Tea Party: Not as Redneck as All That!

On the occasion of its rally in Boston, a NYT/CBS poll tells us more about the true profile and attitudes of Tea Party Movement supporters. And forces us to see them differently. They are not all in fatigues with guns over their shoulders. It was so simple before!

Wednesday the 14th in Boston, Thursday the 15th in Washington, the giant rally continues its inexorable caravan. With its stars and its lesser stars and, especially, its loyal public. Disappointment nonetheless for Scott Brown’s absence in Boston. But great happiness for the presence of the movement’s Madonna, Sarah Palin, people come out to support the angry troops and commune with their fighting spirit and then carry the day with her resonating words. In Boston it was the un-American results of Obama and that did it.

Let’s return to the troops, their profiles and attitudes. The NYT/CBS poll sheds new light on the social body of which it is composed: nearly one fifth of Americans (18 percent!), and reveals some surprises.

Among which the largest concerns their attitude towards taxes. Given that the photos of one of the top newspapers consistently portrayed posters with NO TAX as if this were THE only language of the movement, one imagined them beside themselves at the simple word TAX, but no! The majority of those polled speak of the amount of their taxes as fair. And representing a fair proportion in relation to benefits received.

The second surprise comes from their financial situation. They consider themselves above the national average, in pretty good or very good material situation. Even if they expect to be affected, in their family, by unemployment in the coming year. And have had to really reduce their standard of living because of the recession. A single obsession: JOBS.

And we go from discovery to discovery: their children go to public schools. If they desire limited government, they find that Social Security and Medicare correspond to what they pay in taxes. They are like many Americans who have just completed their census, even though some GOP leaders have told them to boycott them. So, what is it that isn’t working?

The animosity that they direct towards 44 is inked in the certitude that he is helping the poor more than the middle class or the rich. They feel misunderstood. 25 percent of the sample believe that 44 favors blacks (in national polls 11 percent think this). And that’s not acceptable. Conclusion: 90 percent report that Obama is going in the wrong direction. And 92 percent use the word socialism to characterize his politics. Of course, they continue (57 percent) to have a good impression of W. Bush and demonize the Congress responsible for all their ills. I forgot the cherry on the cake: the majority of them do not think that Sarah Palin is qualified to be president. Now that’s news. And the truly huge surprise of the poll. Not for everyone. This poll resembles a true GOP image operation and the occasion for the Republicans to refocus their strategy on Party fundamentals and restore a bit of class to the whole.