Negatives Up for Tea Party

Via Gallup:  In U.S., Negative Views of the Tea Party Rise to New High

2010-2011 Trend: Overall Opinion of the Tea Party Movement

Really, this should hardly be a surprise.  The Tea Party is a faction of the Republican Party, which means that it already is unlikely to have much support in the Democratic Party (although the poll does show 10% Dem support) and further, since it is a faction of the GOP (i.e, a part of the whole) it means that there are Republicans not too keen on it in the first place (24% in fact).

More importantly, the message here, like practically all polls at the moment, is that a) the economy is not where we want it to be and therefore, b) people are unhappy with politicians, regardless of their partisan flavor.  The truth of the matter remains that general public impressions of the economy are the driving force in our politics, not the specific proposals of the parties (and their factions).

FILED UNDER: Public Opinion Polls, US Politics, , , ,
Steven L. Taylor
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a Professor of Political Science and a College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog). Follow Steven on Twitter