Poll Watch: Rasmussen (TP) Survey on Political Labels

Rasmussen (TP) Survey on Political Labels

Suppose a candidate was described to you as politically liberal. Would you consider that a positive description, a negative description, or somewhere in between?

• Positive 21% (17%)
• Negative 38% (44%)
• In between 34% (~32%)

Suppose a candidate was described to you as politically progressive. Would you consider that a positive description, a negative description, or somewhere in between?

• Positive 31% (22%)
• Negative 26% (34%)
• In between ~39% (41%)

What about a candidate who was described to you as politically moderate? Would you consider that a positive description, a negative description, or somewhere in between?

• Positive 37%
• Negative 13%
• In between 45%

What if a candidate was described to you as politically conservative? Would you consider that a positive description, a negative description, or somewhere in between?

• Positive 38% (42%)
• Negative 27% (21%)
• In between 30% (36%)

What if a candidate was described to you as being a member of the Tea Party. Would you consider that a positive description, a negative description, or somewhere in between?

• Positive 29% (31%)
• Negative 43% (32%)
• In between 23% (33%)

Survey of 1,000 likely voters was conducted August 25-26, 2011. The margin of error is +/- 3 percentage points. Results from the poll conducted January 3-4, 2011 are in parentheses.

Inside the numbers:

The partisan divided on the Tea Party label is perhaps predictable: 56% of Republicans see it as a positive, while 70% of Democrats think it’s a negative. Voters not affiliated with either party also now regard Tea Party as a negative label by a 42% to 25% margin. 

Fifty-six percent (56%) of non-Tea party members see the label as a negative. 

Several prominent Democrats and their media friends charged the Tea Party with being economic terrorists during the recent congressional debate over raising the debt ceiling for their refusal to accept any tax increases. But just 29% of voters think members of the Tea Party are economic terrorists. 

More voters still think the average Tea Party member has a better handle on America’s problems than the average member of Congress does, but there’s a sharp difference of opinion between Democrats and Republicans. Fifty-eight percent (58%) of Likely GOP Primary voters believe the Tea Party will help Republicans in the 2012 presidential election. 

Republicans continue to strongly dislike the liberal label, while Democrats lukewarmly defend it. Unaffiliated voters view it primarily as a negative or somewhere in between a positive and a negative. 

Progressive, however, is a positive term for a plurality (49%) of Democrats and a negative one for a plurality (45%) of Republicans. Unaffiliateds are closely divided.