A Rasmussen poll suggests that the tea party movement is gaining strength. Right now, it outpolls Republicans among all but Republican self-identified voters, and isn’t far behind with them.
In a three-way Generic Ballot test, the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds Democrats attracting 36% of the vote. The Tea Party candidate picks up 23%, and Republicans finish third at 18%. Another 22% are undecided.
Obviously, if you combine the tea party and Republican votes, you have a plurality.
Among voters not affiliated with either major party, the Tea Party comes out on top. Thirty-three percent (33%) prefer the Tea Party candidate, and 30% are undecided. Twenty-five percent (25%) would vote for a Democrat, and just 12% prefer the GOP.
These may be independents or they may simply be people who are uninterested in politics. What it does show is that the tea party brand is powerful, even among the least likely voters. They may also be those who do not read newspapers, a major source of Democrat propaganda.
The generic Congressional ballot shows the Republicans well ahead, suggesting that those supporting the tea party movement in principle are going to vote Republican.
Real Clear Politics tries to decipher the polls and concludes This is because “policy preference” questions or questions involving other political figures can ultimately skew the result of a later horse race question, by unintentionally leading readers to view the horse race in a certain frame. . The other polls tend to ask a list of questions about specific policies that may skew the party identification with some voters. Close to elections, this is often called “push polling” and it may help to win elections but it also make pollsters miss trends.
A second major factor is that Republicans don’t have much faith in party leaders and consider them out of touch. I would not be that charitable. I think they have entirely different goals from most voters. They want to get elected. We want them to govern responsibly. A weakness of democracy is the tension between those goals.
The tea party people I have met, and I have attended tea party events in two cities, are largely libertarian and have little patience with the pandering behavior of most politicians. The best solution, I believe, is for the tea party movement to take over as much of the Republican Party as possible before the next election. That means going to meetings and running for local offices, including the local party committees. This means a lot of boring work; I know because I’ve been there, but it is the key to reviving this party and, possibly, saving the country from decline and debt repudiation.
Tags: Democrats, economics, politics, Republicans
It would clearly be better for the Tea Party folks to exercise their influence within the Republican Party rather than try to go the third party route and end up electing Democrats. Third parties don’t work.
I agree but that assumes the Republican careerists are willing to learn. They didn’t in 1995 to 2006.
Doc,
Your post sounds suspiciously like… er… the frequently espoused tactics and strategy of a guys who is… er… usually right.
(*WINK*) (Inside baseball between me and Mike if anyone else reading this is shaking your head in confusion.)
Anyway… I’ve always been partial to an echo chamber as long as the sentiment being echoed is correct.
(*SMILE*)
To reiterate what I’ve often stated (and to add on to your thesis), Tea Party folks need NOT ONLY to attempt to “take over” the GOP from the ground up going after local committee seats on up; they’ve also got to create a presence within the Democratic Party via the same tactic pursuing the same strategy.
Oh, sure, cracking the Party of the Jackass will be harder and the idea goes against the grain of most traditionalist/libertarian leaning conservative Tea Partiers, but it has to be done.
BILL
The Democratic Party has become the party of “Social Democracy” which means socialism. It didn’t used to be but Viet Nam and the 60s changed it and drove out a lot of the old time, Harry Truman Democrats. Some are still there in local office but the national party is pretty far to the left.
Your point, Mike…???
Seriously… I’d have thought that you of all people would immediately “get” the point that it’s the “ill patient” that most requires an infusion of “medicine.”
Yes. The Democratic Party is the Party of the Left.
Yes. The vast, vast, vast majority of Tea Party folks are NOT of “the Left.”
But that’s my point, Mike!
Jeez… you’ve been involved in local political Party Committee politics. Throughout most of the country I’m betting there’s little relative turnover of Committee seats (be they Republican Committee seats or Democratic Committee seats) and that primary challenges to Committee incumbents are few and far between.
(Hey… that’s certainly the way it works in the NYS GOP!)
So… you’re a Tea Partier. All you need do is circulate a petition among registered Democrats (you can get the list at the Board of Elections – perhaps even on line in certain states/counties) and if you can get enough signatures (and the bar usually isn’t all that high) you’re on the ballot!
(Of course you yourself have to be a registered Democrat to run for Membership on the Democratic Committee… but for our purposes – influencing Democratic politics – there’s no downside to that.)
Believe me… I’ve carried petitions – both my own and other candidates’ – and your average fellow citizen will sign your petition simply because you’ve asked. If questioned, the Tea Partier can – and should – tell the truth, namely, that his or her goal is to “make America a better place” and “fight for our children’s future” against “entrenched special interests.”
Hey… every once in awhile you’ll run into someone who’s a dedicated Leftist who will really question you, but by and large… you’ll get enough signatures in short order to qualify for the Committee primary/race.
As to actually winning the seat… well… even if your winning is obviously not a sure thing, isn’t it better to try than to sit back and grumble?
Hey… invest a few hundred bucks and “campaign” with slogans such as “Joe Blow – Representing the JFK/Harry Truman Wing of the Democratic Party.”
Anyway… (*SMILE*)… my point remains… Tea Partiers should go after Democratic Committee seats as well as GOP seats.
Com’on, Mike… say it with me… repeat after me…
“Once Again, Bill is – as usual – right.”
(*WINK*)
BILL
I even know some old fashioned Democrats. The primaries, though, are dominated by the teachers’ union and other special groups that control the candidates. I know people who have run for the school board. Without the teachers’ union, forget it.
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