Almost half of all Americans, 47%, have an unfavorable view of the Tea Party, the highest unfavorable Gallup has ever recorded of the nascent, loosely-organized group of mostly white, over-50 ultra-right wing conservatives. Only 33% of Americans — just one-third — have a favorable view, and 20% either have no opinion of the Tea Party, or have “never heard of” it. Gallup also found an equal number, 47% of all Americans, give the GOP/Republican Party an unfavorable rating.
Even if the Tea Party, which is increasingly coming to represent the Republican Party/GOP, were to move the half the no opinion/never heard of group, it still would have a greater unfavorable rating than favorable rating. But that supposition seems a stretch, as opposition to the Tea Party since January, Gallup found in a separate poll, increased, while support remained constant. It could be assumed that opposition came from the no opinion/don’t know group.
“[T]he 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,” Gallup stated, adding, “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 20-23Â USA Today/Gallup poll.”
Gallup’s news comes just one day after President Obama put to rest — for most Americans — any question of his American citizenship, when he released his actual, real, long-form birth certificate Wednesday. The birthers are unrelenting, with reports coming in fast that claim the birth certificate Obama released is a fake.
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“Views of the Tea Party became more negative between January and April among both Republicans and independents; there was very little change in Democrats’ already negative views.”
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“While Americans who identify as Republicans and conservatives clearly tend to be favorably predisposed toward the Tea Party, these attitudes are by no means universal, underscoring the challenges House GOP leaders face as they try to reflect the interests of their constituencies,” writes Gallup in its report today.
This will be important for GOP leaders to note, as they move toward debt ceiling negotiations.
While the Tea Party has claimed to not be interested in social issues, they have worked tirelessly, especially Tea Party-supported Republicans in city, state, and federal elected positions, to remove the safety net for needy Americans, to increase restrictions on abortion, to battle unions, and to make same-sex marriage illegal.
Many see this as a mistake, pointing to reports and studies that say Americans do not want government to focus on social issues right now.
Gallup finds that while 60% of Republicans favor the Tea Party, almost a quarter (24%) do not. 43% of Independents give the Tea Party an unfavorable rating (only 30% give it a favorable rating) and, unsurprisingly, only 10% of Democrats give it a favorable rating, with the highest overall response in the survey, 73% of Democrats giving the Tea Party an unfavorable rating.
“Substantial majorities of Democrats and liberals view the Tea Party unfavorably,” notes Gallup. “Views of the Tea Party became more negative between January and April among both Republicans and independents; there was very little change in Democrats’ already negative views.”
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Gallup finds that support for the group diminishes with age among men and women. “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.”
Overall, no geographic area gives the Tea Party majority support, with its greatest favorable rating coming from the South, at 41%, and its greatest unfavorable (49%) coming from the East.