Welcome to the new world.

I'm gonna get ripped for this one, but one of my favorite guilty pleasure movies is A Knight's Tale with Heath Ledger. Yes, it's cheesy. Yes, it's unoriginal. Yes, it's bad.

But it's awesomely bad.

And it has these two in it, so it's totally worth watching.

But I digress. One of my favorite scenes is near the very end when Ledger and his team lean over the defeated black knight, and say...

You have been weighed. You have been measured. And you have absolutely been found wanting.
Welcome to New World. God save you, if it is right that He should do so.

Well, it seems to me that Democrats are still living in the land of the dark knight. In the old world.

What's the old world? It's where belief that attacking voting blocs like the Tea Party movement is a way to win votes.

I was inspired to write this post based on this tweet from Strickland's new Communications Director, Lis Smith. In it, she ultimately links to an article from TPM that highlights Kasich's exclamation last week that he was "in the Tea Party before there was a Tea Party."

Now, I think it's safe to say Lis wasn't highlighting Kasich's quote because she felt it would help his re-election. Instead, she likely feels like many on the left do, that Tea Partiers are just another extremist group, and any opportunity to connect Republicans to their ranks should be utilized.

Even in the face of what's happening in Massachusetts as we speak, Democrats believe this is just a right wing version of Move On.

The reality is far from it. In fact, we've never seen anything like it. Tea Partiers are more a state of mind than anything else - pushing for a hands-off government and an increased sense of individualism. They aren't all right wingers. And by and large, they aren't extremists.

And beyond the political class, Americans like them.

But don't take my word for it. Read a bit from a recent New York Times article:

The tea party movement is mostly famous for its flamboyant fringe. But it is now more popular than either major party. According to the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, 41 percent of Americans have a positive view of the tea party movement. Only 35 percent of Americans have a positive view of the Democrats and only 28 percent have a positive view of the Republican Party.

Additionally, that same poll found only 13% of Americans had a very negative opinion of the Tea Party, and only 10% feel somewhat negatively about them. Not even 1/4 of Americans.

Total negatives for Democrats? 46%. Republicans? 43%.

Compared to only 23% for the Tea Party.

They're also popular among the always important independent voters.

Rasmussen asked independent voters whom they would support in a generic election between a Democrat, a Republican and a Tea Party candidate. The Tea Party candidate won, with 33% of independents. Undecided came in second with 30%. The Democrats came in third with 25% and the Republicans fourth with 12%.

So, if Democrats want to keep attaching the Tea Party to Republicans, that's fine with me. Why? Because combined they out-poll Democrats 45-25 among Independents.

And that's how you win.

Welcome to the new world.