The Cost of the Tea Party

Here's some interesting data from Pew.

Americans turning against the "tea party" (however they understand the "tea party" to mean) is not exactly a new story, but here it continues to accelerate.

More surprising: the tea party seems to be contaminating the larger Republican brand.

Republican favorability has dropped 7 points with the general public since September 2010, with the steepest portion of the drop occuring during the debt-ceiling debate last summer.

But in congressional districts where the tea party is strong, Republican support has dropped further, by 10 points.

And while overall GOP numbers are stronger in those tea party districts, even there, the unfavorables are higher than the favorables, 48 unfavorable to 41 favorable.

This is coming to seem a very expensive tea party indeed.