Most Unpopular Group in America Dictating Republican Policy

Rachel Maddow talks about how Americans dislike the tea party more than gay people, Muslims, atheists, and liberals by looking at data from a recent poll. The poll found that the Tea Party is easily the single most unpopular group in America. This is something you'd think the Republican Party would take to heart. As Maddow noted, "If you were the Republican Party, and you were going to give one of these groups of Americans veto power over who was going to be your presidential nominee...which of these groups would you choose? I mean, really? You'd give that power to the one at the very, very bottom, underneath the atheists? Really?"

Yet looking at the 2012 Republican presidential field to date, the only guy who has solidly distanced himself from the Tea Party and is actually making any sense is Jon Huntsman, who is polling at a 1% and at bottom of the pack.

Nicole Wallace, former White House communications director and senior advisor to the McCain-Palin campaign joined Rachel to discuss why Republicans are so deferential to the tea party and why they're so unpopular.

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