They hate all the usual things and people.
So you’re a Republican candidate and you want to take advantage of the Tea Party energy that jolted once-sleepy primaries. But you aren’t sure whether that means you have to take a stand against masturbation or urge your supporters to gather their bayonets — tactics that seem to have worked for a few Tea Party candidates so far. You’re not certain most Americans share the Tea Party enthusiasm for repealing the 17th Amendment (or even know that it established direct election of United States senators by popular vote). You don’t have Sarah Palin’s phone number.
Not to worry. There’s no doubt that the Tea Party is a double-edged sword: a New York Times/CBS poll last week found that while most Americans had not formed a view of the Tea Party, the percentage of independent voters who view it negatively had increased.
I disagree with your assertion that most of these folks are "elderly, well to do Republicans with time on their hands to go to rallies." I'd say that better describes the folks pulling the strings behind the tea party movement.
ReplyDeleteThose actually attending seem to more along the lines of the whack-a-doodle crowd, who see a conspiracy behind every bush, believe they're being led by a higher power and are all about the preservation of rights, as long as it's rights they favor.