my connection with the tea party

[Jester]

It was just a statement, that the Tea party is diverse and not a subset of Republicans.

It might not be a strict subset of Republicans, but in practical terms, they can be thought of as right-wing Republicans without losing too much sleep. They are more Republican, ideologically speaking, than the average Republican.

Here's Gallup: Nearly 80% Republicans, three-quarters of whom are conservative Republicans. 6% are independents, and I think, given the overall breakdown, we can safely say those are mostly from the non-affiliated right.

Where the 15% or so that identify as Democrats come from, I can only guess they're either confused, or their party affiliation does not match their voting, like the old Dixiecrats, who vote right, but register as Democrats for historical reasons.

-Jester