The Tea Party and Racial Prejudice
EmailRand Paul’s equivocal position on desegregation in private business raises a sensitive issue for the Tea Party movement; our polling’s found that many of its critics suspect that racial prejudice is a significant factor in its support. Paul’s comment runs the risk of reinforcing that view among the movement’s opponents, and perhaps alienating some of those who now see it neutrally.
At a minimum, Paul’s position is not likely to be well-received by racial minorities, among whom, in a poll we did last year, 64 percent said they’d experienced a shopkeeper or sales clerk “trying to make you feel unwelcome just because of your race.”
At the same time, the Tea Party’s own supporters discount prejudice as a motivating factor in backing for the movement, and a statistical model we produced to evaluate this issue found that views on racial issues are not significant predictors of Tea Party support.
Among all Americans, 28 percent see racial prejudice against Barack Obama as a substantial factor in support for the Tea Party movement. There’s a vast divide beneath that number: Among supporters of the movement, 10 percent see prejudice as a factor; among those who view the Tea Party neutrally, 24 percent; among its opponents, that jumps to 57 percent. (These are the numbers who think the movement’s support is based “a great deal” or “a good amount” on prejudice against Obama. If we add in those who say it’s a factor, but “just some,” the numbers go higher.)
As we reported in our May 5 analysis, Tea Party supporters are less apt than other Americans to see racism as a major problem in this country – 58 percent do so, compared with 75 percent of all Americans. However, that appears to reflect the movement’s demographic base; views of racism as a major problem are lower among all “very conservative” Americans, and likewise among all whites, groups that are represented disproportionately in the Tea Party’s ranks.
Also, Tea Party supporters divide precisely evenly on whether Obama is doing too much or too little to represent the interests of African-Americans, with 18 percent on each side. (The rest say he’s handling it about right.) Those proportions are essentially equal among all Americans, too – 12 percent say Obama’s doing too much for African-Americans, 13 percent too little.
In sum, we don’t see evidence of racial motivation in Tea Party support. But the perception is there, particularly among the movement’s opponents, and as such poses a risk to its efforts to expand its appeal. Two other factors underscore that risk: A plurality of Americans, 44 percent, neither support nor oppose the movement, indicating they’re still at the information-gathering stage. And by a 9-point margin, 43-34 percent, more Americans in our last poll said the more they hear about the movement, the less they like it.
1:30 p.m. update: Paul's campaign has issued a statement on his view of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, saying, "I overwhelmingly agree with the intent of the legislation, which was to stop discrimination in the public sphere and halt the abhorrent practice of segregation and Jim Crow laws." See it here.
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Trying to discredit the Tea Party, by claiming they are racially prejudiced, will go no where, because it is simply a lie being told by the Dems…..who want to establish a dictatorship in America.
Posted by: Rick McDaniel | May 20, 2010, 1:00 pm 1:00 pm
Rob opined, “If a restaurant doesn’t want blacks, it should be allowed to do it.”
But you’re not racist, right? Bwahahahahaha! You are the very DEFINITION of racist. Cloaking your racism under the guise of ‘the government should stay out of our private lives’ is a joke. Since you supposedly feel this way, then I assume you also support gay marriage and unfettered access to abortion on demand. Since BOTH of these social issues involve governmental intrusion into private lives. Right?
Posted by: Searambler | May 20, 2010, 1:08 pm 1:08 pm
I think Paul is correct in his thinking. I do however think that some quotas have provided opportunities that would otherwise not have been. Real tough issue.
\m/ \m/ RIP
Posted by: Ben | May 20, 2010, 1:15 pm 1:15 pm
RACIST?? If we had a basketball tournament for “white coach’s only” the ACLU would have a screaming fit yet they see nothing wrong with a black coaches tournament. If the Ms. America contest was only avail to whites, Lord what a law suit but a “Black Miss America Contest” no problem. If you owned a business and records proved 90% of shoplifting was done by minorities you would not watch them more closely right??? You would not be in business long. America IS a prejudice country. Against white ,working,middle class people.
Posted by: claude | May 20, 2010, 1:22 pm 1:22 pm
wow…those who agree will rand paul statement are LOSERS……you cant have it both ways!
Posted by: stop being so selfish | May 20, 2010, 1:29 pm 1:29 pm
YAWN…. Oh what, a liberal media wonk is throwing out the race card in an attempt to discredit a conservative and/or justify big government, this is a different straw man argument then how for the past 50 years?
Posted by: Charles | May 20, 2010, 1:29 pm 1:29 pm
Forget race, why not just get the gov out of stuff that affects everyone, Health Care rammed down our throats. Every poll I saw majority were against it. No smoking bans for the state. If I own a business and want to allow smoking I should be able to, if someone doesn’t like that, then they don’t have to do business with me or work for me.
Thing is the dems run the media, so you see most issue the way they want you to see them. Mainly from one side.
Posted by: does it matter | May 20, 2010, 1:34 pm 1:34 pm
Racist blaming is getting old. We all elected a black President didnt we? Now that we are unhappy with the way he is running things, the only thing they can think of to call people a racist.If thier view is different than yours. So SILLY ANYMORE to go there. The real problem is how a person leads our people. It is either the right way or the wrong way. Honor our Constitution.
Posted by: Sandra | May 20, 2010, 1:39 pm 1:39 pm
I had the unfortunate experience of wandering in a tea party gathering at a 4th of July event in Philadelphia. Hatred permeated the air, and the only thing missing were a burning cross and white sheets. Couldn’t wait to get away from these nuts. Of course, these people talk both views: keep the government out in one breat, and the government should have done this in the other.
Posted by: leogorky | May 20, 2010, 1:40 pm 1:40 pm
So to summarize, the facts you’ve gathered indicated race is not a motivating factor among Tea Partiers, but the “perception is there.” Maybe the perception exists because the media and liberals keep accusing them of racism when they know (as you admit) the charge is false. Why don’t you stop forcing the Tea Partiers to address the perception the evidence says is false and start calling out Tea Party opponents on the racism lie itself?
Posted by: Ken | May 20, 2010, 1:57 pm 1:57 pm
I go to a coin store occasionally. The owner has a buzzer that he pushes to allow people to enter after he has “profiled” them. Is he right to profile for access? Certainly a coin store would be a target for some folks. He also keeps one hand on his 45 while he monitors your activities once you have entered. I don’t know what the answer to this question is. Maddow was trying to score some controversy. She should have asked Rand about the spiraling debt and out of control spending which will be our undoing.
Posted by: Huh | May 20, 2010, 2:02 pm 2:02 pm
Claude wrote, “RACIST?? If we had a basketball tournament for “white coach’s only” the ACLU would have a screaming fit…..”
There IS a guy looking to start a whites-only basketball league in Georgia. Look up “All American Basketball Alliance”…..
Posted by: Searambler | May 20, 2010, 3:18 pm 3:18 pm
Huh wrote, “Maddow was trying to score some controversy. She should have asked Rand about the spiraling debt and out of control spending which will be our undoing.”
She probably wanted to, but ran out of time. Paul danced and danced and danced around answering her questions. Then danced some more. In fact he spun like a true politician. After spending nearly 15 minutes on the Maddow show, today he felt he had to “clarify” what he said! Even though he’s never held elected office, he sure danced like an old political pro…….
Posted by: Searambler | May 20, 2010, 3:24 pm 3:24 pm
Ben, Your entire argument yells bias. “90% of shoplifting was done by minorities”. 95% of shoplifting is done by poor people. 75% of shoplifting in America is done by Christians. 99% of shoplifting is done by people who wear clothes. My god man, do you suspect everyone who comes into your store wearing clothes…Do you ask whether or not they are Christian? I’ll bet that 99% of them have hair on their heads. Fact is, you chose “minorities” as the deciding factor because of a racial bias.
Posted by: berjoe | May 20, 2010, 3:36 pm 3:36 pm
Blacks have said the republican party has never done anything for the black man.
I suggest that it would be better if neither party had done anything for either the white or the black man.
The government owes us national defense and all this nanny state stuff is what has driven us into a debt that no-one intends to pay, EVER!
If we were to balance the budget yesterday. If the interest rate were to remain constant at 2%. If the government would pay $0.5 trillion per year on the national debt. It would take 50 years to pay off the debt. Now how many of those ifs are we willing to tackle?
Posted by: Ed Taylor | May 20, 2010, 4:44 pm 4:44 pm
Rand Paul a racist? Probably not. But I do think that had Mr. Paul been on that bus back in 1955 when Rosa Parks was told to take a back seat, that Mr. Paul would have sat there in silence. Mr. Pauls comments suggesting that the federal government should not have intervened in the Jim Crow South is disturbing and political watchers should keep a close eye on this man and his tea party beliefs.
Posted by: A.Lincoln | May 20, 2010, 8:01 pm 8:01 pm
Simply attacking your opponent at every opportunity for being a racist doesn’t contribute to the public debate and the development of policies. Liberals should explain why they oppose the tea party platform.
Posted by: Marco | May 20, 2010, 9:23 pm 9:23 pm
Wow, Ben, it is funny you say that minorities are 90% of shoplifters. This shows your racism right there, as you have no stats to back that up, just stereotypes. When I worked in retail, the sales people always assumed the minorities were theives and would follow them around, but the most wanted in that store and the mall,were all white, go figure. Also if you had researched you would have known that whites steal more than blacks and that is a fact!! While I don’t have up to date info, I was able to find info that stated that in 1999, 61% of larceny crimes were white and almost 67% in 2002 of national shoplifting crimes were committed by whites. This is the reason ethnic studies classes are needed, so HISstory(which fosters these stereotypes) is not confused with history.
Posted by: History not HISstory | May 20, 2010, 9:57 pm 9:57 pm
>> In sum, we don’t see evidence of racial motivation in Tea Party support. <<
And with that statement, Gary Langer, I deem you incompetent.
Or maybe…did you bust out laughing after you wrote that lie, knowing nobody would believe it, but heck, let's give it a try?
A newborn could tell you the Tea Party are TOTAL AND COMPLETE racists.
ABC polling needs to lie down and read some inkblot tests, because it's definitely koo-koo.
Posted by: Racist Paul the III | May 21, 2010, 2:59 am 2:59 am
Not judging the tea party in general, but this guy is a racist. He went around the questions and never fully answered them. Anyone that would question and put down the civil rights admendment and movement and what it means to this country has issues. Refusing to sell your home because of the color of someones skin? He didn’t answer the questions and that is not good!
Posted by: Maria | May 21, 2010, 7:54 am 7:54 am
That would be fair if George would slam all the political reps the way he trashes Rand Paul. To bad George is so bias, what democrat is lining his pockets with extra cash?
Posted by: April Jansen | May 21, 2010, 11:02 am 11:02 am
Whew when does the bullcrap become so tiresome that there is backlash? Rand has no ‘equivocal’ position on race… he’s against racism, period. What this blogger doesn’t want to understand is, having a philosophical converstation about the role of gov’t has nothing to do with positions and is the mark of a thoughtful person like Rand.
The more the press blows this up into something it is not, the more they marginalize themselves as abject whiners who know that they are about to get a drubbing in November.
Posted by: NH | May 21, 2010, 2:41 pm 2:41 pm
Further, I challenge you leogorky to show any proof that the tea party permeated hatred. Even the most leftist reporters have said this is not true.
This is part of the commie manifesto —— stir up racial controversy where there is none.
If someone can’t have a philosophical conversation about the role of gov’t in enforcing laws without having it extended into something it is not, then it does’t bode well for freedom of speech.
Of course, this dictatorship would love to silence all critics, but the racism charge just isn’t going to do it.
Posted by: NH | May 21, 2010, 2:45 pm 2:45 pm
LOL if it quacks like a duck, walk like a duck it’s a duck. Republican’s no matter how they deny it has an appeal to people that are intolerant. Look at the tea party they are mostly white, and mostly republicans.
Did they ever endorsed a black republican?
Posted by: mambojam | May 21, 2010, 7:37 pm 7:37 pm
Golly, why is the tea party associated with racism? Because the democrates and mainstream media say their racist. Both Jimmy Carter and Nancy Pelosi clearly stated on national television that tea partiers are racist! The democrats now oen the word and are the one ones allowed to use it these days.
The real racists in the country are the democrats and minorities that push policies based on ethnicity! Ethnicity should not be part of politics anymore than religion!!
Posted by: tobeornottobe | May 26, 2010, 10:52 am 10:52 am
Isn’t it amazing how some peoples answer to everything is that it is racial? Perhaps the racial implication is that Teapartiers want to dismantle the cradle to the grave care the government currently provides. They want to have the tax dollars spent responsibly. They want the deficit, now at an all time high, brought under control. They want another option besides just democrats and republicans who are just mirror images these days. Why should the taxpayers have to spend money to rebuild the houses of people in New Orleans who didn’t have flood insurance? I had damage to my house during hurricane Ike. I had flood insurance. If I hadn’t had it I woud not expect the taxpayers to pay for my carelessness.
Teapartiers just follow the ant and the grasshopper parable. They are ants while certain others are the grasshoppers.
Posted by: slatibarfarst | May 26, 2010, 7:39 pm 7:39 pm
The racist blame game is getting soooo old. Time to develop a new argument. The tea party is for fiscal responsibility. They want to remove failed federal programs such as those that provide cradle to the grave care. Everyone is entitled to an equal chance. The problem we have with the racists who constantly scream racism is that not they want to legislate an equal outcome without putting in the effort. Ever heard of quotas? How are they not racist? Is it because only whites can be racist?
Posted by: slatibarfarst | May 27, 2010, 1:01 am 1:01 am
Look at mambojam. Because the tea party, as he claims is mostly white it has to be racist. Of course his comment isn’t racist. What a double standard. Hypocrite.
Posted by: slatibarfarst | May 27, 2010, 1:05 am 1:05 am
FACT.The racial composition of the US pop. as of 2008 was 79.79% White American (65.60% non-Hispanic and 14.19% Hispanic), 12.84% African American (12.22% non-Hispanic and 0.62% Hispanic), 4.45% Asian American (4.35% non-Hispanic and 0.10% Hispanic), 1.01% American Indian or Alaska Native (0.76% non-Hispanic and 0.25% Hispanic), 0.18% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander American (0.14% non-Hispanic and 0.04% Hispanic), and 1.69% Multiracial American (1.64% non-Hispanic and 0.05% Hispanic). 15.25% of the total US pop. identified their ethnicity as Hispanic.Prison pop.The racial composition of the US prison and jail pop. as of 2008 was 33.44% White American (non-Hispanic), 40.21% African American (non-Hispanic), 20.29% Hispanic, and 6.06% Other (American Indian, Alaska Native, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander American, and Multiracial American).African Americans were arrested more than any other race for murder in 2008, making up 36% of all arrests. African Americans, constituting approximately 12% of the general pop, were significantly overrepresented in the total arrests made. African Americans were also significantly overrepresented in victimization, representing 47% of all murder victims. White Americans and individuals of Other race were significantly underrepresented in cases of murder and non-negligible homicide in 2008.Social control theory, which is among the most popular theories in criminology,[63] proposes that crime is most commonly perpetrated by individuals who lack strong bonds or connections with their social environment. Based upon Travis Hirschi’s Causes of Delinquency, social bonding theory pioneered the notion that criminologists can gain useful insight into the motives behind criminal behavior by examining what normally motivates individuals to refrain from crime. From this it is a it is argued that, in those segments of the pop. where such motivation is lacking, crime will be more prevalent.I REST MY CASE
Posted by: slatibarfarst | June 1, 2010, 12:22 am 12:22 am
Some cultures ARE more prone to crime and violence. This is fact, not fiction. When the black community embraces education and respect for others with the same voracity that they do drugs, gangs, violence, and the street thug mentaility, things will not improve. This isn’t racist. It is just, unfortunately, the way things are.
Posted by: slatibarfarst | June 1, 2010, 12:24 am 12:24 am
FACT.The racial composition of the US pop. as of 2008 was 79.79% White American (65.60% non-Hispanic and 14.19% Hispanic), 12.84% African American (12.22% non-Hispanic and 0.62% Hispanic), 4.45% Asian American (4.35% non-Hispanic and 0.10% Hispanic), 1.01% American Indian or Alaska Native (0.76% non-Hispanic and 0.25% Hispanic), 0.18% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander American (0.14% non-Hispanic and 0.04% Hispanic), and 1.69% Multiracial American (1.64% non-Hispanic and 0.05% Hispanic). 15.25% of the total US pop. identified their ethnicity as Hispanic.Prison pop.The racial composition of the US prison and jail pop. as of 2008 was 33.44% White American (non-Hispanic), 40.21% African American (non-Hispanic), 20.29% Hispanic, and 6.06% Other (American Indian, Alaska Native, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander American, and Multiracial American).African Americans were arrested more than any other race for murder in 2008, making up 36% of all arrests. African Americans, constituting approximately 12% of the general pop, were significantly overrepresented in the total arrests made. African Americans were also significantly overrepresented in victimization, representing 47% of all murder victims. White Americans and individuals of Other race were significantly underrepresented in cases of murder and non-negligible homicide in 2008.Social control theory, which is among the most popular theories in criminology,[63] proposes that crime is most commonly perpetrated by individuals who lack strong bonds or connections with their social environment. Based upon Travis Hirschi’s Causes of Delinquency, social bonding theory pioneered the notion that criminologists can gain useful insight into the motives behind criminal behavior by examining what normally motivates individuals to refrain from crime. From this it is a it is argued that, in those segments of the pop. where such motivation is lacking, crime will be more prevalent.I REST MY CASE
Posted by: slatibarfarst | June 1, 2010, 12:21 pm 12:21 pm
Sorry….that post was for another story that is being buried about a hate crime perpetrated by blacks against a white boy in Seattle.
Posted by: slatibarfarst | June 1, 2010, 12:23 pm 12:23 pm
Ok, so a political group like the NAACP can get together and actually state their purpose in their name is the advancement of a specific race, but they are not a racist organization. But a political movement of people that are all white is called racist on a DAILY BASIS? Pot, meet kettle.
Posted by: Nick | June 3, 2010, 6:23 pm 6:23 pm
This entire discussion is bogus. It’s time we all accept the fact that everyone has racial preferences and prejudices and there’s nothing wrong with that. it’s called “natural selection.”
Think otherwise? Then lets put every black man in jail who marries a black woman because in choosing to marry a black woman he is discriminating against whites, asians, arabs, and latinos.
Posted by: RHarrisonScott | June 9, 2010, 11:45 am 11:45 am
The TEA PARTY IS NOT RACIST.A naive comment from a fool.Ten percent of even self described Tea partiers believe it is.If you belong to a group and 10% of them say bigoted things and you don’t expel them and repudiate there bigotry,you should quit them or YOU too are a racist.People who let themselves be used by hatemongers are just as bad as them.
Posted by: chip | June 9, 2010, 2:18 pm 2:18 pm