CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: Despite Harsh Criticism, Tea Party Slips Into The Mainstream. “The release of the top three ‘tea party’ issues this week gives a glimpse of a small-government movement growing, maturing, and looking increasingly more like middle America. . . . Moreover, polls show that the anger at big government exhibited by tea party protesters is shared by many, if not most, Americans.”

Related item here. “The conventional wisdom about the Tea Party has not yet settled on any one definitive portrayal of the movement, but the data tell a fascinating story – over four out of 10 self-identified Tea Party members aren’t Republican, and a third don’t consider themselves conservative. . . . But what truly sets the Tea Party apart from even Republicans or conservatives broadly is its commitment to economic conservatism. Tea Party members, like voters overall, are very focused on the economy and jobs; some 36 percent say it is their top issue.”