CNN Poll: GOP & tea party unfavorables at all-time highs

Washington (CNN) - A new national poll provides more evidence of the political hit the Republican Party, the tea party movement, and House Speaker John Boehner took over the government shutdown.

According to a CNN/ORC International survey released Tuesday, 64% of Americans say they have an unfavorable view of the GOP, an all-time high dating back to 1992 when CNN first asked the question. Only three in 10 say they hold a favorable view of the party.

Fifty-six percent say they have an unfavorable view of the tea party movement, another record high in CNN polling. Only 28% say they see the 4-year-old grassroots conservative movement in a positive light.

 The Democratic Party's 43%-51% favorable/unfavorable ratings are basically unchanged from late last month, just before the start of the shutdown.

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 The poll was conducted Friday through Sunday, following the end of the 16-day government shutdown, which was sparked by a push by conservative Republican lawmakers in Congress to attach provisions dismantling or defunding the national health care law to must-pass bills to fund the government.

The Democratic-controlled Senate, with the backing of the White House, refused to consider any bills that weakened the Affordable Care Act, which is President Barack Obama's signature domestic achievement. The standoff resulted in the first government shutdown in 17 years.

 Speaker Boehner's image takes hit

 Boehner told House Republicans at the end of the shutdown that "we fought the good fight. We just didn't win."

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 But the poll suggests he's not winning the hearts and minds of a majority of Americans. Boehner's unfavorable rating now stands at 55%, up from 48% in late September.

 "This is the first time the Speaker has been disliked by a majority of Americans," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.  "Boehner's counterpart on the Senate side, Majority Leader Harry Reid, actually saw his unfavorable rating drop a bit in the aftermath of the shutdown."

 Boehner's favorable rating dropped nine percentage points among Republicans and eight points among conservatives.

 Cruz's favorable ratings tumble

 The poll indicates Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, who along with Reid negotiated the deal to end the shutdown, with a 23% favorable rating and a 42% unfavorable rating. McConnell's favorable rating is down four points from before the shutdown, with his unfavorable numbers up three points.

McConnell, who is up for re-election next year and is facing a conservative primary challenge, has a 41%-22% favorable/unfavorable rating among Republicans, but his numbers drop to 34%-36% among conservatives.

McConnell plunged 11 points among Republicans and ten points among conservatives since late last month.

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who was one of the ringmasters of the push to couple the dismantling Obamacare to funding the government, saw his favorable rating fall seven-points, to 23%, with his unfavorable rating jumping six-points to 42%. Cruz 's favorable rating dropped 12 points among Republicans and ten points among conservatives.

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 What about Hillary Clinton

 Hillary Clinton kept an extremely low profile during the shutdown crisis. Her ratings stand at 59%-37% in the new poll, basically unchanged from May, when CNN last asked Americans opinions on the former secretary of state and possible 2016 Democratic presidential hopeful.

More than nine in 10 Democrats see Clinton in a favorable light, as do Independents by a 53%-42% margin, but more than seven in 10 Republicans have an unfavorable view of the former first lady and Senator from New York.

 The poll was conducted for CNN by ORC International October 18-20, with 841 adults nationwide questioned by telephone. The survey's overall sampling error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.