Tea Party's Other Half

by David Kirby and Emily Ekins
This article appears on Politico.com on October 28, 2010.

There is no shortage of hypotheses about what the tea party movement is. Some embrace it as a revival of traditional conservatism. Many insist it is ginned up by billionaire funders as a means to fight regulations. Others view it as arch-social conservative Republicans, motivated by divisive issues like abortion, gay rights or even racial angst.

But all these explanations are missing much of the story. Liberterian attitudes are fueling roughly half the tea party activists, according to our new Cato Institute survey. These libertarian tea partiers believe "the less government the better" and don't see a role for government in promoting "traditional values." This is a big reason why the movement has largely focused on economic matters, resisting attempts to add social issues to its agenda.

President Barack Obama and the Democrats may well have over-interpreted the 2008 election as a mandate for liberalism. Now Republicans could be in similar danger if they over-interpret potential midterm gains in the House and Senate as a mandate for social as well as fiscal conservatism. Republicans should focus on a unifying economic agenda, according to our data, to avoid antagonizing the libertarian half of the Tea Party.

Just under half, or 48 percent, of tea partiers at the recent Virginia Tea Party Convention held views that are more accurately described as libertarian — fiscally conservative, to be sure, but moderate to liberal on social and cultural issues.

Read the rest @ Cato