Tea party called 'top terror threat' in U.S.

One in four likely voters who support President Obama believe the tea party is the biggest terror threat to the United States, according to a new Rasmussen Reports poll.

The survey, conducted over the past weekend. polled 1,000 likely voters. It has a margin of error of 3 percentage points, with a 95 percent level of confidence.

It asks a number of questions about America's security on topics including nuclear weapons, an anti-missile defense shield – and just exactly who is the nation's top terror threat.

Twenty-six percent of Obama's supporters say that would be the tea party – the grass-roots political effort to limit the size of government, get bureaucrats out of the average family's life and crack down on corruption and graft.

"Among those who Strongly Approve of the president more fear the tea party than radical Muslims," the survey report said.

Across the nation, about half of the likely voters believe radical Muslims are the bigger terrorist threat.

The telephone survey indicated 51 percent of likely U.S. voters think radical Muslims are the bigger threat today to the U.S. Thirteen percent put the tea party in that category, and another 13 percent say other political and religious extremists are the danger.

Six percent point to local "militia" groups, and 2 percent say Occupy Wall Street is the threat.

"Among those who approve of the president's job performance, just 29 percent see radical Muslims as the bigger threat. Twenty-six percent say it's the tea party that concerns them most. Among those who Strongly Approve of the president, more fear the tea party than radical Muslims," the report said.

"As for those who disapprove of Obama's performance, 75 percent consider radical Muslims to be the bigger terrorist threat. Just one percent name the tea party," Rasmussen reported today.

Rasmussen reported that it was curious that even though the Occupy movement targeted the upper "1 percent" in the nation, members of that group "are more likely than others to see the tea party as the bigger terror threat."

"Among those who earn six-figure incomes, 21 percent consider the tea party the bigger threat, while just two percent say the same of the Occupy movement. Among Americans who earn less than $30,000 a year, 12 percent see the tea party as the bigger threat, and seven percent say that description best applies to the Occupy movement," the poll showed.

The report said conservatives "overwhelmingly" view radical Muslims as a danger while liberals are split between radical Muslims and the tea party.

A full one in five government workers "see the tea party as the nation's bigger terror threat. Twelve percent of private sector workers hold that view."

Two-thirds of the respondents believe terrorist groups soon will get nuclear weapons. Half of that group believes it is "very likely."