71% Think GOP Should Listen to Tea Party

Including lots of Democrats who don't even like the movement
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 31, 2011 9:42 AM CST
71% Think GOP Should Listen to Tea Party
In this Thursday, April 15, 2010 file picture, Kay Hohler sings the national anthem before the start of a tea party rally on the steps of the Iowa Statehouse in Des Moines.   (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

A whopping seven out of 10 Americans think it’s important that Republicans "consider Tea Party movement ideas" as they craft their policies, according to a new Gallup poll, and that includes plenty of Democrats who don’t even like the movement. While only 6% of Democrats are Tea Party supporters, and only 11% have a favorable view of it, 53% agreed that Republicans should take into account its positions and objectives. The poll didn't define those positions, however, leaving it open to interpretation.

Among Republicans, barely half identified themselves as Tea Partiers, but 88% said the GOP should listen to the movement. But the poll isn’t quite the ringing endorsement it might look like at first. Only 39% of Americans have a favorable overall opinion of the Tea Party, compared to 47% for the Republican Party as a whole. (More Tea Party stories.)

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