Poll: Tea Party Activists Small But Passionate Group

CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto.

Protesters cheer during the Tea Party Express rally at Riverside Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan, April 10, 2010.

/ AP

Tea Party "activists," defined as those who have attended a rally or donated money to the movement, make up a small portion of the group, but they are even more pessimistic about the direction of the country, and more negative about President Obama, than Tea Partiers overall, a new CBS News/ New York Times poll shows.

These activists make up 20 percent of Tea Party supporters and 4 percent of Americans overall.

As many as 72 percent of Tea Party activists are angry about the way things are going in Washington, compared to 53 percent of Tea Party supporters.

This group has an especially gloomy outlook on the economy; 62 percent of them say it is getting worse, and more than six in 10 say when it comes to the availability of good jobs for American workers, America's best years are behind us.

More than half of Tea Party activists (55 percent) say the amount of income tax they have to pay this year is unfair. Among Tea Partiers as whole, 42 percent feel that way.

Unlike Tea Partiers overall, these activists hold a net negative view of the Republican Party. Fewer than half - 44 percent - view the party favorably, while 50 percent have an unfavorable opinion of the Republican Party.

But the most active Tea Partiers hold especially favorable views of Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin, and 50 percent think Sarah Palin has the ability to be an effective president. Among Tea Partiers in general, just 40 percent think she has that ability.

Twenty-four percent of Tea Partiers think violent action against the government could be justified, but that number rises to 32 percent among Tea Party activists.

More than three in four Tea Party activists get their television political news from Fox News Channel.

More from the Poll:

Tea Party Supporters: Who They Are and What They Believe
Tea Partiers View Palin, Beck and Bush Favorably
"Birther" Myth Persists Among Tea Partiers, All Americans
Most Tea Partiers Believe Too Much Made of Problems Facing Blacks
Most Tea Party Supporters Say Their Taxes Are Fair

Read the Complete Poll on Tea Party Members (PDF)
Read the Complete Poll on What Tea Partiers Believe (PDF)

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This poll was conducted among a random sample of 1,580 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone April 5-12, 2010. Phone numbers were dialed from RDD samples of both standard land-lines and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups is higher.

An oversample of people who describe themselves as supporters of the Tea Party movement were interviewed, for a total of 881 interviews. The results were then weighted in proportion to the adult population. The margin of error for the sample of Tea Party supporters is three points. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

[americafirst99999]

It is this kind of partisanship that has crippled our government. Both parties are guilty of overspending and "I bring the bacon back home" politics. Neither party is innocent of abusing the constitution. I agree that on most social issues the Tea Party reflects the values held by the Republican party but it was the Republicans failures that inspired the development of the Tea Party. They failed to control military and domestic spending and that is what led to the Dems taking control. The Dems are now continuing the same problems but with a different focus. There is common ground in this debate. Military and domestic spending need to be cut but in a realistic manner. We have an obligation to leave Iraq and Afganastan in a responsible manner but why is it neccesary to have 38,000 troops in Japan? Why do we have 60,000 more in Germany 25 years after the end of the Cold War? That is where it is possible to make immediate and meaningful cuts in military.
The number of duplicate and inneffective programs is staggering.Duplicate programs should be combined to reduce bureucratic inneffitiancy. Ineffective programs and departments should be cut completely. The department of Education is a great example. Test scores today are lower than before the department was instituted in 1976. Put the decision making back where it belongs, with the teachers and local governments.Rural South Dakota does not face the same challenges as metro areas in California why try to do a one size fits all.

[Sumballo]

Thousands of people in each city across America indicates a small fringe group? I don't think so....

For each person that attends a rally, there are several more that are at home that agree.

I think the Liberals are all freaked out and fearful over the Tea Party because they know it represents the majority push back on irresponsible and corrupt government we now have.

[improana]

well said, Sumballo!

[ellenbin]

What is wrong with you people? Your taxes are lower this year than ever.Do you still believe the GOP propaganda? This president cares about the middle class. He cares about health care and human lives. He doesn't want nuclear weapons and would love to see everyone at peace. Does Palin,Coulter,Beck,Limbaugh and all the teabaggers really influence this country?

[improana]

You HONESTLY believe that taxes are lower? Here is an excerpt from a CBS news article:

Hold onto your wallet. Prospects are strong that Washington will shrink the budget deficit and pay for health care reform by raising your taxes somehow over the next few years.

?Given the deficits, the unlikelihood that Congress will significantly cut spending, and that we might see a healthcare bill that increases spending, low- and middle-income people could see additional taxes too.?

On top of that, the planned estate-tax repeal for 2010 isn?t likely to happen. And the Bush tax cuts are due to expire at the end of 2010. If Congress doesn?t change the law, the top income tax rate will rise from 36 to 39.6 percent and the top 15 percent long-term capital gains rate will hit 20 percent. After 2010, dividends will be taxed as ? gulp ? ordinary income.

If you're old enough to work a full-time job, own a home and help support a family, you would see that taxes are higher and will be climbing higher, and if that's okay with you, then you're the one that has something wrong with them!

[pr_boxer]

Since I have to spend my time at work,taking care of my family, going to night school,maintaining my property,etc, etc. I can't find time to get upset by whatever it is that these people are protesting.

[Cattzen]

So, what are the solutions that Tea Baggers are proposing without taxes?

[RadGal66]

All the stats confirm that these are not serious, thoughtful members of a loyal opposition, but sore losers who refuse to accept their loss. Their cry is 'the government is not listening to the people? ignoring the fact that the majority of 'the people' voted for the government now in place. Again, just a small, noisy group of sore losers who get outsize coverage because they serve the purpose of the lazy corporate media.

[christophercarr]

It would behoove all of us to try to be more civil, less prone to hyperbole and, most importantly, to stop linking every issue into a score keeping of who is the most wrong. The fact that Republicans were wrong about Iraq doesn't make the Democrats right about health care reform. Treating the other side as permanently disgraced because of positions held sincerely, if ultimately incorrectly, leads to a situation where people began to dehumanize their political opponents.

http://www.theinductive.com/blog/2010/3/25/be-human-dont-let-the-politicians-win.html

[steeepe]

What do you expect from a group that gets its news from Fox? Of course they're not objective and dislike Obama and the poor. Even though taxes are relatively low and especially low for the middle class, they aren't happy. They probably would like to do away with the IRS altogether and rely on their own guns for survival. And the wonderful Christian compassion they show to the less fortunate. Amazing! What a bunch of narcissists! If they are so unhappy with "socialism", they should refuse Medicare and Social Security. Where were they when Bush and the GOP caused the deficit to skyrocket? Counting their dough thanks Bush's tax cuts, while we borrowed a trillion bucks to finance an unneeded war? I think they dislike Obama mainly because he is not pure white, and it's clear that they dislike blacks.

[Heathergreeneyes]

The Democrats have the largest majority in both houses since the 1930's. Yet they complain that Republicans are obstructing their agenda.

How odd that George Bush had a lesser majority in both houses, but got more done!

The Democrats problem is not the republicans; they can barely get the votes of their own party!

[steeepe]

Bush got more done? What, in 8 years compared to one year? Bush practically ran the country off the rails, and it can't be fixed quickly. What did Bush do about health insurance reform? Banking reform? Nuclear proliferation? Any regulations or oversight? Climate change? New Orleans? Nothing! The only thing that Bush and the GOP did was to make the wealthy richer at the expense of the middle class and then fool the dupes into believing that the "family values" party had their best interest in mind. The actions of Bush and the GOP proved to me that a substantial percentage of Americans can't think critically and are easily fooled by propaganda.

[retiredgustav]

Most of the things Bush got done that were not good for our country, like the tax cuts were done throught the reconciliation process.

[miles1967-2009]

What a shocker, 77% of Tea Party activists get their news from Fox News! Lemmings!