Tea Party: 4 in 10 are Dems, Independents, Survey Says

By: Stephanie Condon
Topics: Tea Party

(Credit: AP)

More than four in 10 self-described members of the Tea Party also identify as either Independents or Democrats, according to a recently released, comprehensive survey.

Yet the Tea Party's priority appears to be fiscal conservatism, and the group by large margins trusts Republicans in Congress over Democrats to solve the country's problems.

In a collection of three national surveys conducted by the Republican-leaning Winston Group, 57 percent of Tea Party members called themselves Republicans while 28 percent said they were Independents, and 13 percent said they were Democrats. Two-thirds of the group identified as conservative, but 26 percent said they are moderate and 8 percent called themselves liberal.

Seventeen percent of people surveyed said they were "part of the Tea Party movement."

While a sizable portion of tea partiers identify as Independent or Democrat, they overwhelmingly disapprove of President Obama. In the February survey conducted by Winston, 81 percent of Tea Party members said they disapprove of the job Mr. Obama is doing as president, compared with 44 percent of people overall who said they disapproved.

Additionally, the Tea Party largely trusts the Republican party over the Democratic party to handle issues like health care, the economy and job creation. On each of those three issues, nearly three out of four tea partiers in the February poll said they have more confidence in the GOP to handle them. Seventy-four percent of tea partiers said they'd most likely choose a Republican to represent their congressional district, while 19 percent said they'd most likely choose a Democrat.

Like all Americans, most Tea Party members said the economy is the most important political issue, but 21 percent -- twice as many as Americans overall -- named the national deficit and national spending as their top issue. Eighty-five percent of Tea Party members polled in January said tax cuts for small businesses would create more jobs than government spending on infrastructure, while 61 percent of Americans overall preferred tax cuts.

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Stephanie Condon
Stephanie Condon is a political reporter for CBSNews.com.
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by notdoneyet April 7, 2010 9:01 PM EDT: What did all you obamabots think everybody likes obozo; Reply to this comment


by Brokennews April 6, 2010 10:54 AM EDT: Actually, rounding-off the above headline from the republiCON-leaning Winston Group of skewed surveys, makes it 1 in 10 being Dems and 3 in 10 being "independents," which is still hard to believe from a rabid fringe extremist group of racist bigots!

by lakota2012 April 6, 2010 10:44 AM EDT

You may want to go look up Webster's definition of the word "bigot".
You're doing a bit of that old "Pot calling the kettle black" thing.; Reply to this comment

by lakota2012 April 6, 2010 10:40 AM EDT

"In a collection by three national surveys conducted by the republican-leaning Winston Group......13% said they were Democrats."
---------------------------------

So, a republiCON group skews their biased surveys enough to squeeze a whole 13% out of a rabid fringe extremist group of teabaggin' fools, and this is supposed to be relevant?

Many fiscal conservitard republiCONS have indeed been afraid to be identified as belonging to any party -- even the GOP -- but just because they call themselves "independents," certainly does not make them highly-partisan voters for MORE OF THE SAME republiCON lunacy. It's truly a political climate against incumbents, but to put the miNOrity party of NO that gave us the economic catastrophe we find ourselves in today back into power after voting them out in 2006/2008, is sheer ignorance!

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by lakota2012 April 6, 2010 10:44 AM EDT: Actually, rounding-off the above headline from the republiCON-leaning Winston Group of skewed surveys, makes it 1 in 10 being Dems and 3 in 10 being "independents," which is still hard to believe from a rabid fringe extremist group of racist bigots!

by jimbom121 April 6, 2010 10:18 AM EDT

I've asked this before, and I'll ask it again. To the Tea Partiers, what would you have done to solve the Financial Meltdown from 2008? Do you want to keep de-regulating these industries? How will you address rising healthcare costs? How about unemployment? Well, please tell us.

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by lakota2012 April 6, 2010 10:47 AM EDT: Come now jim, the teabaggin' fools would still support the usual conservitard ideology of "trickle-down" economic lunacy that has been proven time and time again to be a complete failure, to solve everything -- especially the unemployment problem -- since we saw how well that worked for the busheviks in their 2003 "jobs and growth" legislation which heralded in our first JOBLESS RECOVERY!


by phwtb April 7, 2010 9:07 AM EDT: Rather than giving failing companies billions of dollars and letting them reward their greatest failures: payout to everyone over the age of 58 $1M with the stipulation they have to retire. Millions of job openings would become available to those seeking them; money would BE in the economy to actually stimulate the economy.

(2) Health care costs are simple to control- CONTROL by capping the amount of money ALL health care agencies, companies, etc. can CHARGE to begin with- including insurance companies. Instill a national health care system like Australia has and fund it with a 1.5% mandatory tax taken from EVERY check issued for payment of wages, welfare and retirement. Those who want to use the system can and those who don't want to use the system can opt for a private insurance that would be charging REASONABLE rates under the new cap guidelines.

(3) Welfare (not that you asked but I will tell you anyway), make one simple change to the welfare system- EVERY TIME a welfare recipient has a child or adds another "farmed out dependent" to ANY of their "welfare accounts" (i.e. food stamps, housing allowance, etc.) welfare checks AND benefits go DOWN rather than UP. STOP allowing them to breed generations of lazy couch potatoes.

These 3 simply changes could in all practicality stimulate the economy. By giving out the retirement monies you stimulate all the travel industry; hiring the unemployed in replace the retirees stimulates the essential markets- groceries, retail and housing; the amount of money being spent on health care now verses the amount on a controlled system would in all likelihood stimulate the luxury markets i.e. new cars and antiques while most assuredly it would stimulate home town spending at all levels.

Now- I ask you the same thing you asked me, jimbom121.

a). What did you Doomed Dem?s DO to actually stimulate the economy other than hand over billions of dollars to a very selected group of elite companies who were allowed to give 90% of that ?recovery? money to their CEO?s?
b). How did you actually LOWER health care COSTS by handing over guaranteed sales to insurance companies?
c). What did you DO to stimulate the job market other than opening up 3 CEO?s positions and 20 positions with the First Lady?s staff?


by Brokennews April 6, 2010 10:14 AM EDT: Well, the comments are going as usual regarding polls. A poll comes out that the lefties don't like they immediately attack the pollsters or try to discredit the poll itself. But, if a poll comes out that is favored by the lefties, they all come out praising the accuracy of the poll & say "See"!! The righties do the same thing, so I guess it's just typical human reaction to bad news...Deny, refute & attack the bearer of bad news (or poll). SueZeeeQue's 11:56 PM post is a classic example of this!; Reply to this comment


by MPHgrad April 6, 2010 9:57 AM EDT: I agree with the notion that the government should be fiscally responsible and make efforts/take actions to reduce the deficit and irresponsible spending. However, I have not read or heard members of the TEA party who are willing to swallow that pill. I'm one of the biggest Dave Ramsey fans, so I'm against debt. So, those, (including me) who are really about living responsibly and spending only what we have should put our "money where our mouths are" and get serious about it. If they want to repeal the recent health care legislation, they should also repeal Medicare and Medicaid and work towards substantive reform that is financially sustainable. Don't half step or play with it.; Reply to this comment


by SueZeeeQue April 5, 2010 11:56 PM EDT: So what is the actual percentage that are Democrats?

The premise is misleading here.; Reply to this comment

by wfw3536 April 5, 2010 11:29 PM EDT

The tea party folks will get rid of these tax and spend democrats who are taking away our individual rights. Just look at the health care bill which forces everyone to have health insurance(Obama and the health insurance companies are happy with this). It will mean thousand of IRS agents looking into our health coverage and fine us up to 2.5% of our income.

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by jimbom121 April 6, 2010 9:36 AM EDT: Actually the mandate for getting HC is a republican idea...from the mid 1990's and Romney in 2004.

And no there will not be thousands of IRS agents...that is another right wing myth.


by akcoins April 5, 2010 8:04 PM EDT: They are idiots. The Cons have had control of the White House, and Congress and look where it got us. Insanity is doing the same thing (voting Repub) over and over and expecting different results.; Reply to this comment

by etodez April 5, 2010 7:36 PM EDT

Tea Party: 10 in 10 are Idiots, Common Sense Says

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by love2ridend April 6, 2010 7:52 AM EDT: I think someone is scared of the truth. When people get scared they resort to name calling like a child.