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From: Cliff on 4 May 2010 05:21

http://caivn.org/article/2010/05/03/poll-shows-tea-party-would-run-big-budget-deficits-and-increase-national-debt
"Poll shows Tea Party would run big budget deficits and increase the national
debt"
[
.....
In a CBS/NY Times poll, 91% of Tea Partiers supported a smaller government with
fewer services. However, 62% stated that they believed Social Security,
Medicare, and Medicaid are worth the cost. But, a pie chart for FY 2009 reveals
that these three entitlement programs accounted for a whopping 42% of the
federal budget.

Defense spending (DoD and the War on Terror) accounted for a substantial 22% of
the federal budget, and anecdotal evidence seems to strongly suggest that the
Tea Party (non-Ron Paul faction) has no interest in cutting military spending.

Taken together, entitlement and military expenditures comprise approximately 64%
of the federal budget, yet Tea party supporters are hesitant to make any cuts in
these critical areas of the budget, despite record deficits.

Surprisingly, their hesitancy is also consistent with three other key
statistics.

When asked what they were most angry about, Tea Party supporters ranked
government spending behind health care reform and a government that was not
properly representing the people. When asked what the primary goal of the Tea
Party movement should be, only 45% selected reducing the federal government.
And when asked to decide between tax cuts or deficit reduction, 49% favored tax
cuts, while 42% favored deficit reduction.

Even more telling, 66% of Tea Party supporters viewed Sarah Palin in a positive
light, 57% viewed George W. Bush positively, and a mere 28% viewed Ron Paul
favorably. But, these preferences seem to strongly contradict a message of
limited government and less debt.

Sarah Palin defended the $700 billion Wall St bailout during the 2008
presidential campaign, and supported John McCain's big spending policies. Palin
also strongly supports the current $1 trillion military budget.

And as we all know, George W. Bush and a Republican Congress (for most of his
administration) never balanced the budget, added trillions to the national debt,
helped devalue the US Dollar by 20%, grew the size of the federal government,
and bailed out Wall St.
....
Taken in their totality, the poll numbers appear to strongly contradict the
public message of the Post-Obama, Sarah Palin-led Tea Party movement. While the
message is one of fiscal conservatism, the numbers show that much like the
Reagan (who had a Republican Senate for most of his administration) and George
W. Bush administrations, the Post-Obama Tea Party would cut taxes, run big
budget deficits, skyrocket the national debt, weaken the Dollar, and increase
the size of the Federal Government.

As a result, critics may have a case when they point out that the current Tea
Party movement is more about politics than it is about actual policy.
]
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