People Most Likely To Follow Obama's Advice? Tea Partiers!
Last week I commented on how I had responded to President Obama's request that citizens call their members of Congress and demand good action on the debt ceiling debate. I did just that -- learning who my representative is, in fact, for the first time. I contacted his office and gave him a piece of my mind. I couldn't help but think it funny that I was doing this per President Obama's suggestion.
Turns out I wasn't alone:
The Pew Research Center for People and the Press offers a clue today into why the battle in Washington to raise the debt ceiling ended up with a deficit-reduction deal that would just cut spending with no increase in taxes. Those who wanted budget cuts paid the most attention. In the last week in July, the story accounted for 47% of the news coverage in newspapers, TV, radio and the Internet; that was appropriate at a time when 41% of all adults considered it the most riveting development according to Pew's weekly survey of public interest in the news. But if you look more closely, you'll find that 66% of Republicans and supporters of the Tea Party closely tracked the budget negotiations vs 34% of those who held different views or had no opinion. What's more, about 20% of the Tea Party supporters contacted an elected official. Only 5% of those who disagreed with the group did so.
Imagine that!
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Apr '11
Re: People Most Likely To Follow Obama's Advice? Tea Partiers!
If this same energy can be translated into getting out the vote in 2012, it'll be a GOP landslide. As it stands now, things are looking pretty good, but every vote counts and every extra House and Senate seat will be huge.
May '11
Re: People Most Likely To Follow Obama's Advice? Tea Partiers!
We just have to remember the likes of Mitch McConnell who worked very hard and came up with a spending, taxing alternative. He then completely cut Boehner off at the knees and worked w/ Reid to get a Senate bill passed that really does nothing for the Tea Partiers and budget cutting.
Yes, we need to add seats but we also need to clean up the squishy seats we already hold.
Sep '10
Re: People Most Likely To Follow Obama's Advice? Tea Partiers!
Backfire!
Dec '10
Re: People Most Likely To Follow Obama's Advice? Tea Partiers!
McConnell would be the perfect leader with the savvy and character, had he further backing. We should be seeing that, those that are not.
This is a perfect case in point; until now, Mollie did not even know whom her congressional representative was. That is what is telling, for somebody that comments on political issues.
McConnell only has as many chips to carry into a poker game as he is given. Until now, Mollie's was not in the game. How many others out there haven't bothered to write and call their Senators and congressmen, but have waxed poetic on political debates?
Shame on you, Mollie Hemingway, and any of the rest of you armchair citizens
May '10
Re: People Most Likely To Follow Obama's Advice? Tea Partiers!
Besides, if tea partiers were really terrorists the President would be palling around with them.
Edited on Aug 2, 2011 at 6:27pmMay '10
Re: People Most Likely To Follow Obama's Advice? Tea Partiers!
My Rep is Lamar Smith. Most my neighbors are represented by Quico Canseco.
Re: People Most Likely To Follow Obama's Advice? Tea Partiers!
CJRun: McConnell would be the perfect leader with the savvy and character, had he further backing. We should be seeing that, those that are not.
This is a perfect case in point; until now, Mollie did not even know whom her congressional representative was. That is what is telling, for somebody that comments on political issues.
McConnell only has as many chips to carry into a poker game as he is given. Until now, Mollie's was not in the game. How many others out there haven't bothered to write and call their Senators and congressmen, but have waxed poetic on political debates?
Shame on you, Mollie Hemingway, and any of the rest of you armchair citizens · Aug 2 at 6:20pm
I should probably mention that I just moved out of Washington, D.C., which does not have representation, and into Virginia, which does. I mean, I am not even 100% sure on which county I'm in right now!
Jul '10
Re: People Most Likely To Follow Obama's Advice? Tea Partiers!
Brilliant! Great story!
May '10
Re: People Most Likely To Follow Obama's Advice? Tea Partiers!
What a terrible idea. As Pilli said, McConnell "cut Boehner off at the knees". He undermined Republicans' bargaining position. And he did so with the most ludicrous proposition to be uttered by a Republican in some time — the idea that Republicans could empower Obama to authorize more debt and voters would give Republicans a pass when Obama used that power.
McConnell's idea would have been fine in a brainstorming session while Republicans internally worked out the party's negotiating terms and strategy. But going public with it was a self-serving attempt to bully his own party into adopting his own foolish plan.
Dec '10
Re: People Most Likely To Follow Obama's Advice? Tea Partiers!
There may be a new tea party movement generation too.
Millennials (aged 18 to 29) may have some unwanted but highly motivating extra time next spring—thrust upon them by Washington’s policies of union empowerment, corporate nationalizations, impotent stimuli, and energy moratoria while it expands labyrinthically its bureaucracy and attendant patronage fiefdoms whose weight, inefficiencies, and corruption have laden the job market with Carteresque stagnation—that they can devote to organizing the next revolution in the primaries.
Members of this new generation, who ask not what government can do for them, but what they can do to evict from government those who have placed on them this oppressive financial burden they had never volunteered to bear, are ready and able and should be encouraged to slay Leviathan.
Apr '11
Re: People Most Likely To Follow Obama's Advice? Tea Partiers!
Reading the 'comments' sections of the NYT & the WAPOST as well as the rantings of left leaning commentators, this deal has brought home the point that these folks do not want a single penny cut from spending. These views run the spectrum of rationalizations from economic catastrophe (Krugman) to it's not a big deal and the debt isn't an issue at all (Bob Beckel) to the very health of the planet is at stake (Pelosi). This showing of true colors plays very well to the faithful posters at the mainstream online news services who view the Tea Party as a horrific, idiotic mob who want to take Amercia back to the days of slavery. It scares the heck out of everyne else who rationally see this issue as the defining moment of modern history. This debate will be welcome over the coming 14 months with the backdrop of a terrible economy. President Obama better keep watching what he asks for, because as long as he over estimates his appeal it will keep backfiring on him.
Mar '11
Re: People Most Likely To Follow Obama's Advice? Tea Partiers!
If the only people you can motivate are your opponents, you are in for a world of hurt.
Mar '11
Re: People Most Likely To Follow Obama's Advice? Tea Partiers!