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Who are the Tea Partiers?

Jill

Mostly racist, xenophobic, anti-abortion, hyper-religious white people with no concern for the separation of church and state:

So what do Tea Partiers have in common? They are overwhelmingly white, but even compared to other white Republicans, they had a low regard for immigrants and blacks long before Barack Obama was president, and they still do.

More important, they were disproportionately social conservatives in 2006 — opposing abortion, for example — and still are today. Next to being a Republican, the strongest predictor of being a Tea Party supporter today was a desire, back in 2006, to see religion play a prominent role in politics. And Tea Partiers continue to hold these views: they seek “deeply religious” elected officials, approve of religious leaders’ engaging in politics and want religion brought into political debates. The Tea Party’s generals may say their overriding concern is a smaller government, but not their rank and file, who are more concerned about putting God in government.

No, it’s not about economics or small government. It’s about putting God in charge.

Also check out Abe Sauer’s great first-hand account of spending time in the Tea Party, and how the “movement” is basically a regurgitation of religious right politics.

18 thoughts on Who are the Tea Partiers?

  1. No, it’s not about economics or small government. It’s about putting God in charge.

    Well, that’s if the Tea Party is a real, grassroots social movement that truthfully reflects its members. If it’s an astroturf movement heavily orchestrated by right-wing free marketeers and corporations, then it’s about manipulating racist, xenophobic, anti-abortion, hyper-religious white people in the service of extreme free-market capitalism.

  2. As a Tea Partier, I can tell you that most of the other Tea Party members I have spoken to are mainly concerned about fiscal responsibility, and many of them are also deeply concerned about the Fed stealing from us, and ending the pointless and directionless military operations in the Middle East.

    Also, race is not an issue I have EVER heard brought up, and I’m tired of being accused of being racist, when I am not.

    And, as far as abortion and capitalism goes, we love life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Life is kinda necessary for liberty to exist, and liberty is also required to pursue your dreams.

    So – Kudos to you for furthering the epidemic misrepresentation of a group of people who are motivated by the desire to see their fellow citizens alive, free, and fulfilling their dreams!

    1. Also, race is not an issue I have EVER heard brought up, and I’m tired of being accused of being racist, when I am not.

      Sure. Because the Tea Party is full of white people! So it makes sense that race wouldn’t be brought up (unless, of course, it’s brought up in coded language — railing against welfare queens, saying Obama is a secret African Muslim, etc). But look, we aren’t talking about YOU personally. We’re talking about the Tea Party statistically. It’s not misrepresentation if it’s based on a legit survey.

  3. God doesn’t spit out to me a printout of what I should believe and should not believe. Some people seem to crave certainty to the extent of their basic rights as individuals. Fundamentalism provides lots of easy answers to complicated problems.

    I think, honestly, that the Tea Party is kind of an amalgamation of a bunch of strains of thought that have long existed in right-wing thought. Neither of them by themselves are that novel, but the combination of them is.

  4. Russell:
    As a Tea Partier, I can tell you that most of the other Tea Party members I have spoken to are mainly concerned about fiscal responsibility, and many of them are also deeply concerned about the Fed stealing from us, and ending the pointless and directionless military operations in the Middle East.

    Also, race is not an issue I have EVER heard brought up, and I’m tired of being accused of being racist, when I am not.

    And, as far as abortion and capitalism goes, we love life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Life is kinda necessary for liberty to exist, and liberty is also required to pursue your dreams.

    So – Kudos to you for furthering the epidemic misrepresentation of a group of people who are motivated by the desire to see their fellow citizens alive, free, and fulfilling their dreams!

    Misrepresentation? You’ve just proved all of the accusations to be true with your one post.

    OP’s Accusation #1 – “even compared to other white Republicans, they had a low regard for immigrants and blacks long before Barack Obama was president, and they still do.”

    Russell’s response – TRUE – “race is not an issue I have EVER heard brought up”

    OP’s Accusation #2 – “the “movement” is basically a regurgitation of religious right politics.”

    Russel’s response – TRUE “And, as far as abortion and capitalism goes, we love life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. ”
    Note how he uses the religious right’s definition of ‘life’ which includes a non-viable fetus.

    OP accusation #3 “it’s not about economics or small government. It’s about putting God in charge.”

    Russell’s response – TRUE “Life is kinda necessary for liberty to exist, and liberty is also required to pursue your dreams.”
    i.e. you can only have proper capitalism if you follow god’s rules, and ‘small government’ deserves to be much bigger when stopping a woman from terminating a pregnancy.

  5. Look up Domionism. That’s what the Tea Party candidates are. I’m sure at least some of their supporters would be horrified if they understood they were voting for dominionists, but most firmly believe in it.

  6. And, as far as abortion and capitalism goes, we love life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Life is kinda necessary for liberty to exist, and liberty is also required to pursue your dreams.

    And by “your” dreams, Russell means straight,white, christian, male dreams. Everyone else can just go fuck themselves.

    Racist, homophobic, misogynistic, anachronistic bigots = the long definition of teabagger.

  7. Rare Vos

    Racist, homophobic, misogynistic, anachronistic bigots = the long definition of teabagger.

    I thought the long definition was ‘someone who derived sexual pleasure by putting their testes on another person’s forehead.’

    1. I thought the long definition was ‘someone who derived sexual pleasure by putting their testes on another person’s forehead.’

      Which is basically synonymous with what Rare Vos said, right?

  8. I thought the long definition was ‘someone who derived sexual pleasure by putting their testes on another person’s forehead.’

    Which is different from the Tea Party how, exactly?

    *rim shot*

  11. …waiting for the derail vilifying Jill for not only allowing my ‘crude and distasteful’ comments but also ‘joining in with the bullying.’

  12. Jon Stewart had a good line the other night–something to the effect of, Bachmann and most of the other “Tea Party” types are really the Moral Majority in a tricorner hat.

  13. Russell: As a Tea Partier, I can tell you that most of the other Tea Party members I have spoken to are mainly concerned about fiscal responsibility, and many of them are also deeply concerned about the Fed stealing from us, and ending the pointless and directionless military operations in the Middle East.

    Also, race is not an issue I have EVER heard brought up, and I’m tired of being accused of being racist, when I am not.

    Yeah!

    It’s just a coincidence that y’all waited until the black guy was president before you found deficits and military spending shocking and abominable.

    Dude, Bush blew through Clinton’s surplus in 2001. BEFORE the wars. Where have you been?

  14. One interesting thing at the end of the Times article you linked to: The authors compare the Tea Party to followers of George McGovern. If you overlook the little things, like morality and reason, there are some striking parallels: the stridency, the loathing of the incumbent president, the general soreheadedness.

    The McGovernites, of course, actually got their man nominated, and he went on to get clobbered. Despite the enormous moral and intellectual gaps between George McGovern and Michele Bachmann, I wish the Tea Party a similar fate.

  15. I’m reading a book on the Tea Party right now and the authors assert that fiscal matters matter more to them than religious ones.

    Either way, they say that Tea Partiers are old white people who are pissed at young people and immigrants. They may not be overtly racist, but they just think because they’ve done everything right in their life, that means they can’t be taxed. Oh, and they totally deserve their social security and medicare—but big government is ruining it for their grandkids—but never mind while they won’t vote for teachers, education etc.

    Basically, the Tea Partiers want everyone else to pay for their shit, just not themselves.

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