Poll: 'Tea Party' losing negative vibe

WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- U.S. voters say "Tea Party" is a little less negative as a political label, while "liberal" and "progressive" are more so, Rasmussen Reports said Wednesday.

The Rasmussen Reports survey indicated "conservative" was still the most favored description, with 42 percent of likely voters saying they viewed the term positively if a candidate is described as politically conservative. Twenty-one percent said they thought "conservative" was a negative description and 36 percent rate it somewhere in between.

Rasmussen Reports said calling someone a Tea Party candidate was seen positively by 31 percent of the voters and negatively by 32 percent. Thirty-three percent put it somewhere in between, the survey indicated.

Being described as a progressive was considered a positive for 22 percent of voters and a negative for 34 percent, with 41 percent seeing it in between.

Results are based on a survey of 1,000 likely voters conducted Monday and Tuesday. The margin of error is 3 percentage points.