According to a poll conducted in battleground congressional districts by The Hill, more Americans see the Democrats as being dominated by extremists than Republicans.

The poll found that 44% of likely voters say the Dems are more dominated by its extremist elements while only 37% peg the GOP as more dominated by extremists:

More than one in every five Democrats (22 percent) in The Hill's survey said their party was more dominated than the GOP by extreme views. The equivalent figure among Republicans is 11 percent.

Results for independent voters reflected the larger sample. Forty-three percent of likely independent voters said the Democratic party is more dominated by its extreme elements compared to 37 percent who though the GOP had fallen under the sway of extreme views.

The figures by party do come with one caveat. Because the voter sampling size is smaller, the margin of error by party is 4.5 percent.

The data surprised Democratic strategists and political experts in a campaign season when much media attention has focused on the battle between the GOP establishment and Tea Party-backed candidates such as Sharron Angle in Nevada and Christine O'Donnell in Delaware.

They said it suggests problems for a Democratic party seen as too liberal.

For more than a year, the media has hammered the tea party and the GOP for being "too extreme." But the proof is in what each party has been pushing during that time. The Democrat's agenda is seen as radical by a plurality of voters - even 22% of Democrats think so.

Another false narrative crashes and burns before the election.

Hat Tip: Ed Lasky