Isn't part of the story that poverty has been racialized? In my conversations with TP'ers and their sympathizers, most of the poor are usually assumed to be non-white.
Steve Bruns
Eric Beck wrote:
>
>> I know attributing anything to race is gauche around here these days,
>> but really, the tea party can only be understood as the latest
>> expression of good old American racism.
^^^^^^^^ CB: Agree. This study demonstrates that the Tea Party , in true Reaganite form, is focused on Welfare for People of Color , especially Black People< , as the "big" part of government they are against. Recall the centrality of Reagan's Black welfare queen/cheat to his anti-"govt". campaign. The build up to making "Liberal" a dirty word in national political discourse( such that almost no Democrats want the name anymore after decades of it being almost synonymous with Democrat )was through the code words "Tax and Spend Liberals" meaning "N-loving white politicians" , LBJ with his War on Poverty, Great Society and Civil Rights Acts being the archtype N-loving white politician. LBJ was a traitor as well given he had been a segregationist Senator and switched to our side. It's like a general deserting the Confederacy to the Union.. Anyway, the Tea Party, keeping up with the times, has an emphasis on anti-Immigrant of color, especially Mexicans ( see Glen Beck, Lou Dobbs, ) white supremacy, including with respect to Obama in the importance of the Birthers in the Tea Party coalition.