Schieffer: Tea Partiers Not Just "A Bunch of Yahoos"

In this April 1, 2010 file photo, a participant in the Tea Party rally holds a sign in Omaha, Neb.

/ AP Photo

Tea party activists aren't just a "bunch of yahoos who make a lot of noise" and are instead a "force to be reckoned with" for both Democrats and Republicans, "Face the Nation" moderator Bob Schieffer said on "The Early Show" Thursday.

A CBS News/New York Times poll delved deeper into the movement's size, makeup and beliefs, revealing insights that could pose problems for both major parties, Schieffer said.

"I think the most important thing about this poll is we now have some sense of just how large a group this is. It represents about 18 percent of the voting public. That is a force to be reckoned with," Schieffer told "Early Show" co-anchor Harry Smith.

"One thing the polls also show, this is not just a bunch of yahoos who make a lot of noise. We're seeing they're actually more educated than Americans in general. These are people who seem to have a legitimate anger building ... and I think that is the thing that both parties have to worry about."

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For Republicans, there is the danger that the Tea Party could break off and form its own party, creating a situation similar to the 1992 presidential election when Ross Perot siphoned off votes from George Bush, allowing Bill Clinton to win, Schieffer said.

But the Tea Party represents a more immediate foe for incumbents, particularly Democrats.

"This is the core anti-Obama, anti-incumbent vote out there. These people are to the right of Republicans. But they really don't like Barack Obama. They don't like his programs. And they like Congress even less. This is somebody that everybody has to worry about if you're in politics and in office right now."

Tea Partiers rallied Wednesday in Boston and plan to hold hundreds of events throughout the country to coincide with tax day, including one in Washington, D.C.

CBS News Poll: Tea Party Small, but Passionate

Tea Party: Who are They and what do they Believe?

CBS Evening News: Tea Party Steeped in Fury

[Len_RI]

Of course they are "a force to be reckoned with", and of course they are angry. BUT THEY ARE STILL YAHOOS and just because they are angry doesn't mean it is "legitimate anger." It is not.

All you need to do is click that other popular CBS news story link today that says most tea party people think Obama raised their 2009 taxes when the TRUTH IS THAT OBAMA LOWERED taxes! That is PROOF that tea partiers are illegitimate with their anger and are nothing more than a bunch of yahoos.

And a force to be reckoned with. It's not mutually exclusive, Mr. Schieffer.

[dixt1]

Obama DID NOT "lower" taxes. He just kept in place the Bush tax cuts---which are SOON to end, which means taxes WILL go back up once the Bush tax cuts END.

[wendyinfl]

Blanket statements like yours render your comment baseless. And our anger is completely legitimate. Perhaps you should read the constitution. I would also recommend The 5000 Year Leap so that you could better understand what is at stake. This administration has put us on the fast road to socialism. We Tea Partiers are fighting for YOUR rights and freedom also.

[hawkdriver04]

Maybe the Government Controlled Media is starting to understand us. We are not racist. We are not crazy. We are informed and educated. We vote. We love our country. WE WILL NOT SHUT UP, SIT DOWN, BE QUIET, OR GO AWAY. WASHINGTON YOU BETTER START LISTENING!!!

[mjb89]

Oh, yes, and your cause is being ignited by a bimbo named Sarah Palin. You're doomed to start with. She is a dangerous rabble-rouser. So if you want anyone to listen, find someone with a brain to lead you.

[myopinionpal]

The Tea party movement is nothing more than a racist gathering thats hiding behind high taxes and goverment spending, they came into existence not because of the tax issue but because of a black president plain and simple. Where was the Tea party during the 43 white presidents
term in office. Now the 44th president comes on the seen which happens to be black, now we have a Tea party something wrong with this picture!!!!

[ldsgemini]

I beg to differ. As a school teacher, when a student made a comment last year that the country was screwed, I rebutted him because I had faith that the president of the United States would lead us in the right direction. As a school teacher, when he gave his speech to the school kids, we listened. To say that we tea partiers are racist is so conviluting and discusting simply because your missing the whole point of our movement. You dismiss everything that this party represents simply because you don't agree with what they have to say - and therefore, you paint them as "racists". I'm sorry sir/mam, but your comment holds no water with me. How dare you paint me as such when I deal with so many different types of people - and our movement has nothing to do with racism.

[dixt1]

Possibly you're too young to understand about "issues". Contrary to V.P. Joe Biden, MANY of us DO NOT want to be "like France", as he espoused recently. We DO NOT want a "socialist society" like all the EU countries. We are AMERICANS, not EUROPEANS. The average tax on EU families is 46% of their yearly income---soon to hit 50% of their income. You need to possibly sit down and figure out how YOU are going to live on only 50% of your income each month. Maybe you're too young to know that we've been through this before! Higher taxes, but rents, house payments, groceries, utilities ALSO CONTINUE TO RISE, they DO NOT "go down" just because our taxes are being raised! That's the DIFFERENCE between now and the Great Depression. You see, prices WENT DOWN during the Depression, but they HAVEN'T gone down during our recent recession. That's why people were FOOLISH to compare our recent recession to the Great Depression. We are over-taxed NOW, with the Obama Administration wanting to TAX US EVEN MORE! We went to war with England over LESS TAXES than what the Obama Administration is wanting to put on us!

[DrLWayne]

kgdbtx ... Oh ya ... reclaim your country ... to the way that moron Bush left it ... Ha !!!!!!!!!

[kgdbtx]

Democrats and moderate Republicans have been put on notice. Their return to the private sector is imminent. We WILL reclaim our country !

[DrLWayne]

Association of Professional Nut Bars ..............

[infantryman1968]

The Obamas Made $5.5 Million in 2009

How much did you make?

[bajajohn1]

Bob Schieffer is senile; Tea Baggers are tax dodgers who continue to avoid the obligations of citizenship.

[gjconely]

What's those Obligations? Maybe paying taxes? Isn't that what a few of the Obama cabinet members did?

[kgdbtx]

This comment is so void of intelligence I don't know how to reply to it. What in imbecile.

[rustyg2]

A bunch of yahoos is putting it nicely...they couldn't look more ridiculous if they were wearing Star Trek uniforms and Spock ears!
NOW they complain? Where were they during 8 years of Bush (the worst president in history)? 59 percent of them love Sarah Palin and think Bush was a great president...I rest my case!!!

[Mortar_29]

As a conservative, I screamed about Bush also.

[mnvrchvy]

Actually we were quite upset with Bush. That's why his approval rating was so low. Republicans were ticked too because he betrayed us. But you see, we cared more about what he was saying and doing than the fact he was a Republican. Unfortunately, most Dems will not do the same to hold their leaders accountable. They just want to have a Dem in charge regardless of whether or not he's lying to you. Seriously! Which of Obama's many promises that you cared about during the election has he actually acted on? He's screwing you guys, but you don't care because he's on your team. The tea-partiers don't trust either 'team' because they are all politicians. Thus the emphasis on the Constitution as a guiding force.
Also, Palin is a tool to get media coverage and little more. Many like her, but personally I don't think she's going to actually be a leader of the movement. The media just pastes her face on everything that has to do with the Tea party... it's all media generated.

[gjconely]

"that thinks everything about our government is wrong" - Is a lie.

"The founders never intended for slaves, women nor Native Americans to participate." - Then why "All Men Are Created Equal"?

"Europe has constitutions much more modern than ours." - And how really Great is Europe? What is something "special" they have done in the last 50 or 100 years?

"They are against everything America stands for, including our Constitution." - Did I not real the Constitution correct? Maybe I downloaded the Obama one by accident, but I would say that the "tea parties" are a lot more for the "constitution" than a progressive is any day of the year.

"And those of us that are conservatives screamed about Bush when he was in office." - Yes, and Clinton, and Bush Senior.