More weak tea from Gallup:
Gallup began tracking Americans' views of the Tea Party in March 2010, when 37% had a favorable and 40% an unfavorable view. Those views stayed roughly the same through January of this year, but have now turned somewhat more negative. The April 20-23 USA Today/Gallup poll finds favorable opinions of the Tea Party movement dropping to 33%, from 39% in January, and unfavorable opinions rising to 47% from 42%. Twenty percent of Americans say they haven't heard of the Tea Party or have no opinion of it.
Republicans and conservatives (i.e., tea party members) still like it, but you know what? They ain't a majority. More and more of the rest of us think it sucks.
But here's something you probably didn't know.
The Tea Party has a relatively strong appeal to men aged 50 and older, 49% of whom have favorable opinions of the movement. By contrast, women aged 50 and older are the most negative, with more than half holding a negative opinion.
Once again, there's strong evidence women are smarter than men. And don't you be blaming all seniors for Tea Party support when it's only the the menfolk who are deluded.
And while we are at it, note:
Southerners are most positive about the Tea Party across regions, with essentially equal favorable and unfavorable opinions. Americans living on either coast are the most negative.
Bottom line:
The data reviewed here demonstrate the nature of the political challenges Republican congressional leadership faces in responding to Tea Party-supported members. A majority of rank-and-file Republicans nationwide give the Tea Party favorable ratings, but a sizable minority say their opinion is unfavorable or do not classify themselves as supporters.
Further, the overall image of the Tea Party among all Americans has become substantially more negative than positive over the last several months, which could weaken its perceived clout among GOP congressional leaders. Americans' negative views of the Tea Party contrast with their much more balanced views of the Republican Party, measured at 44% favorable and 47% unfavorable in the same April 20-23 USA Today/Gallup poll.
The Tea Party image is only going to get worse as it gets more and more closely associated with birthers, the Donald, and ending Medicare as we know it. The "nature of the political challenges Republican congressional leadership faces", as Gallup puts it, is that their program will prove extremely unpopular.
Run on that, Republicans.
