White Tea

I’ve largely refrained from commenting on this psuedo-movement, this “populist” Republican party front, this celebration of know-nothing, bible-thumping, war-mongering, “small-government” loving vacuity, because, well, of all the things I just mentioned. But CNN just did a poll of this “movement” and the results are revealing and hilarious.

“Of this core group of Tea Party activists, 6 of 10 are male and half live in rural areas,” CNN reports. “Nearly three quarters of Tea Party activists attended college, compared to 54 percent of all Americans, and more than three in four call themselves conservatives.”

Sixty-six percent of the tea party activists reported an income higher than $50,000 per year. Among the overall sample in the poll, that figure was 42%. The group is 80% white, as opposed to 71% among all respondents to the poll.

Politically, the figures are not a surprise. Forty-four percent of tea partiers called themselves “Republican,” while 52% said they were independent. Among all those polled by CNN, 25% were Republicans while 44% were independents. A third self-identified as Democrats.

So this “movement” consists of rich, white, male, educated “conservatives” who happen to identify with the Republican Party. Oh, and they also hate Obama. But they’re not racist!