Politico’s Tea Party Popularity Survey: Love Beck, Hate McCain, Torn On Palin

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by Frances Martel | 2:00 pm, March 15th, 2010

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It may be a bit early to predict what the impact of the recently-consolidated Tea Party movement will be on future elections (both this fall and in 2012), but as their relevance grows on the national political scene, their views carry increasingly more weight. To that end, Politico set out to find what tea partiers think of some of the conservative movement’s top leaders. While most results were predictable– their love of Glenn Beck and suspicion towards John McCain, for starters– Politico also found some surprises in the attitudes towards some of their biggest supporters.

It probably wouldn’t have taken extensive polling to discover that Sen. John McCain, who is facing a significant Tea Party challenge for his Arizona seat from radio personality JD Hayworth, is not the best-liked man in the Republican Party. McCain topped the list of least popular Republicans, with some surveyed citing his progressive tendencies, others his family’s support of same-sex marriage, and some even blaming him directly for putting “an inexperienced and corrupt man in the White House.” Also making the list? Polarizing Republican Party head Michael Steele, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, and moderate Republican Senator Lindsey Graham (who recently picked a fight with Tea Party favorite Glenn Beck). Almost every prominent Republican from the Northeast– Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, Mitt Romney, et al– got a dishonorable mention, too.

Most of those garnering some Tea Party love are not currently holding public office, keeping with the movement’s spirit of being tired of career politicians. Beck and Sarah Palin made the top of the list while, somewhat surprisingly, more aggressive, traditionally conservative media figures like Andrew Breitbart and Michelle Malkin joined them. Among those in office that received praise were Representatives Ron Paul (who is often credited for founding the movement) and Michele Bachmann, and Senator Jim DeMint.

Most surprisingly of all? Even those who love Sarah Palin among Tea Partiers question her intelligence, her ties to John McCain and insistence on uniting the Republicans with the Tea Partiers. In a sign that maybe Beck was right when he refused to be her subordinate, one Tea Party leader commented that he believed she needed to be “under the wing” of someone with a better handle on issues, noting he believed “her education would excel under the guidance of Glenn Beck.”

Politico head Jim VandeHei went on Morning Joe this morning to discuss the survey results– watch the clip below:

[photo via]

The Real Royal King

Sarah did herself no favors in Nashville. Of course, we do have to realize that there are several (White) Tea Parties and that the infighting amongst them is somewhat akin to the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks.
Azarkhan

And we all know which side you’re on, don’t we Real Bolshevik A-****?
writer

Hey, at least (White) Royal King is consistent in his hatred of the (White) race.
http://www.sailrabbits.com Magister

Lindsey Graham has been censured by at least two South Carolina counties’ Republican Parties and he’s narrowly missed being censured by at least two others. Add this to the fact that he has vocally opposed “purity tests” and has spoken in favor of the NE moderates, even though his own voting record is quite conservative, I’m not surprised that he’s disliked by the Tea Party members, nor am I too terribly surprised that he was so adamant about HCR in a recent appearance.

BTW: Though I don’t see him mentioned in the Politico piece and unfortunately the link from which I pulled the quote is no longer free, but the first time I noticed that some type of ideological divide might be forming was when the non-Hastert candidates were speaking ill of Newt Gingrich in Illinois.
pyrope

If, indeed, some whacked-out “church” advised its congregation to stop watching Glenn Beck, I would put that church in the same class as whatever so-called church it was that Jerimiah Wright pastored. Now, so far as I know, there has been NO legitimate denomination that has condemned Glenn Beck, and if there were such, I would make it a point to put that organization on my list of idiots without a cause.