Raise Your Hand if You Liked the Tea Parties

Posted By Bobby Eberle On April 23, 2009 at 7:27 am

Last week, approximately 750,000 people gathered at events large and small to protest the federal government's tax and spend policies. The "tea party" protests received extensive coverage on Fox News, but slight coverage elsewhere. Worse yet, some so-called media outlets actually mocked the events and the people who attended. I guess in their eyes, it's ok to protest a war, but it's not ok to protest a government that is broken and out of touch.

Scott Rasmussen has just released a new Rasmussen Reports poll on the tea parties and how the American public viewed them. The results point out differences in attitudes between Republicans and Democrats, which is to be expected. In addition, the poll found stark differences between mainstream America and what Rasmussen calls the "political class." Those differences sum up what the Tea Parties were all about.

April 15, 2009 was not only tax day, it was Tea Party day. Americans are fed up with government. With nearly trillion dollar bailouts, half a trillion dollar spending bill, and a 3.6 trillion dollar budget, Americans have had enough. There is too much spending and too much taxes. The feelings hit the boiling point with Obama and his socialist policies, but the anger did not start there. It was been brewing for many years, and the Tea Parties were the result.

According to Rasmussen, "Fifty-one percent (51%) of Americans have a favorable view of the 'tea parties' held nationwide last week, including 32% who say their view of the events is very favorable." In contrast, "[t]hirty-three percent (33%) hold an unfavorable opinion of the tea parties according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Fifteen percent (15%) are not sure."

So, most Americans have a favorable view of the Tea Parties including one-third who have a very favorable view. However, when the same questions were posed to what Rasmussen calls the "political class," only "13% of the political elite offered even a somewhat favorable assessment while 81% said the opposite." Even more striking is the fact that "[a]mong the Political Class, not a single survey respondent said they had a Very Favorable opinion of the events while 60% shared a Very Unfavorable assessment."

Rasmussen hit the nail on the head, and the video brings it home. Although more Republicans than Democrats hold a favorable view of the Tea Parties (see the Rasmussen poll), the key contrast is between ordinary Americans and the political/media elite. Most of these elitists come from the left, but Washington Republicans also bear a share of the blame. The Tea Parties were directed at ALL politicians who have lost their way and no longer represent the will of the people or who respect that average American.

A "revolt at the ballot box" is what every politician should fear following the tax day Tea Parties. If the media continue to mock the American people, if Obama and company continue to place massive debt and higher taxes on the backs of Americans, and if our so-called leaders act as if they are ashamed of the very country that leads the world, then the American people will be there to not only send a message, but to also take action. It's time the Washington elite find their place in the unemployment line.