A recent Gallup poll found that almost 71% of Americans think it is important for the GOP to listen to the Tea Party ideas when trying to confront the nation's problems. The numbers don't just fall along party lines either.
Sure 88% of Republican respondents said that listening to the Tea Party was important, but the other two identified groups (Democrats and independents) had fascinating results. An amazing 53% of Democrats think it is important to listen to Tea party ideas and 72% of independents (the all important swing voters) think so too.
Maybe President Obama was offering compromise on the wrong issues in the State of the Union.
I don't really see how this is news...
ReplyDeleteThe poll doesn't say that 71% of Americans agree with the Tea Party—just that Republicans ought to listen to it. I think the main (only?) thing this poll really shows is that Americans believe everyone's voice matters.
Granted, that's an nice sentiment in this culture of heated political debate. I'm just saying: don't let the idea of "71% thinks we should listen to the Tea Party" be interpreted to mean that 71% agree with them. The other half of the survey states that only 39% of America has a favorable opinion of the Tea Party movement.
So you're saying love sin hate the sinner?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what you mean...
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking about your comment. I'm assuming you mean loving the sin is "71% think the GOP should listen to the tea party", and hating the sinner means that most of America still has an unfavorable view of the tea party. If that is what you mean (and correct me if I'm wrong) then no, that's not what I meant.
ReplyDeleteWhat I'm saying is (and using your phrase): love democracy (that everyone gets their voices heard) but hate the ideas you disagree with.
For example, I personally have an unfavorable view of the tea parties, but I agree that the GOP should listen to them. Why? Because the vast majority of tea party members are/were the GOP's base. And, since we're still essentially a two party system, I think the GOP ought to listen to its base, even if that base is critical of the GOP. That doesn't mean I think the tea party is ideologically correct--it just means I think that the GOP should accurately represent the views of its constituents.
Does that make a little more sense? (Pardon me if I misunderstood your comment.)
So why do you have an unfavorable view of the tea party?
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, you understood me correctly.
ReplyDeleteWell, I disagree with them generally, because I no longer really consider myself a conservative (and it's hard to agree with the tea party if you're not a conservative). I was a lifelong Republican--in Young Republicans in high school, listened to talk radio, etc--but I started to disagree with their policies more and more and, about six years ago changed my party affiliation to "Unaffiliated." I consider myself moderate. I'm definitely not a Democrat. (I didn't leave the Republicans because I liked the Democrats--I left the Republicans because I disliked the Republicans.) More than anything I dislike the two party system, because of the all-or-nothing approach. For example, I agree with Republicans on issues like gay marriage and abortion and gun rights, but I disagree with them on things like the environment and social programs. (That's a really long answer to basically say: I have an unfavorable view of the tea parties because I'm not a staunch conservative.)
ReplyDeleteBut, more specifically, I have an unfavorable view of the tea parties because they seem to have let the inmates run the asylum. If they simply had stuck to their initial platform of fiscal responsibility, then I could respect them a lot more. But the tea parties have kind of embraced every crackpot (both personality and philosophy). I realize that's the danger of a decentralized movement—that because no individual speaks for them, ANY individual can—but I simply think they've strayed from their original, worthwhile message. What started as concerned citizens complaining about high taxes has turned into conspiracy theorists, self-aggrandizing personalities, and a lot of red herrings.
(That said, I don't view Republicans or Democrats favorably, either. While I think they have some higher degree of professionalism and political savvy, they're also prone to self-aggrandizement. Perhaps the biggest distinction is the tea party movement's self-destructive structure: that any buffoon can preach in the name of the tea party--and have done so.)
Rob, I like reading your posts on these blogs, always good points and arguments.
ReplyDeleteGoing back to your initial comment though, I know there is always going to be bias in polls and different meanings behind questions, but I feel this one is pretty straight forward.
If the poll asked, "Should the GOP listen to what the tea-party has to say about movement ideas" then I would agree with what you said. Of course we should listen to every option, this wouldn't be a democracy otherwise, just common sense.
But the poll is about the importance Americans feel the GOP should give the tea-party movements. Reading that it only makes sense that Americans would of course rate personally how they feel about the tea-party movements and what importance they want the GOP to give them.
If Americans didn't want the GOP to give importance to the tea-party movements they would have voted so.
In short I feel that this poll was on Americans personal beliefs of the tea-party movements, and not on how we should handle democracy in general.
Thanks, Lorin!
ReplyDeleteIt's an interesting idea, but I don't see how that interpretation of the poll works given the second question. If only 39% of Americans have a favorable view the tea party, then why would 71% want the GOP to listen to them? The only explanation I can think of is the one I gave above.
What other explanation could there be? I find it really hard to believe that 71% like the tea party ideas, if almost half of that 71% doesn't have a favorable opinion of the group.
I'm totally open to another explanation--I just can't see anything else in that data. Lorin, how do you explain the second question if you believe that the first is about "personal beliefs of the tea-party movements"? I guess the $50,000 question is: why would 32% of Americans want the GOP to listen to tea parties if they don't like tea parties?
You have a very strong point there. Maybe their mothers taught them the golden rule, ("If you can't say something nice, don't say nothin' at all" - Thumper.) So maybe they just didn't speak up. ;)
ReplyDeleteDo I get my $50,000 now or later? haha
No, just kidding, that really doesn't explain it in the slightest.
But it would be really interesting to see the root questions they used to get these numbers on this poll.
I agree. And I wish they'd as a broader question, like "Do you think the United States congress should implement more tea party ideas?" (or something like that).
ReplyDelete