Poll: Most Tea Partiers Believe Too Much Made of Problems Facing Blacks

AP

A new CBS News/New York Times poll found the Tea Party movement is 89 percent white and just one percent black.

It also looked at the views of Tea Party supporters on race issues. Asked if too much has been made of the problems facing African-Americans, 52 percent said yes.

That compares to 28 percent of Americans overall who say too much has been made of the problems facing blacks, and 23 percent of non-Tea Party whites who say as much.

Sixteen percent of Tea Party supporters say whites have more opportunities to get ahead, compared to 31 percent of all Americans who believe whites have more opportunities to get ahead.

Seventy-three percent of Tea Party supporters say both races have equal opportunity, compared to 60 percent of Americans overall.

A majority of Tea Party suppers believe the Obama administration treats both blacks and whites the same way. But one in four believe the administration favors blacks over whites, an opinion shared by just 11 percent of Americans overall and seven percent of non-Tea Party whites.

More from the Poll:

Tea Party Supporters: Who They Are and What They Believe
Tea Partiers View Palin, Beck and Bush Favorably
Tea Party Activists Small but Passionate Group
"Birther" Myth Persists Among Tea Partiers, All Americans
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.

[ron4520]

the Tea party will lose all respect from old americans the tea party will make gop lose in 2012.good job democrats like to thank you very much

[rob98ss]

I am still somewhat amazed at the ignorance that still abounds in this country. The liberals have been telling the black community for over 60 years that help is on the way, yet, they are still stuck in the quagmire of poverty. What gives? I have many black friends, some conservative and some liberal. I asked my liberal friends why they voted for Obama, answer:because he was black. I asked my conservative friends why they didn't vote for Obama, answer: because his policies won't promote prosperity. The liberals want to keep people in poverty because that keeps people depending on the government and getting votes, which ironically, makes them "rich", by staying in office. I want nothing more than the Reagan policies and ideals to be re-enacted because they were PROVEN to work for ALL Americans.

[americafirst99999]

I am a member of the Tea Party movement but I have to disagree with themajority on this issue. African-Americans do have a huge disadvantage when it comes to jobs and education. The root problem between the two parties ,however ,is how to go about fixing this problem.I believe that trying to legislate away the problem has not and will not fix the problem. Job creation is the answer.I don't mean just for the African-American population but all races of people that make up the poorer segment of our population. Today everyone is told that a college education is the only way to become a productive member of our society.Myself, and many like me, find the idea of sitting behind a desk very abhorant.Where have the jobs for people who like to work with our hands and create things gone? They have gone overseas to Taiwan,China ,Indonesia, India and South Korea.One of the main concerns of the Tea Party is to get those jobs back. For every job returned to the USA two people will come off the welfare roles,meaning more money being spent by American consumers leading to even more jobs. Construction companies will need people to build factories, workers to man the lines and managers to run them.I know that people are concerned about pollution but who do youthink will be more concerned about that issue, the USA or the rest of the world. We are only benefiting from the merchandising of many items and not the production.Yet, the pollution being produced will continue to be emmitted into our environment because we as consumers will still demand the products.

[faithful52]

What i'd like to say to the so called tea partyers is.... how shocking can you get? How can anyone who claims to be a christian be so unconscionable and and quite frankly so unchrist like? With 18% unemployment among black people,outnumbering spanish and other ethnic groups yet these people can acutally believe that too much is being made of the problems that black people are still facing in this country and in my estimation primarily because of the likes of them. I suppose black people are still not entiled to even work in the country that their ancestors suffered so much abuse to help build. Yes black people do have a lot of problems to work out among themselves especially becoming a united people but my God people like the tea partyers or whatever the hell they are, racist whites who are stuck in the mud of the past and want to drag the country back to those dark times need to take a good look at themselves and find a way to awake ther conscience, because the more they have the more they want. What about all the times when they had all the goodness that this country has to offer and for the most parts they're still enjoying the fat of the land more so than their black counter parts but are unable to do anything but complain, now that there is a black president; and make no mistake about it, their major problem is not Americas' problems its Americas'present president. They should stop identifying themselves as christians because no real christians would want to be caught dead with a tea party believer.

[nolabutterfly]

If you tea partyists are not really racists, and are just upset with the way the economy is,then where in the heck were you for the last 8 years of the Bush administration? Unjustified war that had nothing to do with 9/11, that cost BILLIONS of dollars a year, not to mention 1000's of lives (most of them innocent Iraqi men, women, and childrens), coupled with the greed of (mostly white) men who put people in homes they could not afford is the REAL reason we are still reeling. Anyone with half a brain knows that the economic troubles of this year, actually starts many years before. Where were you then? Oh, and in case you think I'm just a racist hater, you need to know that one of my BEST friends is a racist- AND he's a tea partyist!

[nolabutterfly]

If you tea partyists are not really racists, and are just upset with the way the economy is,then where in the heck were you for the last 8 years of the Bush administration? Unjustified war that had nothing to do with 9/11, that cost BILLIONS of dollars a year, not to mention 1000's of lives (most of them innocent Iraqi men, women, and childrens), coupled with the greed of (mostly white) men who put people in homes they could not afford is the REAL reason we are still reeling. Anyone with half a brain knows that the economic troubles of this year, actually starts many years before. Where were you then? Oh, and in case you think I'm just a racist hater, you need to know that one of my BEST friends is a racist- AND he's a tea partyist!

[visionary32]

"Blacks who already receive lifetime Socialist Welfare will again be given pockets full of spending loot. Whites will get the bill." So what about the blacks who've worked all their lives like any other decent American? Won't they get the bill too? You're too close-minded. I am a professional who streams from a line of successful black parents and grandparents. My children know the value of a good education and an honest work ethic through us. And by the way, they're black too. Your comment wast both shortsighted and useless in my eyes. If you want to argue, tell the truth...the world is much bigger than your concept of white and black :-)

[Henri_Rochard]

Personally, I'd say the biggest enemy of Blacks are the Blacks themselves.

Charlatan 'leaders' like Jesse Jackson do their best to keep Blacks subservient.

Plus for many Black men, financial progress or progress in the workplace means its time to marry a White woman.

If Blacks want to make financial and social progress, they're going to have to do it for themselves. Successful Black men need marry Black women and provide financial and family leadership for Blacks.

Now, I'm not going to make any friends with my comments and it's a free country for people to marry whomever they want, but that's my $00.02.

[smartasss1]

white women love black men because they are longer, harder and have more stamina. Old people stink because they are such good water conservationists.

this is what you sound like when you generalize. it sounds racist and dumb.

[nick_the_cat]

The entire movement is a vendetta against Americans who had the gall to vote for a black man. Period.

[dennis1946]

Without details on the entire methodology and how the weighting of "tea partier" responses was done, it is not possible to interpret the results. Apparently, CBS interviewed 1600 people, about 900 of said they were against big government (really, 700 people are in favor of big government?) How the oversampling was accomplished is not clear from the above.

Then CBS decided that those 900 were "tea partiers" but only counted the responses of the 900 as if 300 had responded (vs. the 700 in favor of big government). That's what CBS means by weighted but it doesn't say why 300, and not 450 or all 900?

Then CBS said the 300 were different than the 1600? Huh?