Face of the Tea Party

Finally, some poll-based data on those who consider themselves supporters of the Tea Party movement. If you were thinking of a monolithic group of poorly educated, below-average income hicks, think again.

From today's New York Times comes this story: "Poll Finds Tea Party Backers Wealthier and More Educated."

The principal findings: The 18 percent of Americans who identify themselves as Tea Party supporters tend to be Republican, white, male, married and older than 45. [No surprise there.]

They hold more conservative views on a range of issues than Republicans generally. They are also more likely to describe themselves as “very conservative” and President Obama as “very liberal.” [Again, no surprise.]

And while most Republicans say they are “dissatisfied” with Washington, Tea Party supporters are more likely to classify themselves as “angry.” [Ah, now there's the revealing characteristic.]

And what are they angry about?

Mostly, the recent health care reforms, excessive government spending and "a feeling that their opinions are not represented in Washington."

They are pessimistic about the direction of the country and believe that the policies of the Obama administration "are disproportionately directed at helping the poor rather than the middle class or the rich." [Hmmm, is that a bad thing?]

They believe Obama "does not share the values most Americans live by and that he does not understand the problems of people like themselves. More than half say the policies of the administration favor the poor, and 90 percent believe the country is headed in the wrong direction.

We've heard a lot of outrageous stuff in the past year or so from the extreme right wing -- those who scream "socialism" at every turn, those who believe Obama is a Muslim and wasn't born in the United States, those who dispute the phenomenon of climate change.

This story, with the accompanying poll data and video interviews with Tea Party supporters, helps break down the easy stereotype. But it also helps put a face on those whose animosity about the new administration and its new policies reflects their loss of entitlement.

Photograph by Gretchen Ertl for The New York Times