Tea Party Conservatives Say They Won the Support of the American People in the Government Shutdown Battle

Deliberately Lying or Just Plain Ignorant – We Report, You Decide (And Yes It Could be Both)

Listening to Texas Senator Ted Cruz and his ilk is like listening to a victorious General in an epic fight.  The conservatives have loudly proclaimed a great victory in their effort to shutdown the government and derail health care reform and prevent the debt ceiling from being increased.  This of course ignores the fact that there were no changes in health care reform and the debt ceiling was increased.

As far as winning the political war, there is this.  The key race in November, the contest for Governor of Virginia is rapidly looking like a near certain loss for the conservative Ken Cuccinelli.  And here’s part of the reason why.

Opposition to the tea party movement has reached a new high in Virginia, a Washington Post/Abt SRBI poll shows, kicking a key leg of support out from under Ken Cuccinelli II as he tries to win the governor’s race on a strongly conservative platform.

Cuccinelli (R), the state attorney general, now trails businessman Terry McAuliffe (D) by 12 percentage points among likely voters, the survey shows. And Cuccinelli’s decline comes as Virginians are increasingly turned off by the movement that has backed him strongly and with which he shares many views.

How bad is it, real numbers, the ones that have a bias against conservatives say this.

The tea party is now opposed by 53 percent of registered voters in the commonwealth, up a slim three points from last year and up 10 points from a May 2011 Washington Post poll. Just 36 percent support the movement, down from 45 percent two years ago. Among those with the most intense feelings, voters who strongly oppose the tea party now outnumber those who strongly support it by more than three to one.

Independents have soured most dramatically on the tea party: Fifty-five percent oppose the movement, up from 37 percent in May 2011. It’s also opposed by 80 percent of Democrats and 23 percent of Republicans.

Oh, and what about outside of Virginia?

The rising tide of opposition mirrors a trend across the country. A national Washington Post-ABC News poll this month found 54 percent of all Americans opposing the tea party movement, up 11 points from May and a high across three years of surveys. Strong opponents outnumbered strong supporters by more than 3 to 1.

So go ahead Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. Mike Lee, and when you get back from Fantasy Land and re-enter the real world let us know.  We’d like to stop by and say “hi”.