Study of Tea Party Activists Reveals Motivations of Political Movement
by Publius“The Early Adopters” Report uncovers that most oppose a third party, many are new to politics
CHICAGO, — A new study released today reveals that Tea Party activists are motivated by feelings of responsibility to future generations and belief in America’s founding principles, but still struggle with questions of leadership and identity. The study conducted by Sam Adams Alliance, The Early Adopters: Reading the Tea Leaves, also reveals that Tea Party activists are a diverse group trying – often for the first time – to change the political landscape by holding elected officials more accountable. The results of the full report can be found at www.activistinsightsreport.com.
The Sam Adams report offers the first-ever insights into the Tea Party movement that include a survey sample made up entirely of recognized Tea Party activists.
“A lot of surveys have focused on the Tea Party movement, but they’ve been about what others think of them, and don’t reveal the motives of actual Tea Partiers,” said Sam Adams Alliance chairman Eric O’Keefe. “We decided to learn what the Tea Party leaders are up to the old fashioned way: We asked them.”
The findings confirm that a large number of Tea Party activists are politically involved for the first time. 47 percent of activists surveyed said that they were “uninvolved” or “rarely involved” in politics before their participation in Tea Party groups.
Three political issues stood out as being the most important to Tea Party activists. When asked which issues were “very important” to them, 92 percent said “budget,” 85 percent said
“economy,” and 80 percent said “defense.” No respondents listed social issues as an “important direction” for the movement.
Other findings of the study include:
86 percent oppose the formation of a third-party.
36 percent support a 2012 Sarah Palin Presidential candidacy.
81 percent have a website for their organization.
90 percent cited “to stand up for my beliefs” when characterizing their initial reason for involvement.
62 percent identified as Republicans, 28 percent as Independents, 10 percent as “Tea Party”
Full story here.
Email this to a friend | Print |
Share on Facebook
| Tweet this
| 
Follow Us on Twitter
Subscribe via RSS
Got a Tip?
134 Comments
Best route is to push the Republican party back onto its platform where it belongs and drive the D-rat statists out of DC!
Sounds like spin to me. A lot of the tea-parties are fronts for the GOP – desperately trying to stay relevant. If they didn't support Ron Paul, they probably are not tea party people.
Translation: tell the GOP to say what we want to hear so we can all go back to sleep.
You know – this doesn't have to be examined so much.
It simply comes down to 90 percent cited “to stand up for my beliefs". The beginnings of the Tea Party movement started in the 2000 election when people took to the streets to protest the DemoRats trying to steal an election by hanging chads and lawyers.
People are now sick to death and just damned pissed off and we're not going to take it anymore. No more lying, cheating, taxing, stealing. Progressive liberals need to be CRUSHED.
DTOM!
http://RightWingStuff.com
Reagan democrats and Reagan republicans unite.
For years this has been brewing. The silent majority just took and felt nauseous about the direction we were going, but still did nothing. Obama and his gross over-reach has converted that nausea beyond a gag reflex all the way to the dry heaves.
Perversely we may have Obama to thank for kicking us in the ass and getting out in numbers to finally put a stop to this progressive agenda that has been eating away at our basic liberties for decades.
I for one have had enough of this sh!t and am willing to do whatever it takes to see these b@stards voted out of office. That includes the RINOS, you hear me McCain!!!
False. *sigh* Once again you fail. Will you never learn?
Well said, StoryKeeper. Thank you.
The Tea Party movement is an anti-progressive movement, simple as that.
I will not bow. I will not kneel. I have heard and seen enough. I will not be pushed another inch toward the enslavement of my family by this perverted criminal govenment. If there is to be another party then let it be a 'necktie' party. Here is my RSVP.
Oh yeah, and for those of you who may not have heard, yesterday here in Arizona they came down with a conviction on an illegal alien with a 160 year sentence. He was charged and convicted with over 47 counts of child abuse and sexual assault. the back story here is that this same illegal immigrant had been deported three previous times. So much for open borders and our POS immigration policies.
Justice served?? Now he will be a burden on our tax dollars feeding him and poviding medical care and a bed to sleep in for the rest of his life. Do you have any idea what it cost US for each prisoner in our penal system? Each year? Forever? Way to go McCain, Mr. Comprehensive Immigration whore!! Control the border you control the crime. Not saying don't let anyone in, just find out who they are first!
HOORAY!!! Rick Perry has won the Republican Primary!
Storykeeper has it right, and congrats to Perry. (At least, he was way better than Hutchison and promises to be good now.) I was wondering if it would be possible to popularize the term "regressive"? Democrats and Republicans alike use this as a pejorative term, but when you think about it, things aren't so hot right now. Where has "progressivism" gotten us? It sounds like a great idea to me to "regress" to the former prosperity, security, and freedom that America once enjoyed. Let's get out there and frame the debate people.
I maintain that the Paulies are greatly similar to the Cult of Obama. He;s a religious figure to way too many people. Considering Paul's naive-at-best foreign policy, that's especially scary.
Tea Party activists are motivated by feelings of responsibility to future generations and belief in America’s founding principles
That's the Tea Party, it's not about Beck, Palin, Paul, etc.
And who, exactly, are YOU fronting for? Go spin yourself.
The American taxpayer would have been better served had this POS been shot dead in the middle of the Rio Grande.
What is wrong with conservative? It has no negative connotations like regressive. Regressive conjures images of backwards neanderthals.
I'm glad you noticed! I wish more people would.
We not only need to take back our government, but our country as well.
The report is very well executed and very interesting, and from my experience it is dead on.
Where all da white women at?!?!?
The Left know very well that the tea party's objectives and beliefs are rock solid, decent and difficult to debate. That's why they are screaming "racists" at the top of their lungs. It's all they have.
And they dont even have that, really…
What do you care Obama Boi
Cisco announced recently that it has revised its CCNP certificate related to network engineering. Cisco reworked on this certification course to make it more align to those specific requirements of job that are related to customer’s and partner’s significant input, quoted by learning at Cisco a product marketing manager named Lora O’Haver.
I agree but we must stay diligent in keeping them accountable.
At 11:30, it was:
Perry was ahead with 52.5 percent of the vote to Hutchison's 31 percent. Medina had 17 percent. Hutchison might have been in a runoff with Perry had his support dropped to less than 50 percent.
I have been active since the first Tea Parties last year. I have taken notes from hundreds of Tea Party participants and they concur with these finding. Although I am in California and the ratio of Republicans is about 35%, Independant 40% and Democrat 25%.
I ask everyone to join my campaign to be more sensative to "People with Progressivism" and stop using the derogatory term "Progressive" Join the awareness campaign at http://blog.doodooecon.com/2010/03/people-with-pr...
http://www.gorestradamus.com/images/PWPA_sm.jpg
I'm not a joiner, but I did attend one tea party event. I want to hold these politicians feet to the fire and do what's right for this country and uphold the constitution.. the one they swore to uphold when taking their office… all of them.. simple as that…
TR,……………Wonder what Kay Bailey Washed-up UT Cheerleader is thankin' this mornin'
Oh to be a fly on the wall. What a dud she is. It'll be fun to watch her squirm to get out of
her statement she would resign her Senate seat, sin or lose. Hope she doesn't do a 180,
& decide to run again in 012.
the true father of the TP is mike huckabee with the fairtax. he got the ball rolling.
TM,………….you are so correct, they resemble a cult. After C-Pac they were all over this site doin'
the rah-rah for Paul. I started asking them if they supported the R ticket after their guy didn't get
the R nomination. None of them did. Basically they voted for obscure 3rd party candidates or
did not vote. Some were proud to say they wrote in Pauls name. He should be kicked out of the
Republican Party. His supporters gave us this current corrupt administration. Although I'm an
Independent I could certainly reach the conclusion that John McLame was the least dangerous
candidate, to the future of our Nation in 2008. Evidently they used their votes to punish the Re-
publican Party for failing to nominate their man & in doing so, put our entire Nation at peril.
Fairmark,
Huckabee is no teapartier. He is not even a true conservative. Way to wishy washy, especially on social policy. Sorry but Huckabee would not and will not be a strong contender for us to support. I like him in general, and think he is a good man but I do not want to see him as a presidential canidate.
Pardon me but I also am a founding Tea Party member and either voting an already 3rd party person in most if not all congressional, and state offices or voting Independents (not party) in is our MAIN goal.
Rebloodlicans and Democrips had there chance(s) and have dammed near destroyed our Republic. This story is obviously written through elephant colored glasses.
Dhass,
Do you really think the opinion of a progressive troll, of what and who the tea party is means anything? We in the TP don't care what you and your ilk say about us, we could care less how we are demonized in the lame stream media. We know who and what we are. All your nasty, negative, and hateful drivel does nothing but steel our resolve, bolster our movement, and re-enforce our knowledge that progressivism is a disease which needs to be removed. Please continue to open your mouth and spew your hate and intolerance, it is very helpful to our cause.
The media wants a leader, and the progressives wish there was a figurehead to Alinsky, but the fact is it is fundamental to the Tea Party viewpoint that a citizen is free enough and wise enough to call "bullshit" on their own. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that you can't give out more than you bring in, you can't remove the struggles for people without removing the character, and you can't have a nanny and be a free adult at the same time. It was all figured out pretty darn clear over 200 years ago, and the result was our constitution. Don't like it? Amend it through process.
Ram healthcare through with reconciliation, and you haven't seen the beginning of pissed off trouble, that's for sure.
It has no wish to learn…inability to question its basic motivations is its fatal flaw…
Should we take the path less traveled and return to our birthright, it will still be here to complain its not correct enough for it…
Probably not going to happen doodoo – with a mature name like that, you'll be attracting more of your own kind – good luck with trying to brainwash anyone to believing progressivism is somehow a good thing – too many people are wide awake to the fraud and misuse of the term -
lame.
I think you got something there
The loud noise you are about to hear is the head of a troll exploding…
It is going to be upset…
Hey fuckhead.
STFU.
All in a nutshell…
Very well put…+1 to you…
Right on NatlAnthem, your first sentence is one of the best explenations of "the lack of tea party leadership" ever. Straight to the point, no long winded anwser, just truth and fact.
Cops & Judges Caught Using Secret Codes On Tickets
Simplicity in nature is to complex a thing for the media to grasp……..besides….
you can't put a face on it so how will they know to be either for or against it.
Good thought there motion
Probably…but some twit from La Raza would have been screaming all over it…
Now, with efficient prison management, we could effect the same conclusion…depending on which populations he's put in with…
WRONG, WRONG, WRONG
The true father has 13 stripes and 50 stars
The Tea Party………An Awakening…..PERIOD
Congratulations, TexasRancher and Texans everywhere…!
One more along the way…
I am beginning to like how 2010 is shaping up….!
I'm sure he would have won a run off against Hutchison, anyway. I AM seeing that disturbing siphoning off effect in play though. It's actually a lot more productive in the primary than in the general election. I hope we don't see that come November.
Hey…!
I LIKE being a backward neanderthal…!
Better than a scoteless pantywaisted Prog metrosexual…
I did…
And that is a very thin and threadbare thing they have left, too…
The most horrendous, wide-scale atrocities in history have taken place when governments became too powerful. Our constitution was drafted to stop our government from gaining too much power over the lives of the American people. I believe that at that heart of every Tea Party rally, the guiding principle is the agreement that the government must ADHERE TO THE CONSTITUTION.
Ladies and Gentlemen…may I present the winner of the non-sequitur of the day…!
Huzzah…!
+1 to you…!
Well, California will figure it out sooner or later…probably MUCH later…
Do what you think will help…but don't cry over here if BOTH parties link up and crush you underfoot…
Better to co-opt one and use it for your mission…why else do you think the Dimocrats drifted so much from the JFK model…?
Hey, where are all the trolls screaming "RAAAAYCISTS!!"?
Kudos to you. The thing about Paul, Palin and especially Beck is that they articulate views that Tea Party members innately feel. Sometimes you know something is wrong but have a hard time putting it into words. You know things are a mess but not why or how it got that way. We begin to understand the problems and act to rectify them. It is vitally important that the Tea Party remains independent of any political party. Not be swayed by lofty rhetoric. Judge the candidate by what they do and who they associate with. What are their true goals?
Nothing makes me want to vomit more than to listen to some rich bitch lecture us about the evil rich.
Still in bed. They make 7$ an hour for trolling, but they decide their own hours.
What was the final count?
Right on! Very succinctly stated! Can't offer the Alinskyites a target.
I understand that Bill Clinton, James Carville and the usual suspects are trying to identify targets in the Tea Party movement to attack. They hope to take the steam out of the movement by doing so. Well, good luck with that!
That is it in a nutshell!
Most assuredly YES! I suspect that the Tea Parties might serve well as vetting and accountability groups in the long run.
If we can keep the Tea Party Movement pure, it will succeed. If a bunch of political operatives come along and highjack it, it will be just another footnote in history…..
the main reason our economy is in the shape it is in is due to the fact that all jobs have been outsourced overseas.
That shouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure out.It has put most of the population out of work and you can't find a job if there are no jobs available.what good does it do to subsidize if this does't change.The major corporations are making more money for cheaper labor but there won't be anyone to buy products if the american people have no money to buy with.
Expect trouble this year. There are going to be incidents and provoctions so they'll have a reason to ban protests.
Your comments make me wonder as an independent if your real interest lies in ranting and raving and putting your middle finger in the air. If you truly feel so strongly about the direction President Obama is moving the country, where are your DETAILED policies on each issue you care about? Anyone can vent and name-call. Mature men and women in a democracy create ideas and articulate them in a reasoned fashion. If you want to emulate Jefferson, then stop acting like Burr and Hamilton on their way to a deadly duel.
I am a Tea Party founder. We had our first rally on April 5th 2009. Our group is mad at the irresponsible spending, the corruption of both parties and the massive bailouts of private business, which is a function of the total disregard for the constitution! It has morphed into so many things that it is hard to list them all! The only real area of disagreement in our group is regards to National Security. I for one am not for nation building…… but going in and doing the job and getting out! Others in our group think we need to stay! But , basically we are against abolishing the FED RES, getting out of UN, cutting programs such as DEPT of ED , ENERGY, and the cutting of the 1.3 trillion dollars of business regulations! We are also against illegal immigration and most think deportation is the only way! Hope this helps in some small way Andy Lyons republican candidate for US congress 5th district IN
Should be for abolishing the FED
America! Soon a Domestic Terrorist agenda will be launched, I just feel it! The Tea Party Americans will be locked up and/or killed, it's coming! The Spanish Inquisition 2, only this time in America!
My earlier post should have said for abolishing the FED RES
The linked report pretty much tracks with my experience, having been involved with a local Tea Party since March, 2009. Fiscal conservatives, strict constitutionalists, small-business oriented … and more than anything, really, really annoyed with being ignored by incumbents – except when they need our votes every couple of years, to send them back to the Washington trough, one more time.
Who needs a study to understand an uprising of We, the People, against government takeover?
Absolutely, Chicago Ralph!
OBAMA FLASHBACK: DEMS SHOULD NOT PASS HEALTCARE WITH 50-PLUS-1…
'WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO HAVE A 60% MAJORITY IN SENATE AND HOUSE TO GET A BILL TO MY DESK'…
Came from the drudge report
Agree completely. As for Independent 1 belwo, the agenda has been clearly laid out- smaller government, lower taxes, preseravtion of individual rights. It ain't that complicated. the rest of the agenda is simply stopping the destructive, progressive, big government redistribution of wealth that has been going on for too long. When a house is on fire the real simple first agenda is put out the F'n fire!
I'd say that you are a typical tea partier.
Hi Independent1, thanks for your reasoned response. But you may not be aware that this forum limits the amount of text that can be place here. I would be all to happy to provide you with VOLUMES of DETAILED policy ideas on many different issues stemming from the same source, that source being the progressive agendas. Having said that I agree with the comments made by DumbQuestion. When it comes to heated rhetoric and scare mongering, I can cite 10 times the number of examples from the left as are emminating from the right and especially the TEA Party. We want simple things like PRINCIPLED Leaders who LISTEN to their constituents and do not tell bald face lies. Independent!, is that asking too much?
I have to agree with Dhasselhoff…. Sounds like a SPIN to me also….. what does the establishment want…"NOT a third party…. and also "identify as Republicans"….. Sounds fishy…. and "36% support Sarah Palin" come on… this is fishy as hell….. Do you homework people… obviously, this research is bogus or I have been hanging out and talking to lairs ….
local tea party founder my bad
My guess is you have been talking to lairs…
Nice Try progressive/liberal/collectivist- your marching orders from the Demoidiots to invade the blogs and try to make people think there should be a 3rd party does not work on the true tea party activitist. We will vote for a Repub or a Demo if they are for smaller govt- ousting BO- fiscally responsible for our grandchildren- and willing to do the things necessary to beat and WIN against the terrorist. The othr quality that all Tea Party folks have is the absoulte knowledge that this country has EXCEPTIONAL People and is an EXCEPTIONAL Country!!! Craw back into your collectivist society and suck from the govt teet.
And you are so obviously a shill for the Dems/Libs/Progressives, who are sinking faster than the Hindenburg or the Titanic.
Another outsider and Lib offering their opinion of what is on the inside of the Tea Party movement. I guess they didn't bother to read and understand what the article actually said, they had only DNC/MSM talking points to regurgitate.
Here that? Crickets…
Usually what happens when a liberal troll is pounded down by reason. I say, keep it up StoryKeeper!
Motivation for me- one word. LOVE. Love for America and love for my children and grandchildren.
Screw Ron Paul. His followers are every bit naive as Obama supporters.
We need another political messiah like we need another stimulus package.
I am? What makes you say that?
Suit yourself, I suppose. I'm happy at the \”educated redneck\” level. No need for me to get any more anti-social than that (unless I absolutely have to).
It's fun to see Kay Bail-out Washed-up UT Cheerleader with her tail tucked between her legs,
headed back to DC, but we'll have to live in Governor Good-hairs back pocket to keep him on
the Conservative straight & narrow. He's already demonstrated a tendency to go off the rails
a couple of times, so I expect more of the same in the future.
woa! djm……….impressive smack-down………Thx
like your statement,…….."you can't remove the struggles for people without removing the character".
If I know my Texans, (and I do), it'll be just like a Pace picante salsa commercial…
"Perry went along with it…"
Everyone: "ALONG WITH IT…???!!!"
The guy with the Stedson…"Get a rope…"
Sounds plausible, …………would make the 12 campaign so much easier for the 'O'.
Wouldn't put it past those commies to do a fake incident. God help me, I'm turning
into a conspiracy theorist nut-job. Back away from the keyboard, back away slowly,
with your hands in the air.
I started wondering about Paul when here in Santa Fe, I watched rapid Left-wingers in 2008 agonizing over the heresy of having to change their voting registrations to GOP in order to vote in the primary. Nope, these folks weren't "Libertarians" or even Independent. The vast majority were Green Party/far Left Dems who wouldn't know the Constitution if it jumped up and bit them in the hinney. But all because of Ron Paul, suddenly, they were all Thomas Jefferson. Uh huh . . . Sure! THAT explains why you won't flush the toilet, right? 'Cause they didn't have 'em back in 1776? Riiiighhht . . . . So just like I did BO, I had to start wondering just what was it about Paul that attracted more than his share of fringe-nuts. The anti-war thing? The anti-Israel thing? I dunno . . .
The Republican Party is the problem. We expect the Democrats to be socialists and steal money so they can funnel it to the unions and welfare slobs in exchange for votes.
The Republicans are supposed to believe and enact freedom. But they NEVER DO. Every spending increase, every socialist entitlement program, they just go right along with it and in the case of Big Government Bush, actually propose these policies.
No more. I am done voting for Republican fakes.
Gosh v b,……I hope not………………I've been afraid for our tea partiers, but thought it would come in
the form of intimidation from SEIU, aka union thugs doing a beat-down at a tea party. I'm almost
sure they've infiltrated some groups. Nothing we can really do about it, that I can see.
Anyone with the goal of dismembering it.
Four years ago, if you'ld have suggested we'd be in the situation we're in now, they'd be fitting you for a tin hat. What has to happen before somebody wakes up and smells the Marxisum?
I guess the trick here is how to remove corruption from the republican party. If we can do this then there may be hope that we can remove it from the whole of our government. If not then there really isn't much hope of wresting power away from the social and political "elite".
"No respondents listed social issues as an “important direction” for the movement."
More fool them, as "social issues" are what are bankrupting this country and driving it ever further towards socialism. You're not going to have a socially liberal country which is fiscally sane, it's a logical impossibility.
Avoiding you…troll…
Shhhh…the statist Progs may hear you…
I prefer my Dimocrats clueless…makes it easier all around for everyone……
Me too…
No doubt about it!
And yesterday, as I went to vote in the primaries in a small precinct here in North Texas, I saw the effects of the local chapters of the Tea Party movement. There were people that were handing out literature with recommendations of the local steering committee for candidates that have the principles and ideas of the movement…Limited Government, Personal Responsibility, Fiscal Responsibility, National Sovereignty, and Rule of Law!
In the small Baptist Church where we were voting, there were 2 rooms for primary voters…one Republican, and one Dimocrat. A long line for the Republican voting, and I saw 1 lone Dimocrat come in the whole time I was there,
We the People are getting involved!!
So that was 10 of the 2,000,000 jobs created or saved I guess?
Boy, you and me both!
I AM happy Perry won, and I hope that Kay Bailey has learned some things and proceeds to put them to good use.
For her to not beat Medina by more than she did, should shake her up. I am guessing it did.
Thank you kindly!
If the Dems succeed in ramming this health care suppository through, it may be a real good Fall.
A pleasant election season for us – and a great big ol' fall down the well for them.
I don't want to be too harsh on Kay Bailey, cornpone. I would hate for her position in the Senate to be weakened, since I think her term doesn't run out until 2012. If she is weakened, then Texas is weakened!
I am hoping that this election shook her up enough for her to realize that we mean business. The fact that her numbers were not hugely more than the low-funded Medina's most likely got her undivided attention.
I am guessing that she will start behaving more in line with her constituents from now on. At least, I am hoping so and will give her the benefit of the doubt, as I supported her in her climb up the state office ladder.
There is no one tea-party founder.
The name came from the February 2009 rant by Rick Santelli, CNBC, on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade.
Have everyone in the state show up on his doorstep every once in awhile on March 2nd…
He'll get the message…
No, no, I wasn't referring to you. Sorry! I was being "technical."
We all are tea-party founders!
T R,…….I hope you're right about K getting the message, she seemed humble last night, but
I've seen her go astray one too many times to believe she knows who butters her bread. As
far as her being weakened, I don't know that she's taken seriously in DC anyway, hope I'm
wrong. I was a big supporter in her first term, but grew disillusioned about year 4. Wrote her
off after that, & got on the Cornyn bandwagon & now I'm not liking what I'm hearing from him.
I may have to move to Ok, Inhoff & Coburn are serious Legislators, wish we could find some
down to earth folks like them to represent Txz.
I dunno either intlctlrdnck,…..when they were on here after c-pac, they all had the same talking
points, their posts were all less than 10 lines, clearly college age (vocabulary), all quite coord-
inated. Some poster said Ron Paul believed in decriminalizing drugs, though I'm not sure
about that. Reminded me of robots or drones. Most would not engage to answer questions,
but a few would. It became clear after a few days they were paid posters doing their 4 to 6 hrs
& out.
[...] “right” minded people think alike–Republicans, Independents, Libertarians, Tea Party Participants, [...]
I *do* believe we have been spammed.
Boycott Cisco!
Don't worry Donna, in the future we will be manufacturing goods for the Chinese market, for
wages comparable to what they're getting now.
Yes its so beautiful view. thanks for sharing this informative post.
[...] » Study of Tea Party Activists Reveals Motivations of Political … [...]
Cornyn had begun to really irritate me and a lot of others. Then, after the Tea Party got brewing, he at least acted like it got his attention
We''ll have to wait and see on all of them. As I said on Breitbart.com last night, "Woe be unto the politician who uses the Tea Party for votes and then tries to go back to business as usual." I think they will be hammered to the wall. At least I hope so.
One thing I was upset about regarding Perry was the required vaccination for young girls to prevent cervical cancer. KBH sent out a large postcard with a photo of the most innocent little girl on the front disclaiming that he had made Texas the first state to require the shot.
Low and behold, when I went for my yearly checkup last week, my doctor said that she had gotten it for her NINE year-old daughter. She said that, world-wide, about 50% of initial sex for girls is involuntary. Said she didn't want her daughter dying because someone forced himself on her. She said it is the world's leading cause of death among young women.
Sort of changed my mind about what ol' Perry did.
Ron Paul’s People: The Real Conservative Movement
Jack Hunter
Campaign For Liberty
March 4, 2010
When Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina was censured by various GOP county committees in his own state recently, Graham blamed it on “Ron Paul people.” When Florida governor and U.S. Senate candidate Charlie Crist was defeated in a Republican straw poll by challenger Marco Rubio in December, Crist complained it was nothing more than “Ron Paul people.”
At this year’s 2010 Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C., there were plenty of Ron Paul people, enough to deliver the congressman a first-place victory in the annual CPAC straw poll, which has long been considered a decent gauge of the GOP’s mindset.
But when Paul’s victory was announced, much of the CPAC crowd booed. Those pesky Ron Paul people had struck again, it seemed. Many Republican establishment types quickly dismissed the poll. But two glaring questions remain: Who is it that Paul’s critics prefer? And what kind of “people” are they?
What, for example, are “Mitt Romney people”? When Romney, who placed second in this year’s straw after having won the poll the last three years, was introduced at CPAC by newly elected Sen. Scott Brown, the two Massachusetts politicians stood side-by-side before a cheering conservative audience. The crowd seemed oblivious to the fact that both men helped implement government-mandated healthcare in their home state, a plan similar to the Democrats’ current national plan. President Obama and his party have often cited the Massachusetts plan, known as “Romneycare,” as the model for Obamacare. In his speech, Romney also praised George W. Bush. The crowd went wild.
What are “Dick Cheney people”? After receiving a standing ovation at CPAC, Cheney said, “A welcome like that almost makes me want to run for office,” which elicited chants of “run, Dick, run!” from the audience. Cheney promised that Obama would be a “one-term president” and said that conservatives could look forward to victory in 2010. When you consider the former vice president’s big-government track record, the idea of him telling conservatives what to do is as laughable as Tiger Woods giving marital advice. Yet loudly and with zero irony, the folks at CPAC cheered Cheney.
And we could go down the list of CPAC speakers: What are Newt Gingrich, John Boehner, or Tim Pawlenty “people”? What solid, tangible conservative platform are any of these people suggesting, beyond defeating Obama and the Democrats in 2010 and 2012? Is a return to Bush Republicanism really a desirable goal, as Romney and Cheney’s warm welcomes seemed to suggest? According to Rush Limbaugh, Paul’s straw-poll victory is a sign that CPAC simply wasn’t conservative this year. This begs the question, if Paul isn’t conservative, then who is “conservative,” Rush?
Ask yourself this: Since CPAC’s inception in 1973, what has actually been done to shrink the size of government? What about the last Republican administration gives anyone hope for a better, more conservative future?
When you boil it all down, those who complain about Ron Paul people only care about one thing: GOP victory. Those at CPAC who cheered Romney, Cheney, and the conventional rest have no intention of ever challenging the status quo precisely because they are the status quo.
And then there are the so-called Ron Paul people. Paul’s CPAC speech was not simply an exercise in Democrat bashing. It was a lesson on how the GOP must finally deliver on the conservatism it has always promised. According to Paul, Republicans must finally show true fidelity to the Constitution. Paul asked the crowd to cast a critical eye upon the Right’s enthusiasm for wars that don’t make much sense and cost too much money and the party’s propensity for incurring massive debt. In short, Paul called for an end to big government — even the GOP form of it. Asks Pat Buchanan: “Who in the Republican Party today is calling for a Barry Goldwater-like rollback of federal power and federal programs? Except Ron Paul.” Answer: No one.
Often derided, the many young people who support Paul are the heart and soul of what has been dubbed the Ron Paul Revolution. And if their visible and vocal presence at CPAC was any indication, they are a force to be reckoned with.
I would expect Paul supporters to become even more visible and more vocal in the future. It will be impossible to silence a genuine movement driven by actual conservative passion, and not simply the two-party horse race the Republican establishment continues to mistake for principle.
In their ignorance, conservatives who boo Paul at CPAC or anywhere else are essentially dismissing the only force in contemporary American politics that is serious about smaller government. And despite the constant media spin and gnashing of teeth, Ron Paul and his people’s onward march is not representative of some sort of confusion within the conservative movement — but the only conservative movement.
I'm still down on Perry for the mandatory vaccination, hoping he learned from that
episode. Think I would have had to ask that Dr what were the statistics for my local
area, I don't plan for my daughter to live' world wide'. It should be widely advertised
by the company who developed it so that families may make their own decisions.
Perry was planning to save them some advertising money, question is, what was
in it for him. I'm watching for the trans-tx corridor BS to rear it's head again. We can
go to Austin to raise hell a lot easier than going to DC. Hope it isn't necessary. I'm
unhappy about the lack of internet access to all our Tx politicians. Needed to leave
a message at the Gov's site, space was severely limited. Cornyn does not post any-
thing about the goings on in the Senate until it's old news. I think they should put their
daily log on their website each day. When I hire a lawyer he keeps a log of his time I
may ask to see, if I wish, should be the same with Congressmen.
We will NOT support Paul because of his supporters cult-like worship & their admission that
they did not support the R ticket, after the R party did not pick Paul as their candidate. Paul
serves his district as an R, he campaigned for the Presidency as an R, but after asking many,
many Paul supporters who they voted for in 08, I have yet to find any who voted for the R ticket.
Therefor I conclude the Paul crowd is responsible for giving us the current radical administra-
tion. Like pouting, spoiled brat children, when they didn't get their way, they decided to teach the
rest of the country a lesson. Ever heard of cutting off your nose to spite your face? As you con-
tinue to post your long-winded talking points, although logical to your mind, you are alienating
folks who don't need your arguments to make their decision. The more you persuade, the less
they will listen. Get off the soap box & try to act like a normal human. There is a reason you are
called Pauliacs, i.e. maniacs. You are too aggressive, too argumentative, too talkative. You might
benefit from some listening. If you really wish for Paul to EVER have a chance to meet his goal,
BACK-OFF ASSHOLES !!!…………….NUFF SAID!!!
[...] » Study of Tea Party Activists Reveals Motivations of Political Movement – Big Governmen… [...]
Its really very fine and informative post. thanks for sharing with us.
wao its really very nice and informative post so i like it. thanks for the information.
[...] Read more from the original source: » Study of Tea Party Activists Reveals Motivations of Political … [...]
Where do we go with it?
I do. It is difficult to get people on board. Most are hardcore straight line party voters.
Wonderful article, thanks for putting this together! This is obviously one great post. Thanks for the valuable information and insights you have so provided here.
You must be logged in to post a comment.