Are Tea Parties Socially Conservative?

Jillian Bandes | March 12, 2010 11:27 AM

This is a meme I've been following for a while: the libertarian nature of the tea parties. Today, Ben Smith has a smart piece out on social conservatives feeling left out. He cites a plethora of sources, including the

Sam Adams Alliance, who suggests that tea party leaders are consciously avoiding religious issues. Brendan Steinhauser, the director of federal and state campaigns at FreedomWorks, claims that the Tax Day Tea Party did not emphasize social issues.

People didn’t come out into the streets to protest gay marriage or abortion.

I would agree. Regardless of the individual beliefs of tea partiers, the main push has been on fiscal issues. That's not saying other issues aren't important, but that taxes, spending, and the deficit are the focus.