Last April news station WALB-TV featured a clip of Tucker as one of the participants at a tax day Tea Party rally in Tifton, Ga.

Simply identified as “Maureen Tucker, Tea Party supporter,” – with no mention of her musical background – she tells WALB that she’s “furious about the way we’re being led toward socialism. I’m furious about the incredible waste of money when things that we really need and are important get dropped because there’s no money left.”

The clip was posted to YouTube this past July and got picked up by music blogs and other publications earlier this month.

The Huffington Post was able to confirm Tucker’s identity in the WALB clip by contacting her at home but she declined to comment any further. The Guardian tracked down a page listed for Tucker on a website for the Tea Party Patriots. Her page urges Tea Party supporters to send a letter or teabags to “King Obama” to protest the administration’s policies.

The St. Louis Riverfront Times finally convinced Tucker to conduct an interview via email, which was posted online on Monday.

When asked to elaborate on the WALB clip, Tucker explains her political stance by bringing up her childhood.

“I am not oblivious to the plight of the poor, but I don’t see any reason/sense to the idea that everyone has to have everything, especially when the economy is so bad. I see that philosophy as merely a ploy to control.

“My family was damn poor when I was growing up on Long Island. There were no food stamps, no Medicaid, no welfare. If you were poor, you were poor. You didn’t have a TV, you didn’t have five pairs of shoes, you didn’t have Levi’s, you didn’t have a phone; you ate Spam, hot dogs and spaghetti. We all survived! I am not against food stamps, welfare or Medicaid, if only they would oversee these programs properly!”

Tucker said she doesn’t appreciate First Lady Michelle Obama’s campaign to get the country to eat more vegetables.

“I am also against the government taking over the student loan program, car companies, bailouts and the White House taking control of the census (what the hell is that all about?); [about] any First Lady telling (I know, I know, “suggesting to”) us what to eat, the mayor of New York City declaring “no salt” (screw you, pal).”

The drummer clarified that she’s doesn’t hold Tea Party hero Sarah Palin on a pedestal.

“Anyone who thinks I’m crazy about Sarah Palin, Bush, etc. has made quite the presumption. I have voted Democrat all my life, until I started listening to what Obama was promising and started wondering how the hell will this utopian dream land be paid for? For those who actually believe that their taxes won’t go up in order to pay for all this insanity: good luck!”

When asked her opinion about fans who seemed upset or outraged about her affiliation with the Tea Party, Tucker spouted off about liberals.

“I’m stunned that so many people who call themselves liberal yet are completely intolerant. I thought liberals loved everyone: the poor, the immigrant, the gays, the handicapped, the minorities, dogs, cats, all eye colors, all hair colors! Peace, love, bull! Curious they have no tolerance whatsoever for anyone who doesn’t think exactly as they do. You disagree and you’re immediately called a fool, a Nazi, a racist. That’s pretty f’d up!! I would never judge someone based on their political views. Their honesty, integrity, kindness to others, generosity? Yes. Politics? No!”

Although she hasn’t recently heard from her former bandmates, Tucker said anyone who knows her “knows that I’m not a fool, a racist, a Nazi.” She said she doesn’t have time for music anymore because she spends her days taking care of her eight-year-old grandson.

Click here to read the full interview with the St. Louis Riverfront Times.

Watch Tucker’s interview in the clip below at about 2:40.