The corpulent, caucasoid beast born of the Southern Strategy, reared by Reagan, and funded by the likes of Dick Armey has turned on it’s Masters. A new poll from Rassmussen suggests that more ‘moderate’ Republican Congressfolk looking to renew their DC parking pass — and (ahem) government-run personal healthcare plan — might face primary challengers in the form of Tea Party candidates.
In a three-way Generic Ballot test, the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds Democrats attracting 36% of the vote. The Tea Party candidate picks up 23%, and Republicans finish third at 18%. Another 22% are undecided.
The Republican Roadster, the once-feared electoral muscle-car of the 80’s and 90’s isn’t exactly ‘track ready’ these days — if being lapped by barely literate (judging from the signs) old white people atop an armada of Rascal Scooters is any indication. The Party of Lincoln and Roosevelt, of Ike and AuH20, is long gone. Has today’s GOP taken the Teabagger ramp, launching in a fatal arc over the shark?
Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, they’re definitely looking like the type who’d consider wearing a leather jacket into the lake a good idea. More on the Teabag blight:
Among voters not affiliated with either major party, the Tea Party comes out on top. Thirty-three percent (33%) prefer the Tea Party candidate, and 30% are undecided. Twenty-five percent (25%) would vote for a Democrat, and just 12% prefer the GOP.
Among Republican voters [ed. ZOMG!], 39% say they’d vote for the GOP candidate, but 33% favor the Tea Party option.
Can the GOP survive the Golem that no longer heeds their command?
Well, probably. See, the respondents in this poll were asked to assume that the Tea Party had enough of its shit together to form a viable political party. Something tells me that level of organization is a bridge to far for this disjointed horde of Libertarians, LaRouche-Bags, xenophobes, half-witted conspiracy theorists, and zealots. The results are based largely on fantasy. Maybe the Pseudo-Progressive Halflings will have a shot next cycle too (assuming they’ve got Unicorn-Gate behind them).
In practical terms, it is unlikely that a true third-party option would perform as well as the polling data indicates. The rules of the election process-written by Republicans and Democrats–provide substantial advantages for the two established major parties. The more conventional route in the United States is for a potential third-party force to overtake one of the existing parties.
There’s virtually no risk of a national Party for Teabaggerz forming, much less actually contending in today’s political arena. Unfortunately, the Republican Party is still in danger from within. The noxious seeds are finding purchase in mainstream GOP soil. Palin, Bachmann, etc., ad nauseam. Emphasis on the nausea.
Politico reports that Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C.; Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga.; Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.; and Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., appeared on a panel at a screening of Tea Party: The Documentary Film on Wednesday night in D.C.
Fertile soil, apparently:
Data from the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll shows that just 55% of conservatives nationwide consider themselves Republicans. Recent polling shows that 73% of Republican voters believe their leaders in Washington are out of touch with the party base.
Even from Rasmussen (who may even be a bit of a Tea Bagger himself), these numbers show a very weakened party with a very tarnished brand. Product Placement: Try Chipotle Diet Coke! I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed watching the Grand Old Party collapse violently inward like the house in Poltergeist, but this is just getting sad (and slightly skeery).
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