The Tea Party movement is undeniably the most vibrant force in American politics today, but how well-regarded is it by the general public? Scott Rasmussen offers some interesting data:
[V]oters now have stronger reactions–positive and negative– to the Tea Party label than they do to the more traditional labels.
Seventy percent say that identifying a candidate with the Tea Party movement would affect their vote. Interestingly, those with the strongest reactions are Democrats. Thus, we get this breakdown:
It is a little unclear why anyone would have an “in between” reaction to the Tea Party; I suppose those respondents have mixed feelings.
This strikes me as the most notable finding of this survey:
Overall, on a net basis, conservative remains the most positive label, while liberal is the most negative.
I asked Rasmussen about this poll on our radio show this morning. He said that the popularity of the label “conservative” has been consistent for quite a while. The other characterization of political candidates that is most positive, he added, is “like Ronald Reagan.”
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