Posted on 08/05/2011 10:31:54 PM PDT by Steelfish
The Incredible Shrinking Tea Party
By Greg Sargent I f there’s one thing the debt ceiling battle revealed, it’s that the Tea Party continues to enjoy outsized influence in Washington in general and over the GOP in particular.
So it’s interesting to note that according to the internals of today’s New York Times poll, the Tea Party is rapidly shrinking before our very eyes, and is hemorraging supporters at a surprising rate:
Do you consider yourself to be a supporter of the Tea Party movement, or not?
Yes 18 No 73
The 18 percent who self-identify as Tea Party supporters is at its lowest point, tying the 18 percent who supported it way back in April of 2010, when it was first gaining steam as the Congressional races of last cycle began heating up. The trajectory is interesting: The Times poll shows the Tea Party has had some ups and downs, but it steadily gained supporters as the 2010 campaigns wore on, and peaked with 31 percent of the electorate saying they supported the movement at around the time that the GOP won its massive 2010 victory.
Then its support began to decline, and it then dropped a precipitous eight points from June until today — a period that roughly coincided with the debt ceiling debate, which showcased Tea Party intransigence and self-delusion at its finest. Not only that, but right now, the 73 percent who say they are not supporters is at its highest point ever.
What’s more, as Steve Benen notes, the numbers who disaprove of the Tea Party and who think it has too much influence over the GOP are running as high as ever.
Interestingly, the Tea Party is declining in public support even as its influence in Washington has, if anything, peaked.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
I remember that article! We recycled a half-baked NYT poll, trying to turn people on the Tea Party. Good times! Oh, well, it sure burned nice. Hey, Dionne, give me a swig of that Mad Dog 20/20. Quit hogging the bottle!
Everything Barack ‘Jackwagon’ Hussein and his socialists do only grows the party more.
Good point. But I no longer trust most Americans judgement to see them for what they are.
I think "someone" hears the Jaws Theme in their head..
They might need a bigger toilet to throw money into..
“This poll is unadulterated propaganda. Its purpose is to mold opinion and not to reflect opinion about the size of the Tea Party. The only poll that matters to date occurred in Nov. 2010. The next poll that matters will be taken in Nov. 2012.”
The media has been shaping public opinion for many years. Repeat often to mold those little mush sheeples brains.
Enough said.
MSM needs to get over their demographic agenda of herd mentality.... Voters , conservative voters at least do not need a rally or convention to prosper an exist.
We vote with our time an dollars between elections an make sure we take a few like minded folks to the polls on election day.
We don’t presstitute myths ...we vote.
Stay Safe Steelfish !
My poll : Out of a total of 18,412, "Do you consider yourself to be a supporter of the TEA Party philosophy?
Yes - 17,988 - 97.7%
No - 424 - 2.3%
It was a little tight there for a while, but the results speak volumes.
The Tea Party is amorphous. There is no recognized leader or spokesman.
But if the “Tea Party” were to have another tax day rally like it did in 2009, there would be a good turnout.
And if the Tea Party had a true representative, a real candidate who wasn’t just using the name of the Tea Party to try to get support from conservatives, there might be more people rallying to the Tea Party banner.
If the Republicans marginalize or alienate the Tea Party (as some such as Col. Allen West have unfortunately done), they may find that there is a third party to contend with.
When the level of frustration gets high enough, when Republicans continue to act like Democrats, and at the same time take support of conservatives for granted (”Where else can they turn?”), the time may come when splitting is the only choice left.
We may have to test the New York Times survey in the real world.
The American Revolution
Holy war on behalf of liberty and freedom
To secure our liberty and freedom, the Founding Fathers declared independence and fought the American Revolution based on certain First Principles, including protecting unalienable rights, limited government, and the Social Compact.
Prior to the French and Indian War (1756-1763), the colonists possessed substantial autonomy and individual liberty flourished. Following the conflict, the British Empire strongly challenged that autonomy and liberty, and also resolved that the colonists directly pay taxes into the imperial coffers to help reduce the huge debt incurred in the war.
When the Founding Fathers resisted these taxes on the principle that Parliament did not possess the authority to tax the colonists, Britain attacked and denigrated colonial self-rule, declared colonists subject to any act of Parliament, re-imposed internal taxes, closed colonial ports, dissolved colonial representative assemblies, reorganized colonial governments, evaded the right to a jury trial when enforcing its policies, occupied colonial towns with imperial troops quartered in colonial homes, shot colonists, and declared the colonists in a state of rebellion.
The Founding Fathers understood the Empire’s oppression as a direct challenge to limited government, the Social Compact and unalienable rights. To save their liberty, the Founding Fathers revolted. Founding Father Patrick Henry explained that America rebelled for “the holy cause of liberty”
http://www.americassurvivalguide.com/american-revolution.php
This is where we stand today. Tea Partiers are uniting in the cause of liberty. The liberals wanted war, now they have one. Let’s roll!!
I believe this because the MSM doesn’t have an agenda and poll numbers are never wrong or skewed.
Yes indeed, got rid of the sunshine patriots.
Heavy flak = over target
[The fact that it isn't true makes it even sweeter.]
They wish the “Tea Party” is shrinking. It is going to swallow them in 2012.
Hello Mr. Sargent, did you read that WaPo’s profits were off a full 50% from last year?
I grew up reading and then delivering your Lefty rag when I was 13, when the Graham’s hid their bias better.
You are a mere moron Leftist hack shilling for the Democrats and Obie.
There is no TEA Party. The media has invented the TEA Party as a strawman to attact. TEA (Taxed Enough Already) is a ‘movement’ of people attracted to the idea that government is too big, takes too much of our money, and does not return much value. Ask people if they agree with that and you will find that the TEA Party is very large (look at polling on the debt limit increase) and growing.
These stupid bastards still don’t understand the Tea Party MOVEMENT...we are not an identifiable party—we are the vast majority of Americans that have determined that we are going to take America back...there is no leader, but we will replace RINO’s and liberals..
Let the left bury their heads in the sand. We will bury them at the polls again!
Wishful thinking, Greg. Just wait.
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