‘The System Is Broken’: More From a Poll of Tea Party Backers

By MEGAN THEE-BRENAN and MARINA STEFAN

The latest New York Times/CBS News poll looks at the 18 percent of Americans who consider themselves supporters of the Tea Party movement.

On the whole, the supporters dislikePresident Obama and Congress and say that the government in Washington cannot be trusted. Most say that the country is seriously off course, and that all members of Congress should be replaced, yet most say the country does not need a third party.

The nationwide telephone poll, of 1,580 adults, was conducted April 5 through 12. For the purposes of analysis, Tea Party supporters were oversampled, for a total of 881, and then weighted to their proper proportion in the poll.

The following quotes were obtained in interviews with respondents after the poll was completed.

Dee Close, 47, homemaker, Memphis, independent

“I think the two-party system is fine, but when Republicans as well as Democrats get to Washington, they get caught up in using strategy and don’t have the backbone to fight for what they stand for. They should have a moral compass to guide their actions. I hope there won’t be a third party, but I like what they are saying. The Tea Party is doing what the Republican Party should be doing, but the people at the leadership level of the Republican Party are liberal; they are not true conservatives.”

Elwin Thrasher, 66, semiretired lawyer, Tallahassee, Fla., Republican

“I don’t appreciate the fact that Congress and the administration are running roughshod over the Constitution. It’s not just the health care bill, it’s everything. It’s the stimulus bill. If you look where that’s going, it’s all political, and it’s all waste. And they’re running up the deficit for our children and grandchildren. I hope there won’t be a need to have a third party. There will be a need if the Republicans keep behaving like Democrats. Look at the history of the Republican Party of late. They’ve been big spenders. They’ve been moving to the left themselves. If they don’t change we’ll have no option.”

Richard Gilbert, 72, retired Air Force officer and teacher, Aiken, S.C., independent

“Our system is bad. Every congressman and woman should step down, and we should start over. I don’t have respect for any congressperson, Republican or Democrat. The system is broken. I think Obama has potential, but we don’t want to be like Europe. Nothing can be accomplished until we get rid of the current mess and until there is some way of controlling Wall Street. We don’t need government to do everything for people.”

Richard Harris, 61, truck driver, St. Petersburg, Fla., independent

“I’m an extreme conservative. Government should do the military and the roads and just about nothing else. They foul everything up if they do. The private sector always does things better. I see less and less need for government. They call themselves my representatives, but basically they don’t represent me. They’re forever saying things like we need to reach across the aisle. Well, I don’t want you to reach across the aisle. The other side wants to control my life, overtax me and spend in insane ways.”

Jeff Harr, 39, information technology worker, Centreville, Va., independent

“If you allow government to continue to grow, you lose more and more control — control of your money, of your future, of everything. We’d rather deal with a smaller, more useful government by the people, as it was meant to be. That’s what fuels the anger of the Tea Party movement. It wasn’t the election of Obama, per se, but the sudden acceleration of government control. Every single administration increased the size of government, even the Republican administrations. Roosevelt increased government. When Bush took over, it was a gradual thing. That kind of slow death over a period of time people sort of ignore. But when Obama took over, with Pelosi and Reid, you got this tremendous impetus. Growth of government took on a velocity you couldn’t ignore. People suddenly woke up.”