> Wonder why the demographics are so different from that CNN poll a
> while back. I'll ask the AAPORites.
>
> One thing - all people have to do is self-identify as TPers.
Yeah, exactly. I really doubt this poll is measuring what it purports to measure. I'm too lazy to track down the other polls right now, but I do remember that in the NYT poll, the criteria for TP ID were that you had to (1) say you followed news about the TP closely and (2) "strongly" supported it, on a four point scale, with "strongly oppose" at the other end. That yielded the 14% who were most strongly TP, and they were very upscale and very Republican.
In this poll, you're simply asked, "are you a supporter of the TP movement, an opponent of the TP movt, or neither?" Which means lots of people are probably steered toward saying they're a "supporter" when they have only the most superficial knowledge and approval of the TP. As a result 28% are categorized as supporters compared to 14% in the NYT poll (and I think a comparable number in the CNN poll).
My guess is that in this poll, "TP support" for many respondents is actually just a contentless token of Republican Party loyalty. They know there's "something Republican" about the TP, and that they're Republicans, so when pressured to call themselves supporters or opponents they call themselves supporters.
SA