'Tea party' is polarizing, but has many 'closet admirers,' poll finds

Christian Science Monitor ^ | 09/15/10 | Patrik Jonsson

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

Forty-four percent of Americans now see the upstart "tea party" movement in a favorable light, according to a new Christian Science Monitor/TIPP poll.

What's more, about 40 percent of tea party sympathizers say they would not attend a tea party event, meaning they are essentially "closet admirers" of the small-government movement, says TIPP pollster Raghavan Mayur.

"The general party line says the tea party is fringe, but I think most of the public hasn't bought that point of view ... and sees the tea party movement in a positive to neutral light," says Mr. Mayur, president of TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence in Ramsey, N.J., who last weekend oversaw the poll of 908 American adults. "The overarching message here is that Democrats have been in denial about the tea party [phenomenon] … and I think it's coming back to haunt them."

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

Ping! ;)

[FlingWingFlyer]

I guess Obama, Pelosi and Reid are “mainstream”. ROTFL!!! Yeah! Right!

[a fool in paradise]

The general party line says the tea party is fringe, but I think most of the public hasn't bought that point of view

It's the "general party line" of what Party? Party of the first part or party of the second part?

[screaminsunshine]

Amazing. The MSM is busy insulting half the country. The Democrats are screwing the rest and they think they can win.

[hinckley buzzard]

Forty-four percent of Americans now see the upstart "tea party" movement in a favorable light

No wonder the 'rats have been unsuccessful scaring off the "mainstream." At 44% favorable, the Tea Party IS the mainstream."

[PetroniusMaximus]

“… and I think it’s coming back to haunt them.””

Here’s hoping it comes back like the wolfman to rip their friggin throats out!

[AngelesCrestHighway]

Before November, they will come out of the closet for America!

[DManA]

Polarizing. Like the little boy said to the little girl - I’m not the opposite sex. YOU are the opposite sex.

[MissMagnolia]

"The overarching message here is that Democrats have been in denial about the tea party [phenomenon] … and I think it's coming back to haunt them."

'Astroturf' leaves one heck of a rug burn.

[muawiyah]

Wish I could go to their gatherings ~ alas, there are a variety of reasons ranging from eyes, to feet, to digestive system that restrict the zone of opportunity ~ but I have FR and the net, and that's probably where my skill set is best used.

I think of the TEA Partiers as being pretty much the ambulatory segment of the near-retired who may still have some assets and who are NOT going to let the Obama Great Recession destroy them or their country.

Whatever the Leftwingtards think of them I despise Leftwingtards and their syphilitic brain stems.

[Steely Tom]

Tea Party Is Polarizing...

Yeah, not like that wonderful Barack Obama, who follows every Rule of Alinsky except the one about polarizing your target.

[scory]

I love the stuff about “polarizing”. As if taking any stand on a political question is rarely polarizing.

Of course the Tea Party is polarizing. These people are taking a very strong stand on a number of issues. If they didn’t the Tea Party would be of no more significance than a garden party.

[AngelesCrestHighway]

[paulycy]

Polarizing? Polaraizing whom against whom????

BS. Meaningless blabber.

[GonzoGOP]

"The overarching message here is that Democrats have been in denial about the tea party [phenomenon] … and I think it's coming back to haunt them."

The establishment wants to force us to be divided into red and blue. But the secret is that the red pill and the blue pill all lead to the same place, just at different speeds. I choose yellow.

[DouglasKC]

Yeah, but Obama is NEVER polarizing.

[B4Ranch]

That’s right and the little boy said to the little girl, “You have cooties too”.

[SaveTheChief]

What's polarizing is a government that believes the only solution to serious problems is to pass legislation, restrict liberties, spend money on entitlement programs, and risk collapsing the system in spite of the pleading of the American people. The Tea Party movement HAPPENED only because the people are awakening to the fact that the leadership offered by the government is the kind of leadership that sends the entire nation off the edge of a cliff.

When governments fail to protect the people and instead work hard to ensure national suicide, patriots step up and do everything they can to set things right.

[Danae]

Something to note:

The Tea Party’s numbers are BETTER than Obummers.

A LOT better

CAN THEY HEAR US NOW???