# Most Tea Party Supporters Say Their Taxes Are Fair **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 14, 2010, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tea-party-supporters-say-their-taxes-are-fair/536112 "2010-04-14T19:51:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tea-party-supporters-say-their-taxes-are-fair/536112/41 "2010-04-15T01:03:42Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > A [CBS poll of those who support the Tea Party](http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20002487-503544.html) movement reveals that 52% of respondents feel their taxes are fair. > > So who is the “cut taxes” theme at their rallies appealing to? Are they out of touch? Does this bode poorly for their impact in the November elections? Here’s my take: the word “fair” is a hell of a word. I think it’s possible to think that one pays a fair amount of taxes but still want the overall level of taxes to be lower (because of the effect on the economy of high rates of taxation). So, overall, I don’t think this survey shows a hell of a lot. Also, if the results would have gone the other way (i.e., 98% say their taxes aren’t fair), you would have just called them greedy and selfish for not wanting to pay taxes. So, this survey was a dream for you because it gave you more reason to throw shit on the Tea Party folks no matter how the results came out. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tea-party-supporters-say-their-taxes-are-fair/536112/42 "2010-04-15T01:15:44Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > So they are preaching “your taxes are too high”, even when the audience disagrees, and you don’t see a disconnect? Note that I said “taxes are too high”. Bit of a difference. And “taxes” means a lot more than just “income taxes”, which is the only thing the poll asked about. But if you want to think this poll spells the implosion of the Tea Party movement, knock yourself out. Frankly, I don’t think they have much staying power, but that’s because they’re leaderless and unfocused. Not because of some poorly executed poll. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tea-party-supporters-say-their-taxes-are-fair/536112/43 "2010-04-15T01:28:41Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Also, if the results would have gone the other way (i.e., 98% say their taxes aren’t fair), you would have just called them greedy and selfish for not wanting to pay taxes. So, this survey was a dream for you because it gave you more reason to throw shit on the Tea Party folks no matter how the results came out. To be honest, I think this poll paints the supporters as reasonable, and the activists as less reasonable. Frankly, I would have thought the supporters would be more rabidly anti-tax. That’s why I think the tax cut message is misplaced. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tea-party-supporters-say-their-taxes-are-fair/536112/44 "2010-04-15T01:32:10Z")
FI, you don’t get it. Whether someone thinks their taxes are “fair” or not doesn’t necessarily say much about whether they are “anti-tax” or not. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tea-party-supporters-say-their-taxes-are-fair/536112/45 "2010-04-15T01:40:48Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > But if you want to think this poll spells the implosion of the Tea Party movement, knock yourself out. Frankly, I don’t think they have much staying power, but that’s because they’re leaderless and unfocused. Not because of some poorly executed poll. I hope not, the success of the Tea Party creates problems for the Republicans. There is not a shot in hell they will succeed outright, but they could play spoiler to who ever runs in 2012, or even this year in the mid terms. That is what I am hoping for nationwide; endless ideological purity tests and conservative disarray. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tea-party-supporters-say-their-taxes-are-fair/536112/46 "2010-04-15T01:42:53Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > FI, you don’t get it. Whether someone thinks their taxes are “fair” or not doesn’t necessarily say much about whether they are “anti-tax” or not. You must be using the Ayn Rand Unabridged Dictionary again, RR, 'cause to the rest of us, we don’t protest that which we consider fair. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tea-party-supporters-say-their-taxes-are-fair/536112/47 "2010-04-15T01:43:16Z")
Keep hoping. Tea Partiers are just making noise. They’ll vote Republican. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tea-party-supporters-say-their-taxes-are-fair/536112/48 "2010-04-15T01:46:22Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > You must be using the Ayn Rand Unabridged Dictionary again, RR, 'cause to the rest of us, we don’t protest that which we consider fair. You think that everyone that responds to a survey must think the exact same thing you do about the words in the question asked in the survey. I recognize that people can attach different meanings to words and not everyone thinks that a word means exactly what I think it means. Remember the thread showing a huge disparity (mostly among Democrats) when people were asked whether “gays” should serve in the military and whether “homosexuals” should serve? The same thing could be going on here. But you don’t understand any of this. You think people who you describe as “anti-tax” should also answer that taxes aren’t “fair.” ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tea-party-supporters-say-their-taxes-are-fair/536112/49 "2010-04-15T01:48:28Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Keep hoping. Tea Partiers are just making noise. They’ll vote Republican. Whistle past the graveyard much? 😃 Apparently you are too young to remember Ralph Nader in '00. If you think that can’t happen to the GOP, we have you right where we want you. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tea-party-supporters-say-their-taxes-are-fair/536112/50 "2010-04-15T01:53:30Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > You think that everyone that responds to a survey must think the exact same thing you do about the words in the question asked in the survey. I recognize that people can attach different meanings to words and not everyone thinks that a word means exactly what I think it means. I believe that words have meanings, and simple words like “fair” and “unfair” have meanings that are understood by most people. If it comforts you to think this is some impenetrable mystery we cannot learn anything from, I won’t try to dissuade you. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tea-party-supporters-say-their-taxes-are-fair/536112/51 "2010-04-15T02:37:48Z")
Do you think simple words like “gay” and “homosexual” have meanings that are understood by most people? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2010, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tea-party-supporters-say-their-taxes-are-fair/536112/52 "2010-04-15T02:48:30Z")
I am sure you have some Socratic ambush you think is very clever, but I will pass. Your Jedi mind tricks will not work here. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-tea-party-supporters-say-their-taxes-are-fair/536112.md?page=2)