Study: Tea Partiers Outworked Democrats In Debt Fight

[chowder66]

snip

"Some 66% of the two groups followed news on the issue closely versus only 34% of those who had different views or did not offer a political opinion. Nor were they passive observers: some 66% of Republicans and Tea Partiers contacted an elected official during the standoff while only 5% of the rest did the same. This despite a direct appeal from President Obama to do exactly that.

As was the case in the midterm election, age was a crucial factor. Only 19% of 18-29 year-olds followed the story closely and 1% contacted an official versus 54% of those over 50 who followed the debate and 16% who contacted an official."

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/08/study-tea-partiers-outworked-democrats-in-debt-fight.php?ref=fpb


I called and emailed my reps.

[sofa king]

1. ... And got the President's debt plan from March passed.

Thank you, teabaggers!

[FreakinDJ]

2. I sent plenty of Emails too - but TeaFarty message was already ingrained

into the public

They had be crying about spending since the "Stimulus Plan" and in some cases for good reason. The country was ripe with resentment over the TARP funding and they successfully tapped that resource.

Now comes the next - JOBS

[DFab420]

3. You mean people who had nothing better to do with their lives but bitch about the government bitched

harder then other people? Get outta town.

[EFerrari]

4. There's something wrong with this poll.

I believe the tea klan could have beat us because the Republicans don't insult their base from the podium but this difference is just too big to be right.

[sofa king]

5. I must be seeing it differently.

It makes sense to me.

First, the number of people who closely followed this issue in the United States is alarmingly small. Did I just read that one percent of young Americans contacted someone about this issue? Well, they're bound to find out about it over the next ten years, as their future is going to be the first over the side of the boat.

Then, if you look at the small percentage of Americans who did contact someone, you're almost sure to find that a huge--huge--proportion of them are right-wing authoritarians.

You probably don't unquestioningly do what the politicians and talking heads you follow tell you to do. You likely first consider whether it's a good idea to do it or not.

They just do as they're told by Rush and the rest of them--I mean a shitload of them. They make up just 23% of the overall population, but they vote in much higher numbers than most other demographics, participate in every phone poll and survey, steamroll the online polls and comments sections, call their Congressmen whenever Rush tells them to, and so on.

Their attention to politics and civic duty would be commendable if they knew what they were doing, but unfortunately they don't. This is easily illustrated by the issues they champion, issues often clearly designed to harm the supporters of the party themselves while protecting the interests of the wealthy.

That doesn't seem to matter to them. The truth is usually complicated, but lies can be soooo simple, and that's what they seek: false simplicity. I think they're so politically active because their fear compels them to wish or believe that they are part of an overwhelming majority.

Because if they're not the majority, then they're a minority, and they would be forced to hate themselves.

So they bust their asses to create a disproportionate impact in politics, mostly because they're afraid, partly because they're told to do so by the authorities in which they place their whole faith and future.

Or, if you prefer a much simpler answer (see above), it's because there are a lot more stupid people who are motivated to steer politics than there are smart people who are motivated to steer politics.

[EFerrari]

6. You bring up good points and I agree with them

but aren't there a bunch of baby boomer older women like me who did care about possible cuts to Social Security and Medicare because we're caring for our parents and because our unemployment rate is really high and we're worried about the future?

See, if it were about anything else but SS or Medicare, I'd go with "the kids didn't call" but on this one, it's hard to believe my peers didn't call.

[sofa king]

7. And that's a good point, too.

The level of interest here--pocketbook level--should have been of keen interest to a lot of people.

And then there's that nifty little story about how only 8% of Newt Gingrich's Twitter followers are actual people, the rest being fake.

Hmm....

I wonder how many of Newt's Twitter followers contacted their representatives?

[EstimatedProphet]

8. It helps that they have a majority of mass media putting out their message too

Our side didn't lose because teabillies were able to stop beating their children long enough to call their congressmen. They didn't win because of that either. They won because the constant and continual message from every major information source for the last year and a half is that the US is doomed because of the debt "crisis". Not once did any single media outlet ever try to sustain the point that the debt issue will shrink substantially if employment went down, or the wars were concluded, or the billionaires were forced to actually pay taxes. None of that was ever entered into the discussion.

The teabillies are a storefront for corporate media, nothing more. The corporate media is who won, because they own all the messaging.