THIS POLL IS A LITTLE HARD TO INTERPRET

Rasmussen reliably gives GOP candidates 3 or 4 extra points in its polls and I'm not sure if the results below may not be biased.  Either way, 8 points pretty much means "fringe."

Just 8% Now Say They Are Tea Party Members
Monday, January 07, 2013
RASMUSSEN

Views of the Tea Party movement are at their lowest point ever, with voters for the first time evenly divided when asked to match the views of the average Tea Party member against those of the average member of Congress. Only eight percent (8%) now say they are members of the Tea Party, down from a high of 24% in April 2010 just after passage of the national health care law.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that only 30% of Likely U.S. Voters now have a favorable opinion of the Tea Party. Half (49%) of voters have an unfavorable view of the movement. Twenty-one percent (21%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)