{"id":1756,"date":"2010-04-17T07:21:01","date_gmt":"2010-04-17T11:21:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nicholsclan.com\/tinblog\/?p=1756"},"modified":"2010-04-16T07:33:38","modified_gmt":"2010-04-16T11:33:38","slug":"the-demographics-of-tea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timscogitorium.com\/tinblog\/2010\/04\/the-demographics-of-tea.html","title":{"rendered":"The Demographics of Tea"},"content":{"rendered":"

A recent New York Times \/CBS poll<\/a> showed that Tea Party supporters were better educated and financially well off than average Americans and more than their reputation would suggest. Friend of the blog Bridget asked what I made of this.\u00a0 Her basic confusion seemed to be that these people were largely paying less taxes under Obama, in many cases enjoying (or getting pretty close to a time when they’ll enjoy) our socialist programs like Medicare and Social Security, and yet were fuming about the direction the country is taking.\u00a0 Yet as among the better educated, they should be in a position to recognize that things are not as bad as they are worried about.<\/p>\n

I guess I don’t see this as all that surprising.\u00a0 Despite all the other demographic categories this group fell under, the most telling was that they self-identified as “very conservative”.\u00a0 By definition this means they are afraid of change. And I don’t mean that to be demeaning.\u00a0 Technically, they are resistant to change, but by and large, the reality is that the resistance manifests as fear.\u00a0 Further, as people who have largely made something of themselves, they have more to lose… and more to be afraid of losing.<\/p>\n

The irony is perhaps that the “change” they are afraid of is mostly caused by the high prospect of unemployment and the loss of their 401k value which was a direct result of the uber-Christian neo-conservative hero George Bush.\u00a0 There has been little negative (or positive) impact yet as a result of the healthcare reform plan or anything else the secret Muslim hyper-liberal Obama has done.<\/p>\n

But fear is a powerful motivator.\u00a0 It trumps rational logic hands down.\u00a0 Note that 30% of those polled believe Obama was born in another country, and 59% support Glenn Beck.<\/a> And while we’re talking about talking heads.\u00a0 It is the likes of Dick Armey, Liz Cheney, Sarah Palin, Sean Hannity, Michele Bachmann, and others who fuel these flames of fear for their own benefit.\u00a0 Anyone who’s ever told spooky stories to children late at night in the dark knows that amping up small fears is simple pie.\u00a0 It’s easy to reinforce fears that already exist.\u00a0 And when you’re afraid, every shadow is a bogeyman.<\/p>\n

The Tea Party isn’t about an alternate plan.\u00a0 It isn’t about conflicting ideology.\u00a0 It isn’t about rationality.\u00a0 As I elaborated on in a previous column<\/a>, the Tea Party is about venting spleens and channeling fear.<\/p>\n

Pick your favorite horror film.\u00a0 One person starts freaking out, and it spreads quickly to all the others who are nervous and trying hard to contain their latent fear.\u00a0 The rational voices can’t be heard over all the shrieking and screaming.\u00a0 Next thing you know, it’s all naked coeds and blood.\u00a0 Okay, I’m not sure how that applies, but it was a decent analogy right up until then.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A recent New York Times \/CBS poll showed that Tea Party supporters were better educated and financially well off than<\/p>\n

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