Perry is offically in.

[Jocassee]

SC is not representative of the US electoral demographic....It is succeptible to Perry's jeebuzing.

Sounds like the Myrtle Beach TEA Party has forgotten what "TEA" means.

These were my thoughts almost to the letter.

[Waitone]

SC's elected government is a herd of rampaging RINOs.  The SC TEA party sunk the leading republican primary candidate (Gresham Barrett) for daring to defend his vote in favor of the bailouts.  The national TEA party in the form of Palin endorse a down ticket candidate who sounded OK but had zero experience.  Said candidate (Nikki Haley) won the primary handily then proceeded to squeak by in the statewide election.  Ever since she has made kissy-kissy with the state RINO establishment losing a lot of her TEA rhetoric. 

What you are seeing in SC is the cold hand of establishment republicanism (RINO) compromise and co-opting the state TEA organization which is the same battle going on at a national level.  I have yet to see or hear of any bloviating by the TEA group condemning Haley for her RINO actions.  I have yet to hear any pronouncement from national TEA types condemning Haley for her proclivities.  Matter of fact what we do see and hear in SC is evidence Haley is positioning herself for VP slot.  She has a biography being ghosted and now we hear her book pimp is none other than the same person who pimped GW Bush's memoirs.  That is some pretty heavy establishment aid.

The fact that Perry comes out looking good in a TEA poll is not surprising given Perry's establishment cred and TEA rhetoric.

[Perd Hapley]

"Tea Party" is a reference to the Boston Tea Party, in which "Tea" stood for tea.

We are puzzled to learn that Rick Perry's success in a South Carolina Tea Party poll is being credited to (or blamed on) a high incidence of Christian self-identification in that state. Puzzled, because we were earlier informed that the ever-spooky religious right was but a fringe movement that should be shoved aside to make room for the overwhelming numbers of religiously-indifferent "TEA Party" voters obsessed with social issues.

Yet Perry's success doesn't seem to be viewed as a refutation of the theory, apparently because of unsubstantiated claims (from Wikipedia) that South Carolingians are more religious than denizens of other states.

[Strings]

Actually, I've always understood "TEA" to stand for "Taxed Enough Already"

As for "religious demographics", something tells me they are all but impossible to really sort out. How many people have you met that claim "Christian", but really aren't?

[Perd Hapley]

Actually, I've always understood "TEA" to stand for "Taxed Enough Already"

Backronym. The Tea Party was originally focused on high levels of spending. Not to say that tax rates aren't part of the complaint, of course. This has kind of annoyed me, ever since I heard some news-monkey say that the Tea Party events kicked off on 15 April, with the implication that Tea Party-ers just don't want to pay their fair share in taxes. The Tea Party events actually began in February.

As for "religious demographics", something tells me they are all but impossible to really sort out. How many people have you met that claim "Christian", but really aren't?

There is that.