Poll shows tea partyers out of step with most

WASHINGTON - Tea party backers fashion themselves as "we the people," but polls show the Republican Party's most conservative and energized voters are hardly your average crowd.

According to an Associated Press-GfK Poll this month, 84 percent who call themselves tea party supporters don't like how President Barack Obama is handling his job - a view shared by just 35 percent of all other adults. Tea partyers are about four times likelier than others to back repealing Obama's health care overhaul and twice as likely to favor renewing tax cuts for the highest-earning Americans.

Exit polls of voters in this month's congressional elections reveal similar gulfs. Most tea party supporters - 86 percent - want less government intrusion on people and businesses, but only 35 percent of other voters said so. Tea party backers were about five times more likely to blame Obama for the country's economic ills, three times likelier to say Obama's policies will be harmful and twice as apt to see the country as on the wrong track.

With Republicans running the House next year, the findings highlight the delicate dance facing leaders who will have to address tea party concerns without alienating moderate voters who will be crucial in 2012, when the GOP hopes to win the White House and boost its strength on Capitol Hill.

One certainty: There are too many tea party supporters for politicians to ignore, especially for Republicans. About 3 in 10 adults in the AP-GfK Poll call themselves tea party backers, including 60 percent of Republicans.

GOP pollster Steve Lombardo says it will be a challenge for Republican leaders to find policies that will deliver "a twofer for independents and more extreme elements" of the party. He and other Republicans say the answer is to focus on areas of broad agreement such as curbing federal spending, taxes and deficits.

The AP-GfK Poll was conducted Nov. 3-8 by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Corporate Communications of 1,000 randomly chosen adults. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points. It included interviews with 299 tea party supporters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 7.5 points.