Congress ignores the public at its own peril
As a companion piece to
this and
this, the
NY Times adds this piece:
Poll Shows Negative View of Tea Party on the Rise:
Little more than a year ago, most Americans did not know enough about the Tea Party to have an opinion. Now, more people have opinions, and they are hardly positive.
The percentage of people with an unfavorable view of the Tea Party in a New York Times/CBS News Poll this week was higher than it has been since the first time the question was asked, in April 2010. Forty percent of those polled this week characterized their view as “not favorable,” compared with 18 percent in the first poll.
In the first poll, a plurality, 46 percent, said they had not heard enough about the Tea Party to have an opinion (an additional 14 percent were undecided). Now, just 21 percent said they had not heard enough.
The
Times speculates that maybe in the beginning no one knew who they were and it was general angst. Now they do, and to know them is to reject them. That leads to stories like this one (
Republicans Seeking Election Remain Unsure About Embracing Tea Party):
But as Republican candidates gear up for 2012, many are struggling with whether to embrace those passions. Opposing the debt ceiling increase and linking arms with the Tea Party may help candidates tap into a reservoir of energy in their party’s electorate. But it also threatens to alienate the candidates from independent voters who grimaced at the bickering in Washington this summer and preferred greater compromise on issues like tax increases.
Republicans still don't get it. The American people hate Congress these days, and a large part of why they do is the tea party.
Ignore them at your electoral peril.