courthouse steps :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by Animal8526 (Post 324604)

The OP really isn't news to anyone who's ever been to a tea party.

IMO, Pam Stout did a good job when she was interviewed by David Letterman.

It will be interesting to see if the movement can maintain cohesion or if increasingly radical elements will seek to co-opt it.

There is a real problem when you can't disagree, peacefully assemble, and petition your government for the redress of grieveances without government officials calling you vulgar names and claiming you are an insurrection?

There's no tear gas, no cops in riot gear, really no trash on the ground, just a bunch of people, mainly middle aged and older letting their views be heard. They (me too) are tired of a government (both parties) that rules instead of governs and a people who don't realize what they're abdicating - their God-given freedoms. [/rant]

BTW, these folks pay their taxes, unlike 47% of the citizenry and half of the president's cabinet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sigaba (Post 325609)

I expect a concerted effort by the Dims and their constituencies to infiltrate and undermine/discredit the movement.

TR

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Reaper (Post 325668)

I expect a concerted effort by the Dims and their constituencies to infiltrate and undermine/discredit the movement.

TR

Unfortunatly, or fortunatly depending on how you look at it, they are advertising the fact that they intend to do just that.

I don't know, but wouldn't it make more of an impact if they kept it to themselves until they found some bombshell to drop, kind of like the Acorn thing?

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Reaper (Post 325668)

I expect a concerted effort by the Dims and their constituencies to infiltrate and undermine/discredit the movement.

TR

Posted today at Front Page Magazine:

Quote:

Sabotaging the Tea Parties

Posted By Michelle Malkin On April 15, 2010 @ 12:12 am In FrontPage | 9 Comments

One of the popular signs spotted at Tea Party protests across the country over the past year goes like this: “It doesn’t matter what this sign says. You’ll call it racism, anyway!” It’s a pithy, perfect rejoinder to the fusillade of attacks that limited-government activists have weathered from their Democratic detractors and a hostile national media. Committed Alinsky-ites never let reality get in the way of a good Tea Party-bashing narrative.

The radical acolytes of Chicago’s late left-wing organizer Saul Alinsky also understand the importance of manufacturing demons. “Before men can act,” Alinsky preached, “an issue must be polarized. Men will act when they are convinced their cause is 100 percent on the side of the angels, and that the opposition are 100 percent on the side of the devil.” This explains the left’s relentless campaign to sabotage the anti-tax, anti-bailout movement from Day One.

President Obama’s community organizing allies whispered “racist,” “fascist” and “fringe” in the earliest days of the stimulus demonstrations in January and February 2009, when hundreds of first-time protesters turned out on the streets in Washington State, Colorado, Arizona and Kansas. The whispers turned to hysterical screams as hundreds became thousands and thousands became millions of peaceful marchers who gathered for the first nationwide Tax Day Tea Party. Some fringe, huh?

The latest effort to smear Tea Partiers involves self-appointed agents provocateurs who are organizing a “Crash the Tea Party” campaign to discredit the April 15 Tax Day Tea Party by making up bogus racist signs and providing false portrayals of grassroots activists to the press. An online punk, Jason Levin, is spearheading the infiltration effort to “act on behalf of the Tea Party in ways which exaggerate their least appealing qualities” and “damage the public’s opinion of them.” Never mind that public opinion polls now show that the majority of Americans stand with the core principles of fiscal responsibility espoused by Tea Party activists.

Levin may be a lone wolf operator, but he has many fellow travelers in the Democratic establishment and left-wing fever swamps.

And their efforts wouldn’t be possible without friendlies in the press who have openly insulted Tea Party activists with endless vulgar sexual taunts and Taliban comparisons.

A few months ago, Craig Varoga — a Washington-based Democratic political operative and overseer of a convoluted, money-shuffling web of political action committees — launched “TheTeaPartyisOver.org” to target Republicans who supported the Tea Party movement. The site declared that it would prevent the “radical” and “dangerous” fiscal accountability agenda from “gaining legislative traction.” Varoga’s money funneling is designed to obscure the Big Labor/progressive funding [1] of his enterprises under the umbrella of his “American Public Policy Center (APPC).”

After conservative blogs and Fox News exposed his deceptive web of grassroots groups, Varoga password-protected his website so that the Democratic plotting against Tea Party activists could be conducted out of view.

I speak from direct experience about the underhandedness of Tea Party smear merchants. On Feb. 17, 2009, at one of the country’s first tax revolt rallies in Denver, a man approached me amid a throng of bona fide anti-stimulus protesters and thrust a camera in my face. I obliged cheerfully, as I usually do after such speaking events. I later learned from the character assassins at Progress Now, a left-wing outfit that just happened to be there and just happened to snap a close-up photo of the interaction, that the man pulled out a sign at the last minute (which I didn’t see until later) sporting Obama’s name with a swastika on it. He held the sign away from me, but in direct view of the Progress Now cameraperson.

That cameraperson just happened to be a former CNN producer, whose blog post on the photo just happened to be immediately disseminated by the local press and to the hit men at the radical-left Media Matters website. The narrative was set: A conservative supporter of the nascent Tea Party movement posed for a photo with a man holding up a swastika at a protest against out-of-control spending! Ergo, the anti-stimulus protesters and the entire Tea Party membership are all racist, fascist menaces to society!

Fast-forward to April 2010. Alinsky’s avenging angels have declared open warfare on April 15. Will they be enabled again by “mainstream journalists” who have turned their Tea Party reporting assignments into search-and-destroy missions? The signs point to yes.

*

Article printed from FrontPage Magazine: http://frontpagemag.com

URL to article: http://frontpagemag.com/2010/04/15/s...e-tea-parties/

URLs in this post:

[1] funding: http://www.creators.com/opinion/michelle-malkin.html