Tea Party Study Deals in Gross Distortions of Fact

COMMENTARY | An op-ed piece in the New York Times Tuesday hit the media like a bull in a china shop -- not a bad comparison considering its effect on the public opinions of the Tea Party. The piece, written by Notre Dame professor David E. Campbell and Harvard professor Robert D. Putnam, presented data they acquired while conducting research for their book "American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us." While I am not "in the Tea Party," I am an independent and a Christian and have trouble with their findings.

The authors added questions to their previous surveys done in 2006 and 2007 regarding atheists and the Tea Party movement. They discovered and published in the New York Times that the Tea Party is "less popular than much maligned groups like 'atheists' and 'Muslims.'" They also included sweeping generalizations painting Tea Party supporters as unpopular, racist, Christian white people whose main agenda is to put God in government.

Although Campbell says studying the Tea Party movement was an afterthought -- "We didn't go into this study to look at the tea party" -- it should also be noted the polling group was made up of 3,000 Americans. If you take into account that there are over 100 million voters in this country (an interesting correlation: over 100 million votes were tallied for the latest "American Idol" competition.) 3,000 responses to a single poll is hardly fact. But, then again, this is the start of the next political mud pit leading up to the 2012 presidential election.

The breakdown of those associated with the Tea Party include 57 percent Republicans, 28 percent Independent and 13 percent Democrats, according to three national polls by the Winston Group, per the Washington Post. In addition, two-thirds called themselves conservative, 26 percent moderate and 8 percent liberal.

No matter: Campbell and Putnam came along and presented information that paints the Tea Party as full of extremists with a frightening agenda. Unflattering comparisons and sweeping generalizations are part of the game. As is labeling one side or the other as having an inherently evil agenda, I suppose.

Personally, it seems strange to me how political correctness has taken such a stronghold, almost to the point that being a Christian in America is reason enough to be hated.