Not all Republicans are comfortable in tin foil tricorn hats, according to a recent CNN poll. In fact about half don’t consider themselves active tea party supporters.
…roughly half (49 percent) of Republicans and independents who lean towards the GOP say they support the tea party movement or are active members, with roughly half (51 percent) saying that they have no feelings one way or another about the tea party or that they oppose the movement.
More education is correlated with more tea partyism, which is odd until you remember that education is also associated with greater income. And no matter how successful the movement’s founders, Dick Armey and Matt Kibbe, have been at portraying it as a grassroots effort, the tea party is all about protecting the assets of old, rich, cranky white guys.
…tea party Republicans are more likely to be male, older, and college educated, with non-tea party Republicans more likely to be younger, less educated, female, and less likely to say they are born-again or evangelical. Both groups are predominantly white.
The poll also sheds light on why, no sooner do Republicans mention jobs than they start talking instead about the deficit. The tea party, which was silent when Pres. George W. Bush turned a surplus into a deficit by giving them all tax breaks, is now pretty much a one-issue group.
“One of the biggest differences is on the relative importance of jobs versus the federal deficit. Most tea party Republicans say that Congress and President Barack Obama should pay more attention to the deficit,” says [CNN Polling Director Keating] Holland. “Most non-tea party Republicans say that reducing unemployment is more important than reducing the deficit.”
From there, the poll results get even wonkier. For example, you know climate change? If you’re in the tea party, it’s nothing but a plot made up by liberals to…well, no one is sure exactly what the ulterior motive is but it’s probably so they can force us to save our resources and use less foreign oil and all that other bad stuff they’ve been plotting to make happen all these years. For that matter, science in general is something tea partiers feel Americans need a lot less of.
Nearly six in ten tea party Republicans say that global warming is not a proven fact. Most non-tea party Republicans disagree. Six in ten tea party Republicans say that evolution is wrong. Non-tea party Republicans are split on evolution.
And like self-proclaimed libertarian Rep. Ron Paul (T-T),* tea partiers are even less coherent on social issues. Most feel, as Paul does, that government should stay out of your life except for your bedroom if you’re gay, and your OB/Gyn office if you’re a woman.
Tea party Republicans are roughly twice as likely to say that abortion should be illegal in all circumstances and roughly half as likely to support gay marriage.
So who were these folks?
The poll was conducted for CNN by ORC International September 9-11, with 446 Republicans and independents who lean towards the GOP questioned by telephone. The survey’s overall sampling error is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
* Texas tea? Black gold?
