A new poll from Middle Tennessee State University finds that approximately 26 per cent of the population of Tennessee identify as members of the "Tea Party" political movement:
Close to one in 10 respondents in a new poll by Middle Tennessee State University say they identify themselves as being part of Tea Party movement.The poll released Wednesday finds that 29 percent have a favorable view of the Tea Party.
Among those who identify themselves as "far right" or conservative, 22 percent said they were members of the movement. Only 1 percent of those who describe themselves as "middle of the road" or liberal said they were involved.
Respondents estimated on average that about 26 percent of Tennesseans identify themselves as Tea Party members.
Despite the claims by some that the Tea Party is "going nowhere," that is not borne out by this poll. One in ten people joining in a mass political movement Statewide is no small number, nor is 26 per cent movement identification. While those numbers seem low, it should be remembered that if there is as many people who consider themselves "members," that is more than enough to build an activist base. Ten percent is a good core to build activists from who man phone banks, put up signs, go on door-to-door campaign runs, write letters to the editor-and give money to political campaigns.
The "hard ten percent" is very often what keeps a political movement afloat. Those who don't think the Tea Party Movement is going anywhere are absolutely right. All the political signs seem to indicate that the movement is with us-and especially with Tennesseans-for a very long time to come.
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