News Roundup for 9/28/11

-Headline of the day-
"Americans Dislike the Tea Party More Than Ever Before."

The Tea Party is that broad cross section of ordinary Americans that stretches all the way from the audience of Rush Limbaugh to the audience of Sean Hannity. Every day people, standing up for what they believe in, which is whatever they're told to believe in. These patriots have had to endure a lot, from listening to Breitbart speak, to being subjected to Michele Bachmann's unblinking stare. And now there's another hardship these average Americans must face -- the dislike of the average American.

A new poll shows that just "28 percent of Americans hold favorable views of the tea party, an all-time low in the 19 months that CNN/ORC pollsters have gauged Americans' feelings about the movement. At the same time, 53 percent of Americans think poorly of the tea party, an all-time high."

And CNN's not alone here. According to the report, "In a pair of Pew Research Center polls conducted in February 2010 and August 2011, disapproval of the tea party jumped from 18 percentage points; the percentage of those who said they liked the movement increased from 33 to 36 percent. Washington Post-ABC and Wall Street Journal-NBC polls also found declining support for the tea party from 2009 to 2010."


What's happening here is more than just familiarity breeding contempt; familiarity is breeding specific knowledge. When the TP first started, people were like, "They're unhappy? I'm unhappy too! Good for them..." But then they started to learn what the 'baggers were unhappy about and it was stuff like communists taking over and birth certificates and other crazy shit. People didn't like that so much. All the "Let's let the US go into default!" batshittery probably didn't help much either.

So keep doing what you're doing, 'baggers. It's working out great for all the people you think are your enemies. (Mother Jones)


-Comparing "scandals"-
A little perspective on a loan guarantee "scandal":


Click to embiggen

You're welcome. (McClatchy)


-Bonus HotD-
"Who Dares Tell The Tea Party They Smell Like Old Gorilla Masks?"

Why people don't like 'baggers, Exhibit A: they have no sense of humor, take themselves way to seriously, and never miss an opportunity to play the victim card. (Wonkette, with video)