Friday, June 24, 2011

Weak Tea?

Could the Tea Party be losing some of its cachet? That seems to be the message delivered in a Florida poll noted by the Miami Herald.

Beware, Florida Republicans: The tea party movement that swept you into office in 2010 could cost you the next election.

That’s the takeaway message from Republican pollster and consultant Alex Patton, who conducted a recent survey showing that, by a 2:1 ratio, registered Florida voters said the tea party movement did not represent their views.

The sentiment against the tea party is significantly higher among self-described independent voters, who swing elections in Florida and who looked unfavorably on the tea party by 3-to-1, the poll showed. Only Republican voters favored the tea party movement, with 68 percent in support and less than 20 percent opposed.


That's pretty astounding news, given that the last election occurred just under eight months ago and in that election the Tea Party in its various iterations helped the GOP win state houses and the House of Representatives. It appears that at least some voters, especially those pesky critters known as 'independents,' are having some second thoughts, at least in Florida.

“You’re going to see candidates walk a fine line,” said Tony Fabrizio, pollster for Gov. Rick Scott, who owed much of his success last year to the tea party.

“The tea party of a year ago is different from the tea party of today,” Fabrizio said. “Last year, the tea party was new, fresh and it represented the antigovernment outsider. Now, the brand maybe has a little tarnish.”


Has the Tea Party changed? Not from my vantage point. They continue to hammer on their favorite issues: no taxes, no social programs, no taxes. What has changed, however, are the opinions of a lot of voters who identify with the middle of the political spectrum. Buyer's remorse has set in with a vengeance as those centrists see just what the Tea Party means in practice: the rejection of federal monies for a rail project which would have provided some badly needed jobs for Floridians, a tightening of immigration laws which affects a state with a politically active Cuban population, and deep cuts to programs which most Floridians feel are necessary, such as education. Gov. Scott has delivered on his promises, and the people of Florida are beginning to feel the pinch.

Will that make a difference come November, 2012? Well, if these numbers hold, it just might:

The War Room Logistics poll showed that 46 percent of self-described moderate Republicans viewed the tea party unfavorably, compared with 36 percent who had a favorable opinion. Half of Republicans who sometimes vote for Democrats had an unfavorable view of the tea party, while 32 percent have a favorable opinion.

Overall, 64 percent of self-described moderates and more than half of split-ticket voters viewed the tea party unfavorably.


Republican candidates are going to have to engage in some tricky posturing during primaries and then during the general election.

Pass the popcorn.

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5 Comments:

Anonymous Meander said...

"Buyer's remorse has set in with a vengeance as those centrists see just what the Tea Party means in practice: the rejection of federal monies for a rail project which would have provided some badly needed jobs for Floridians, a tightening of immigration laws which affects a state with a politically active Cuban population, and deep cuts to programs which most Floridians feel are necessary, such as education. Gov. Scott has delivered on his promises, and the people of Florida are beginning to feel the pinch."

You know, it's amazing to me that voters didn't know that all of this was exactly what Republicans meant to do, and always intended to do, and that the so-called Tea Party was the radical right making those desires heard.

So, this is what they voted for, this is what they got, and it tastes every bit as bad as could be predicted.
~~~

9:22 AM  
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