What could be going on here? Apple's market share can't account for the larger number of iPhone-toting teabaggers: The company has only 24 percent of the smartphone market, compared to 39 percent for BlackBerry and 17 percent for Android.
One might make the argument that Tea Party ideology appeals to the significant number of self-styled Libertarians in the tech sector. This could be the case. The fact remains that the Tea Party, as serious journalists don't tire of pointing out, has little in common with the small-government ethos of Ayn Rand or Milton Friedman, tracing its roots more directly to the clinically paranoid Christian Patriot and militia movements of the 1990s.
Another possible explanation is the efforts of GOP and Tea Party activists to establish their brands through social media. Whatever is at work here, keep a wary eye on that dude in front of you in line at Whole Foods, happily tweeting on his iPhone 4: There might be a tricorne in his man-purse.
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