Mad As Hell: How the Tea Party Movement Is Fundamentally Remaking Our Two-Party System [Hardcover]

Scott Rasmussen (Author), Doug Schoen (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 14, 2010

Today's raucous revolt against Washington and Wall Street is a classic populist uprising. Now two respected political pollsters show what it means for the future of American politics.

The riotous tea parties and town hall meetings of last summer seemingly took everyone by surprise. They shouldn't have. Populist movements have always arisen in times of economic hardship. Here, Scott Rasmussen and Doug Schoen explore the heart of the uprising that has thrown American politics into turmoil.

In the past, populist movements have taken root either on the right or on the left. Today's revolt has two wings: a left wing that wants universal health care and a right wing that wants to reduce the power of governmental influence in our lives. Both are hostile to the Washington political class, Wall Street, and the mainstream media -- all of which they consider out of touch with the concerns of ''real'' Americans. The difference is that left-wing populists are effectively represented by Barack Obama and congressional Democrats, while right-wing populists are chiefly represented by Fox News and Rush Limbaugh -- a potentially more powerful political force. Many have failed to comprehend the new populism, dismissing it as marginal and extreme. But it is reshaping American politics, whether politicians and elite journalists like it or not. The Tea Party movement is not a flash in the pan. Nor is it a movement of racist rednecks and ignorant boobs, as some have crudely suggested. It is an authentic grassroots movement of concerned American citizens demanding to be heard by an out-of-touch political establishment. Their concerns are real, their issues legitimate. The new populism is here to stay, and it has already changed our politics for the better. Mad As Hell is an authoritative guide to the new populism, featuring proprietary polling data, political analysis, results from online focus groups, and more. It is a must-read for anyone interested in American electoral politics.

--This text refers to the MP3 CD edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The unvarnished truth about the movement that is re-making the face of America. ... “Mad As Hell” is more than a ‘must read’—it’s a required read for every tea party loyalist and even those that fear them. (NewsMax )

What makes this new book a must-read ... is the reality that our daily news cycle is in many ways driven by the Tea Party. (Huffington Post )

Useful and balanced book...Readers who think they are in the political class might do well to pay heed. (Foreign Affairs )

Rasmussen and Schoen’s book clarifies much about our contemporary politics and identifies important causes of our current political malaise. It is the best available guide to the politics of 2010. (The Atlantic )

Essential to understanding America in 2010. (The Daily Caller )

What [Rasmussen and Schoen] convincingly show is that economic stagnation and the collapse of equality and opportunity have produced an equally catastrophic decline in confidence in every sort of public institution - including political parties, big business, big labor, the media and mainline organized religion. (Los Angeles Times )

About the Author

SCOTT RASMUSSEN, an independent public-opinion pollster, is the founder of Rasmussen Reports, which attracts more visitors than any other public-opinion firm. The Washington Post calls him ''a driving force in American politics,'' and he appears regularly on Fox, CNBC, and CNN.

DOUG SCHOEN cofounded the landmark political-polling firm Penn, Schoen, and Berland. A moderate Democrat and Fox News contributor, he publishes editorials for the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Forbes.com, Politico, and the Huffington Post. He was named pollster of the year by the American Association of Political Consultants in 1996. --This text refers to the MP3 CD edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Harper (September 14, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061995231
• ISBN-13: 978-0061995231
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #705,435 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 71 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars First Class Job! September 18, 2010

By Rufus James

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

The authors did a first class job of analyzing a new, dynamic force on the America political scene--the Tea Party movement. They did a masterful job of laying out the historical background of American populism and the populist movements that preceded the Tea Party movement. Moving from history into real time, the authors did an excellent job of analyzing the Tea Parties. Who is active in the movement? What is their motivation? Who are their heroes? Who do they dislike?

The book may be as prescient as "The Emerging Republican Majority" was in its time.

Whether one agrees or disagrees with their conclusions, the data presented in the book is a real eye opener for students of politics. The book is very readable. The tables and graphs are placed conveniently so that readers do not have to keep flipping pages. The book is excellent and I thoroughly recommend it.

35 of 42 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Dr. Paul, your reinforcements have arrived! September 21, 2010

By Bob Akimbo

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

The authors have done America a great service with this very thorough look at the Tea Party movement. They have analyzed vast amounts of polling data and drawn conclusions that have stripped bare the elephant in the room. They have carefully lined up and connected most of the dots, with a couple of glaring exceptions.

It's evident that they were in a rush to get this book to market, but despite very sloppy editing and loads of repetition (there were times when I thought my Kindle had skipped back a couple chapters), the book is a very easy and enjoyable read.

The basic premise is that there is a "widening gulf between the beliefs and attitudes of the political elite and those of mainstream America." The authors point to the Tea Party as the front line in the current struggle of the American mainstream. They also show that the Tea Party movement is broadly based and deeply rooted, and any attempt by the political and media elite to ignore or marginalize it is done so at great peril. You can't write off "teabaggers" as racist, because the vast majority of them are not; and you can't write them off as "crazy" because most of them are quite well versed politically and make very reasonable arguments for their case against an overly intrusive government. The authors' research shows that the Tea Party movement is viewed at least as favorably as Republicans and Democrats (despite being much less known), and that the majority of Americans sympathize with their views. Any time a politician or pundit calls a Tea Party candidate "wing nut" "wack job" "Astroturf" etc., they only add fuel to the fire and further incense that majority. On these points, the authors are spot on, and their conclusions are solidly reinforced with empirical data....

One big dot that the authors fail to connect, however, is the mainstream public's lack of trust and sometimes downright disgust with the Federal Reserve, which the authors dismiss as a "handy scapegoat." A strong case can be made, and the majority of Americans agree, that the Federal Reserve and its policies are substantially, if not primarily, responsible for our current economic mess. After all, the Fed is the very pinnacle of the political elite that the authors accurately describe as the main target of public outrage, and Americans recognize this. So much so that their outcry forced 320 US Congressmen to co-sponsor a bill by Ron Paul to thoroughly audit the Fed and make its inner workings transparent. Of course the final version was like a Band-Aid on a beheading, but such is the power that the political elite wield in the hallowed halls of Congress.

The authors identify "three distinct groups" that make up the Tea Party. 1. Angered political newcomers, 2. Betrayed Independents, 3. Republican conservatives. They also propose that the Tea Party movement "did not exist at the time that President Obama took office." It is here that the authors fail to connect the most important dots. There is a fourth group that makes up the Tea Party movement, and they were definitely on the scene before Obama became President. They held Tea Parties as early as 2006, exploded onto the political scene in 2007 in the form of the "Ron Paul Revolution," have continued to advocate for Tea Party ideals and candidates, and have created dozens, if not hundreds, of alternative liberty based media outlets. It is a mistake to discount the groundswell of support for Ron Paul's 2008 presidential bid, and the indelible mark it left on the Tea Party movement - its very namesake. While the authors do make a nod to the granddaddy of all Tea Parties, Ron Paul's December 16, 2007 Tea Party, which was held on the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, and raised over $6 million in a single day, they completely ignore the Ron Paul Revolution which planted the seeds and watered the grass roots movement that we see today. The spontaneous outpouring and ceaseless energy of tens of thousands of volunteers during Paul's presidential campaign cannot be misunderestimated [Bushism intended].

In December of 2007, the web metrics firm Compete released their latest "Candidate FaceTime" metric, which measures time spent across political social networking sites. In the month of November 2007, Ron Paul supporters accounted for a staggering 87% of the time spent on political social networks among 16 presidential candidates! And this was not just a bunch of people sitting at home on their computers (some of it was). This translated into very real and widespread action through websites like Meetup.com. Every city in the United States had active Ron Paul Meetup groups where people met to discuss economics and reduced government spending, plan their canvassing activities, and cover the streets with Ron Paul signs. This enormous energy has not dissipated. Still today, there are nearly 700 active Ron Paul Meetup groups, compared to 460 for Republicans, 210 for Democrats, and 58 for Obama.

On September 2, 2008, after what most pundits believed was a failed presidential bid, over 10,000 Ron Paul supporters gathered for the Rally for the Republic in Minneapolis, Minnesota which coincided with, and was right across the river from, the Republican National Convention. This audacious, tenacious, and vivacious commitment to the principles of individual freedom and responsibility cannot be discounted. Ron Paul Republicans may only be one part of the Tea Party, but if they aren't its heart, they are its marrow.

At the rally, Ron Paul vowed, "This revolution will continue." About his presidential campaign Ron Paul continued, "I had no idea what it would lead to, but I firmly believe now, our day is coming. The conditions are such that there is room now for the defense of liberty. An idea whose time has come cannot be stopped by any army or any government." He went on to emphasize with atypical emotion, "Our day is just beginning. We're talking about many millions of people in this country and around the world who have heard this message, and it's growing, and it seems like even if they try, they can't stop us."

But they will continue to try. According to the authors, "What more and more Americans see when they look at the traditional media is an apparatus that has, continually, missed the big political stories altogether, or misunderstood them, or attempted to dismiss them until events made ignoring them impossible." If this isn't the pot calling the kettle black, then I'm growing a beard in the palm of my hand. Every mention of Ron Paul in this book makes sure to include the term "libertarian" in a dismissive manner. Paul "vilifies" and "scapegoats" Ben Bernanke, his legislation is "radical" and he inhabits the "political fringe." Mentioned as potential Tea Party presidential candidates are John Kasich, Paul Ryan, and Gary Johnson (who is every bit as libertarian as Paul, but is kid-gloved as a "libertarian-leaning Republican.") Ron Paul is not even mentioned in this mix and, even though the authors mention the substantial influence of the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) on more than one occasion, it somehow slips their minds that Paul won their presidential straw poll in February by nine points over second place Mitt Romney, and an overwhelming 24 points over third place Sarah Palin.

Please don't let these failings dissuade you from getting this book. It's 95% spot on, and you will come away with many helpful insights. The Tea Party movement would have existed in one form or another with or without Ron Paul, but the energy and organizational experience that the Ron Paul Revolution has brought to the Tea Party movement cannot be denied, and should not be ignored. After Ron Paul dropped out of the race, and his supporters began to think about what comes next, they turned their attention to the 2010 congressional elections. There was a phrase that they hoped, and believed, they would one day be able to utter, and that day looks like an approaching freight train. "Dr. Paul, your reinforcements have arrived." Read more ›

24 of 31 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Review from a Tea Party Conservative October 9, 2010

By NoMonet

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

As an Independent who was very disillusioned with President Bush and the policies of his administration and as a voter who was disgusted with choosing between McCain and Obama to begin with, and finally as a citizen who was appalled at Obama's past: his abysmal voting record, his checkered ACORN involvement, his creepy social justice church, his support of his inhuman cousin Odinga (the guy who had his followers burn a church full of people down because he didn't get elected in Kenya)-- all of this made me ripe to join the Tea Party Movement.

I have been to numerous rallies and protests, both locally and in D.C. I have joined a local Tea Party group that monitors local politicians and assists in tea party candidate election interests. I have donated to tea party candidates, most recently to Christine O'Donnell, Sharron Angle and Allen West. I am utterly disgusted by the lamestream media's coverage of these candidate patriots and their focus on stupid things like O'Donnell's "dabbling in witchcraft" AS A TEENAGER - when Hillary Clinton held séances in the White House to talk to Eleanor Roosevelt AS AN ADULT!!! Our mainstream media has the audacity to give us these clownish, disparate, uneven portrayals of candidates and thinks we don't notice? Don't even talk to me about Palin. I am not a big fan of hers, but the attack she sustained from our media was more than most of us could have handled without a psychiatrist. I have a phenomenal amount of respect for Palin, she is a woman who lives by her moral code even though it means huge sacrifices (and I'm referring to her child Trig).... I don't know that she'd be the best candidate for president, but I do believe the woman is a powerhouse of integrity, has a tremendous amount of strength and did not deserve the despicable persecution she received. As a former governor I believe she had the experience and would have governed when the need was there if she and McCain had been in power during the BP oil spill -- as Obama did nothing useful -- he sat on his hands and bellyached about putting the boot on BP's throat -- he talked about suing instead of taking action (governing) and cleaning the oil spill. Now much of the Gulf Coast ocean floor has 2 inches of oil on it. I wonder how long it will be...how many decades before the ocean heals itself. But he's a Saul Alinsky ACORN lawyer, what can you expect? He knows nothing of governing or creating jobs, just rabble rousing, suing and voting present. But I digress...

Over time, over the past couple of years I have wondered how effective we are, we Tea Party people, or how effective we will be in the long run. (And no, we don't call ourselves Tea Baggers, if you don't know that's a sexual malicious slur, you are either stupid or mean-spirited.)

I had hope that there were enough people in America, good-hearted, well meaning, Americans who loved their country as much as I do, that were willing to join together to bring it back from the brink of bankruptcy; bring it back from the edge of defeat by it's enemies - both within and without; bring it back to prosperity and safety. I had hope, but whether it was rooted in optimism or realism I did not know.

This book gave me more hope. It may not be as well written as some of these reviewers would have liked it to be. It may have some imperfections. I personally was offended by the fact that Rasmussen and Schoen referred to the poster of Obama as Hitler as being something the Tea Party conjured up, whereas it is part of the Lyndon LaRouche for President campaign that drags itself to every Tea Party meeting it can (and can often be found in front of my local Trader Joe's). They are not Tea Party folks... far from it...they are Democrats. Cripes...how Rasmussen and Schoen didn't realize that after attending multiple Tea Party Rallies I don't know... but everyone has their own misconceptions and biases. These guys couldn't get it all right.

The bottom line is that the book gave me hope. It gave me a better understanding of our Tea Party Movement from an outsiders perspective (it was interesting to find out that it was composed of three strands of belief systems) and we are not alone... we may be split off in multiple factions that have their own relevancy and life like the arms of a star fish. Some of us may not even be at Tea Party rallies to be considered Tea Party members, but we are Legion, we are in the millions... and if we keep working and paying attention to our politicians, we can get our government and our country back. Back to prosperity and safety from those that would see her fall. It won't take just one election though... we must stay vigilant from this day forward and teach our children the value of hard work, independence and freedom. Freedom is not something we should ever take for granted again... the progressive elites will take it from us by inches and miles when given the opportunity.

Everyone needs to understand the basic Tea Party premise: the more government grows, the less freedom we have; the more control that bureaucrats have over our lives, the more they dictate to us, the fewer choices we will have. We will be told what cars we may drive, how far we can drive them, how high we can have our thermostats, what we can eat. It starts seemingly innocuous but all are things that push into our freedom - things like identity cards, (keeping track of our movements); like federally mandated healthcare, (and you don't think in the interests of our health we won't be told what to eat if the government is paying for our dietary f-ups?); like preserving huge swaths of land for little fish despite the negative impact it has on hundreds of thousands of human beings (San Joaquin Valley); like the Cap and Trade legislation that limits energy consumption and therefore will force all but the ruling elite into driving SmartCars (was anything more badly named?) --but this government takeover of our freedoms will only grow more and more burdensome and ugly if we keep on letting it encroach upon us. There is no end to what the ruling Ivy League elites feel they can impose on us because they "know what's best for us." I have been to China. I have seen the people there and the streets where the police are not there to keep the peace but to keep citizens in their respective areas - they cannot leave the areas in the country they are supposed to live in. This is the control their government exerts on them. This is exactly the control that the progressives would eventually like to have over us. It's not pretty, it's not happy and it's not free.

I would like to thank the authors of this book for giving me more hope in our country's future. It renews my faith in the goodness of humanity again and fuels my efforts to continue the good fight to retain our freedom and make our beautiful country prosperous once again.

If you care, you should get involved too. It's time to join the fight or throw in the towel. There is more at stake than any of us ever dreamed there would be in our lifetime. Read more ›

21 of 29 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Poor editing September 25, 2010

By Wallace Cason

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

There is no question of the value of this book's contents, which rates a five. However, the spelling and grammar are consistently atrocious - so atrocious that it is difficult to concentrate on what the authors are saying. So I ask: who edited this book?

For example, on p. 2, second paragraph, the second sentence has no verb; it is not a sentence. On p. 5, two out of three bullet points have no period at the end of the sentences. On p. 20, the first sentence of the third paragraph begins, "This is a very difference picture of America...." At the bottom of p. 20, last sentence, we have: "Since 2008, politics as usual have reined...." The word the authors are looking for is "reigned," not "reined." On p. 24, first paragraph, last sentence, we read: "Washington has become increasingly unresponsive, our politics increasing repulsive...." The word should be "increasingly." On p. 29, the word "delve" is used as a noun to indicate delving. A delve is actually a hollow or cave and is an archaic word, obviously misused by the authors. On p. 30, the word "whose" is used as a contraction for "who is": "...as a working mother whose probably never even going to be able to hit retirement...."

The thoughts are excellent, and the book is worth buying; but the writing is so poor as to make any educated reader quite irritated. There is needless repetition, as with the mention of Andy Stern's visits to the White House on p. 22 and again on p. 27. The ideas are jumbled at times. Any average newspaper editor could do a better job of editing. The authors could have done a better job of polishing themselves, no doubt; perhaps they were rushed by a deadline.

I do not fault the authors. I fault the editor of the book. HarperCollins is a major publishing house.... I am astonished that they lowered the quality of a truly important work by allowing such an extreme lack of polish in one of their books. Read more ›