Poll: More Trust Tea Partiers On The Issues Than Congress

All told, 52 percent of respondents said that they trusted the average tea partier's understanding of "issues facing America today," and 30 percent trusted the average Member of Congress' understanding of those issues.

The numbers stay about the same when it comes to tea partiers and Members of Congress on ethics. In the eyes of likely voters, members of the tea party are about twice as likely to be ethical than are Members of Congress.

The mainstream media should take that fact into account when trying to portray tea partiers as violent...