The Tea Party people are ****ing rich idiots. Period. They're REALLY good at getting other idiots who are broke, to vote for Republicans.
You are living in the 1930s, or have an older relative from that
era who has taught you "all he knew" about politics. Today the fact is
that when polls are taken about which demographic supports which
party, the people with bachelor's degrees and higher are all Democrats.

One way to spin that is to boast that the "smarter" people are all
liberals and Democrats. A less charitable interpretation is that
all the privileged people are Democrats, and in my understanding,
they vote to protect their power and privilege. That used to be
the definition of the right wing in politics.