Cool Research - Tea Party Rallies Had a Very Big Impact on Politics

[Valin]

Ricochet:

Adam Schaeffer

3/23/13

 

So all of those Tea Party rallies . . . were they just a bunch of yahoos talking to themselves about the Constitution, or did they actually have an impact? Turns out, the rallies had a pretty impressive impact on the 2010 elections and how Congressional members vote, according to a (very cool) paper from American Enterprise Institute researchers Andreas Madestam, Daniel Shoag, Stan Veuger, and David Yanagizawa-Drott.

 

(Snip)

 

This paper is very, very interesting and worth a closer look. But here are the highlights. The researchers conclude that having a Tea Party protest on Tax Day, April 15, in 2009 increased the number of Republican votes in that area for the 2010 midterm elections and caused their representatives to vote more conservatively.

 

In fact, they estimate that the protests led to an additional:

 

25,000 to 46,000 local Tea Party organizers

170,000 to 310,000 protesters on Tax Day 2010

$840,000 to $1.54 million in donations to Our Country Deserves Better PAC

3.2 to 5.8 million votes in the 2010 House elections

 

The rallies also:

 

Increased the likelihood that incumbent Democratic representatives decided to retire prior to the elections

Caused Congressmen to vote more conservatively in Congress

Effects were driven by a persistent increase in the movement’s strength

Led to more grassroots organizing, to larger subsequent protests and monetary contributions, and to stronger conservative beliefs

Had significant multiplier effects: for every protester, Republican votes increased by seven to fourteen votes.

 

(Snip)