Crashing the Tea Party - - "increasingly swimming against the tide of public opinion"

[jefferson_dem]

Crashing the Tea Party
By DAVID E. CAMPBELL and ROBERT D. PUTNAM

<SNIP>

But in fact the Tea Party is increasingly swimming against the tide of public opinion: among most Americans, even before the furor over the debt limit, its brand was becoming toxic. To embrace the Tea Party carries great political risk for Republicans, but perhaps not for the reason you might think.

Polls show that disapproval of the Tea Party is climbing. In April 2010, a New York Times/CBS News survey found that 18 percent of Americans had an unfavorable opinion of it, 21 percent had a favorable opinion and 46 percent had not heard enough. Now, 14 months later, Tea Party supporters have slipped to 20 percent, while their opponents have more than doubled, to 40 percent.

Of course, politicians of all stripes are not faring well among the public these days. But in data we have recently collected, the Tea Party ranks lower than any of the 23 other groups we asked about — lower than both Republicans and Democrats. It is even less popular than much maligned groups like “atheists” and “Muslims.” Interestingly, one group that approaches it in unpopularity is the Christian Right.

<SNIP>

Our analysis casts doubt on the Tea Party’s “origin story.” Early on, Tea Partiers were often described as nonpartisan political neophytes. Actually, the Tea Party’s supporters today were highly partisan Republicans long before the Tea Party was born, and were more likely than others to have contacted government officials. In fact, past Republican affiliation is the single strongest predictor of Tea Party support today.

What’s more, contrary to some accounts, the Tea Party is not a creature of the Great Recession. Many Americans have suffered in the last four years, but they are no more likely than anyone else to support the Tea Party. And while the public image of the Tea Party focuses on a desire to shrink government, concern over big government is hardly the only or even the most important predictor of Tea Party support among voters.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/17/opinion/crashing-the-tea-party.html?_r=1

[liberal N proud]

1. For 30 years or more there have been a large number of republicans against government

The teabaggers is just a tag they adopted to strengthen their stand and move forward with the push to make the government inconsequential as the teabagger Perry puts it.

[Cosmocat]

2. It is bullspit, but that does not matter ...

The media has treated them as THE political force in this country since their inception, and will continue to do so. And, whatever polling may suggest, the "tea party" members in congress just forced the first debt ceiling "debate" in our history, which led to our credit rating being dropped, for which ... the PRESIDENT is being held responsible to.

Does not matter what polling says, the "liberal media" defines reality ...

[gordianot]

3. Created on, by, and for Fox News.

Their motto, "I am as stupid as hell and by God it will be televised".

[Tarheel_Dem]

4. WoW! The Koch Bros. may be asking for a Dick Armey/FreedomWorks refund.

;)

[JoeyT]

5. Unfortunately for the teabaggers, the uninformed are starting to figure out what we've been telling

everyone within earshot at every opportunity.

Most of the movement is what we always called the Suburb Racists. A bunch of middle aged/older upper middle class white people pissed off because they think they'd be rich if it weren't for all the minorities. They refuse to admit that most of becoming rich is luck, so they have no idea how to get there, and they lash out by trying to stamp down on all the social classes under them. There's nothing new or shocking about the teabaggers for anyone from the South.

[Dawson Leery]

6. Not all of them are upper middle class, many are middle/lower middle class too.

[scheming daemons]

7. Yes... but they're bringing Democrats' numbers down with them...