"the gap between most Democrats and Tea Party backers is informational, not ideological"

[PETRUS]

Dean Baker:

"...the vast majority of Tea Party backers agree with the vast majority of Democrats in their opposition to cuts in Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. The main difference is that the Tea Party backers seem to believe that there is some other area of government spending, other than defense, that can be cut back to reduce or eliminate the budget deficit. Of course this is not true. However the nature of the gap between most Democrats and Tea Party backers is informational, not ideological."

Read more: http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/beat-the-press/new-york-times-gets-it-fundamentally-wrong-on-the-budget-impasse

[kentuck]

1. This is probably more true than we would like to think?

They get their info from FOX.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

2. This may be true of the rank and file

Tea Party backers, but their leadership is always calling for cuts in SS, Medicare and Medicaid.

[annabanana]

4. The leadership is 100% plutocrat.

They have zero interest in the American population in ANY aggregate.

[Sekhmets Daughter]

6. Exactly.

You have to wonder why there are still rank and file supporters.

[annabanana]

3. The fact that the rank & file of the Tea Party consists almost entirely

of "low information voters" who have been fed a steady diet of RW cant and lies is at the heart of this entirely true situation.

Seeing signs saying "Keep the Government out of my Medicare" should be sufficient proof of that.

edit: The day that those low-info folks become informed is the dawning day of the revolution!

[bunnies]

5. Teabaggers / Pubelickens = dumb. Progressives / Libs = smart.

This is news?

[kenny blankenship]

7. Ideology limits what they (both groups actually) will take onboard as "information"

[unblock]

8. this gives them way too much credit. if somehow they could accept the truth,

they would STILL stick to their positions.