What? Bachmann “extreme?” Yes, Michele Bachmann (R-MN) tops the list of 2012 Republican presidential candidates who are “too extreme,” according to a new poll just released by FOX News, but that’s not the only surprise. The poll, which finds that 74% of American registered voters do not want Sarah Palin to run for president, also places Rick Perry as their number one candidate for the GOP presidential nomination, at 29%, but also puts him in the number two slot of candidates who are “too extreme” — albeit with just 14% of respondents giving him that title. Palin follows at number three, with 12% claiming the former VP candidate is too “out there” to be president.
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But perhaps the most surprising — or, concerning — number is this one.
35% of registered American voters do not think any GOP presidential candidate is too extreme. More than one out of every three voters — including Democrats. And another 22%, more than one out of five, “don’t know” if any of the candidates are “too extreme.”
So, more than half of American registered voters think the Republican presidential field is either not too extreme, or don’t even have a clue about the candidates.
Digging deep into the numbers, the largest groups of those who say no candidate is “too extreme” are non-white, non-college educated, conservative, Tea Party members, Republicans, under 35, and those who make under $50,000 per year. That is Bachmann’s target audience.
Bachmann is known as the anti-gay Christian “family values” candidate, but has been excoriated for her views, along with those of her husband, on homosexuality and same-sex marriage.
That says a lot more about American than it does about the candidates, but know this. This FOX News poll just gave all the candidates the green light to go nuclear. Expect even greater extremism as the months progress.