Lots of online chatter today about two new polls that try to take a snapshot of the Tea Party movement in terms of what its membership looks like. (See Crooks and Liars for the background.)

I have to say though, that the wording Gallup used for its poll seems a odd (i.e. loosey-goosey) [emphasis added]:

Do you consider yourself to be a supporter of the Tea Party movement

Seems to me the use of “supporter” gives respondents all kinds of leeway in terms of how they answer that question, and that Gallup likely landed a lot more affirmative answers by using such a loose definition. And in turn, that larger pool of 'yes' responses had an impact on the overall snapshot of the Tea Party that Gallup claimed to have taken. (i.e. “Demographically, they are generally representative of the public at large.”)

When Gallup asks about traditional party I.D., does it ask people if they're a “supporter” of the Democratic Party or the Republican Party? No, Gallup does not. So why the more vague use of “supporter” for the Tea Party poll? Why not simply ask, 'Are you a member of the Tea party movement?'

Note, for instance, the wording of another Tea Party poll out today, this one by the Winston Group, a GOP-leaning firm:

Do you consider yourself a part of the tea party movement?

To me that's a much more precise approach. And not surprisingly, the Winston poll found just 17 percent of respondents were part of the Tea Party movement, whereas Gallup found 28 percent of Americans “support” it.