The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism: on Tax Reform


Republican Party: 56% oppose raising taxes on earnings over $250,000

Older people with some accumulated equity can find an economic downturn very menacing because governments at all levels spend more on programs to help working-age families. Will governments respond by hiking levies on the more economically comfortable? Many Tea Party people are acutely worried that the answer will be yes. [One participant] reports a strong fear among Tea Partiers that they may be asked to pay higher taxes in the future, a result consistent with our fieldwork experience.

Tea Partiers' dread of tax hikes even surpasses the usual level at which Republicans worry about and oppose tax increases. 80% of Tea Partiers oppose raising taxes on Americans making more than $250,000 a year, a number that far exceeds the 56% of non- Tea Party Republicans who are opposed to such levies. Even compared to fellow conservatives, Tea Partiers are especially worried about the political response to the economic downturn--which helps explain why the Tea Party outburst happened when it did.

Source: The Remaking of Republican Conservatism, p. 31 Jan 2, 2012

Tea Party: 80% oppose taxing the rich, compared to 56% in GOP

Older people with some accumulated equity can find an economic downturn very menacing because governments at all levels spend more on programs to help working-age families. Will governments respond by hiking levies on the more economically comfortable? Many Tea Party people are acutely worried that the answer will be yes. [One participant] reports a strong fear among Tea Partiers that they may be asked to pay higher taxes in the future, a result consistent with our fieldwork experience.

Tea Partiers' dread of tax hikes even surpasses the usual level at which Republicans worry about and oppose tax increases. 80% of Tea Partiers oppose raising taxes on Americans making more than $250,000 a year, a number that far exceeds the 56% of non- Tea Party Republicans who are opposed to such levies. Even compared to fellow conservatives, Tea Partiers are especially worried about the political response to the economic downturn--which helps explain why the Tea Party outburst happened when it did.

Source: The Remaking of Republican Conservatism, p. 31 Jan 2, 2012

  • The above quotations are from The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism,
    by Theda Skocpol and Vanessa Williams.
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2016 Presidential contenders on Tax Reform:
  Republicans:
Gov.Jeb Bush(FL)
Dr.Ben Carson(MD)
Gov.Chris Christie(NJ)
Sen.Ted Cruz(TX)
Carly Fiorina(CA)
Gov.Jim Gilmore(VA)
Sen.Lindsey Graham(SC)
Gov.Mike Huckabee(AR)
Gov.Bobby Jindal(LA)
Gov.John Kasich(OH)
Gov.Sarah Palin(AK)
Gov.George Pataki(NY)
Sen.Rand Paul(KY)
Gov.Rick Perry(TX)
Sen.Rob Portman(OH)
Sen.Marco Rubio(FL)
Sen.Rick Santorum(PA)
Donald Trump(NY)
Gov.Scott Walker(WI) 		Democrats:
Gov.Lincoln Chafee(RI)
Secy.Hillary Clinton(NY)
V.P.Joe Biden(DE)
Gov.Martin O`Malley(MD)
Sen.Bernie Sanders(VT)
Sen.Elizabeth Warren(MA)
Sen.Jim Webb(VA)

2016 Third Party Candidates:
Gov.Gary Johnson(L-NM)
Roseanne Barr(PF-HI)
Robert Steele(L-NY)
Dr.Jill Stein(G,MA)
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Page last updated: Feb 21, 2019