Charting Blame

Aug 22nd, 2012

Calling the aughts the "lost decade of the middle class," PEW has released the results of some recent polling. Their sample was asked to assess "blame" for the general collapse of American upward mobility. The numbers are probably providing Team Obama with some confidence as the public lays responsibility for what ails us at the feet of congress over the President by nearly a two to one margin.

Obama's Poll Numbers

April 10th, 2012

The latest WaPo/ABC Presidential polling is out this morning and Team Romney ought to be heading into crisis mode right about now.

Dan Balz and Joe Cohen write:

"Obama has double-digit leads over the likely Republican presidential nominee on who would do a better job of protecting the middle class, addressing women’s issues, handling international affairs and dealing with health care."

That pretty well covers most of the issues. Sure, there are tremendous risks, which the GOP continues to attempt to exploit, that might derail the economy. Nevertheless, in America, the personal is political. On that count, Team Romney has every reason to be preparing for disaster.

Romney's unlikables are at the most dramatic levels of any candidate since Michael Dukakis in 1984.

Obama is definitely vulnerable in certain areas, however, as the report notes:

"If Obama’s views on the role of government are seen more negatively than positively, he has the edge on another aspect of this key debate: Americans by 52-37 percent see "unfairness in the economic system that favors the wealthy" as a bigger problem than "overregulation of the free market that interferes with growth and prosperity."

This is bad news for the GOP brand itself.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know a lot can happen between now and November.

But this is Mitt Romney. I think the over/under is becoming pretty clear.

The Latest WND Poll

Feb 11th, 2012

Perhaps it is time for the GOP to simply admit that they have gone horribly, terribly and, perhaps, irreversibly off-course.

Of all the prominent birther outlets to have piled onto the sitting President, none can compare to World Net Daily. They have left no conspiracy theory unutilized in their quest to destroy him. Obama is a 'socialist?' Check. Obama is a 'Kenyan?' Check. Obama is a 'Nazi-Communist?' Check. Obama is a 'Mau-Mauing Anti-Colonialist?' Check.

This is what makes their latest poll, performed by the ultra-rightist Wenzel Strategies, a stunning development:

"In every case except the match-up against Ron Paul, more than 20 percent of Republican voters said they are more likely to support Obama than the Republican challenger. And Ron Paul is close, as 19 percent of Republicans said they are more likely to support Obama than Paul."

Is anyone actually surprised by this?

Obama Pulling Away From Romney

Feb 6th, 2012

After events like THIS, THIS and THIS all in the last week alone, is anyone surprised by the results of the latest WaPo/Pew data?

"Overall, 55 percent of those who are closely following the campaign say they disapprove of what the GOP candidates have been saying. By better than 2 to 1, Americans say the more they learn about Romney, the less they like him. Even among Republicans, as many offer negative as positive assessments of him on this question."

Barring a catastrophe of epic proportions, this is Obama's to lose.

America Loves "Progressives"

Dec 30th, 2011

The results of a recent PEW Center poll are pretty interesting. A higher number of respondents have a positive reaction to the word "progressive" than any other political term they were offered.

Newt Watch - On The Downside

Dec 18th, 2011

Over at TPM, Josh Marshall tracks the latest GOP frontrunner's decline:

"We’re at a critical moment in the 2012 Republican primary cycle. Not only are we less than three weeks before the Iowa Caucuses. We’re also likely to find out in the next several days whether we really have a Romney-Gingrich race or whether Gingrich is yet another flash-in-the-pan whose numbers spiked and then collapsed. The bettors at Intrade have clearly made up their mind for the latter option. A few days ago, Gingrich almost overtook Romney. But tonight the odds give Romney almost a 65% shot at securing the nomination and Gingrich just under a 15% chance."

Marshall has several interactive charts marking Newt's peak and recent descent in the pools.

The Public Is Behind The Occupation

Oct 14th, 2011

Brian Montopoli reports for CBS on some very favorable polling numbers regarding the Occupy movement.

"The conservative criticism of the Occupy Wall Street movement is that it is a "growing mob" (House majority leader Eric Cantor) of "shiftless protestors" (The Tea Party Express) engaged in "class warfare" (GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain) whose grievances - whatever they are - are far outside the political mainstream.

The polls don't back that up.

A new survey out from Time Magazine found that 54 percent of Americans have a favorable impression of the protests, while just 23 percent have a negative impression."

These are ordinary folks.

" An NBC/Wall Street Journal survey, meanwhile, found that 37 percent of respondents "tend to support" the movement, while only 18 percent "tend to oppose" it.

The findings suggest that the right's portrait of the movement as a collection of lazy hippies who need to stop whining - to "take a shower and get a job" (Bill O'Reilly) - isn't resonating with most Americans."

I think the growing attacks from right are a big mistake. I also expect them to get worse.

The Public's Opinion On The Public's Opinions

Sept 26th, 2011

I suppose you could call it a poll about polls. In an recent sampling by Gallup, a larger majority of self-identified Republicans than Democrats feel the country would be better off "if the leaders of our nation followed the views of the public more closely." How that squares with the fact that vast majorities are consistently opposed to specific Republican policy positions when asked is anybody's guess. What's more, the higher the level of education completed by those sampled directly correlates to lower agreement with the supposition.

The Continuing Decline...

Sept 26th, 2011

The screenshot below is just the current result (6:30am EDT 9/26/11) of a totally unscientific web poll regarding police behavior this past Saturday from the NY Daily News. There is no way of discerning the actual demographics of the respondents. All this really shows is that 46% of them are nuts.

Bachmann Watch - It's Over

Sept 20th, 2011

If Rep Michele Bachmann (R-MINN) stays in the race for very much longer it is for no other reason than to position herself, Palin-like, for a better share of market in future money making schemes. She has no chance of receiving the nomination. It is over.

Tea Party Even Less Popular Than Previously Thought

Aug 29th, 2011

I am not sure this is actually news, but the latest AP GfK Poll shows that the Tea Party's total disapproval now stands at 87% of the electorate and 79% of likely voters. That they are driving policy at all is nuts.

In other news which is still receiving little to no attention, the Tea Party's most prominent media mouthpieces continue to freefall in ratings as shown HERE and HERE.

Shameful Spin

July 28th, 2011

A few nights ago, while monitoring the primetime opinion broadcasts, I began to see wave after wave of Republican elected officials marching past the Fox cameras and touting a recent CNN poll which they said showed that "66% of Americans support 'Cut, Cap and Balance.'" I was, needless to say, a little bit curious about this. I went to read the poll in question. A full examination reveals their claims to be the worst sort of spin. Indeed, their exclamations rise to the levels of naked propaganda.

Here is the actual text of the question and the breakdown of the responses.

At first glance, this might seem impressive. But it is not. In fact, it is a testament to the average citizen's total lack of knowledge about what "Cut, Cap and Balance" would actually legislate.

How do we know this? Because CNN continued to ask more questions. They asked the respondents about specific spending cuts and tax increases. Meaning, they actually put quantifiable policy proposals to the test. What this reveals is that roughly two thirds to three quarters of the electorate is opposed to the entire contemporary Republican mission.

Period.

The Ostrich GOP

July 20th, 2011

A recent PEW poll confirms that Republican voters, and Tea Party supporters in particular, genuinely don't think a Default is a big deal. Seriously.

Who Bears Responsibility?

June 20th, 2011

This NBC/Wall Street Journal poll conducted from June 9th to June 13th shows a shift towards holding Bush 2 more accountable for our current economic crisis.

The Right Hates Obama For Doing What They Want Him To Do

March 22nd, 2011

A CNN poll of American opinion on the Libyan conflict seems to have inadvertently shone a light upon the sheer madness of right wing emotionalism:

Overall, 70% of Americans support the "No-Fly Zone" strategy currently underway. (GRAPHIC BELOW)

Taking a closer look at public opinion on "Obama's handling" of the situation, the views of self identified "conservatives" get just plain preposterous (HT to Dave Weigel):

50% of all voters approve of "Obama's handling"
41% of voters do not approve of "Obama's handling"

63% of Republicans say they disapprove of "Obama's handling" 
76% of Tea Party "supporters" disapprove of "Obama's handling" 

73% of Tea Partiers approve of the "No-Fly Zone"
78% of Republicans approve of the "No-Fly Zone"

Pssst... The "No-Fly Zone" IS "Obama's handling" of the Libyan situation. 

Pot Poll

Mar 4th, 2011

From PEW:

Who Wants To Repeal HCR?

Jan 24th, 2011

Pretty much nobody. In fact, support for full repeal has collapsed altogether. I don't expect the Republicans to care very much about the "will of the people" now. Only 8% want repeal of HCR altogether. Figures from the latest NYTimes/CBS poll:

The Tea Party's Latest Numbers

Jan 18th, 2011

We are not terribly surprised.

HCR Repeal? Not so fast...

Jan 14th, 2011

There are some interesting opinions in a new Marist poll. See what happens when Frank Luntz isn't crafting the questions? 

Greg Sargent reports in WaPo:

"Earlier this month, some on the right got very excited by a Gallup poll finding that a plurality, 46 percent, want the health law repealed, versus only 40 percent who want to keep it in place. That poll, however, only presented two options: Repeal, or let the law stand as is.

Today brings a new Marist poll that takes a more fine grained look at public attitudes towards repeal, and its results are quite different. No one should be under any illusions: The health law is unpopular. But the picture is complicated. Marist:

Which one of the following comes closest to your opinion about what Congress should do with the 2010 health care law:

Let it stand: 14

Change it so it does more: 35

Change it so it does less: 13

Repeal it completely: 30"

I would like to repeat my humble request that the Republicans use their vast intellectual resources to actually propose an alternative before symbolically passing a two paragraph note which won't see the Senate, much less survive a veto.