By all media accounts, Democrats are in for a drubbing in the November elections, despite polls showing congressional Republicans and Democrats are held in near equal low esteem by most Americans — and now, in spite of the fact solid majorities reject GOP policies.
For example, only a third of those polled support repealing health care reform, with similarly anemic results for Republicans’ plans to extend the Bush tax cuts for all and replace Medicare with a voucher scheme.
The ironic findings emerged in a Pew Research Center survey, the Society for Human Resource Management/National Journal Congressional Connection Poll, which queried 1,001 adults last Thursday through Sunday.
Of no surprise among the findings was that Republican policies get strongest support from white males age 30-49. (It would be interesting to know how many of those had a southern drawl.)
Republicans hit a wall when they try to peddle their nonsense to senior citizens. That’s especially so when the nonsense involves messing with Social Security and Medicare. Those 18-29 years old, who haven’t been through GOP-generated hard times with a shredded safety net before and whose retirement horizon is decades away, “overwhelmingly supported the Social Security changes.”
The survey did turn up one surprising result.
Perhaps more jarringly for Republican leaders, fewer than half of Republican respondents favored extending all the Bush tax cuts or replacing Medicare benefits with vouchers.
Maybe there’s hope for some of these folks after all.
The survey results strike us as a reasonably accurate snapshot of where a recession-rattled, politically disgusted American public is right now. There’s little good news here either for Democrats on track to lose a bunch of seats in Congress, maybe even control of the House, or for Republicans whose ideas are going over like lead balloons.
The picture that comes through is one of people prepared to vote their dissatisfaction, anxiety and resentment. That will be a bitter pill for many Democrats to swallow. After all, they have worked hard the past two years to clean up after the orgy of reckless, selfish excess President Bush, congressional Republicans, Wall Street and corporate America indulged in at the expense of the rest of us.
Democrats are also about to get kicked in the teeth for having delivered on desperately needed, long overdue health care reform — a task that so far is proving to be as thankless as it was difficult to accomplish.
If there’s a message in these poll results, and from the looming election, it is this:
Republicans will get the better of this election not because people particularly like or trust them, or want their agenda passed. It’s all about voters taking their displeasure out on the party that last time won the White House, the Congress and with that got left holding the bag.
I’m thinking the American voters just might have a memory beyond two years this time, and we may not see such a big shake up as the Right is crowing about.
Wow, I had to make sure that this post wasn’t written by Press Secretary Gibbs…
There’s one other slightly encouraging thing I read at “The Week,” which might or might not help in November. Republicans are way ahead in these “generic” polls, i.e. “do you favor the Democratic or Republican candidate,” “do you want the Democrats or Republicans to control Congress.”
But when the same people are asked about specific Republican candidates, the enthusiasm level goes down a bit. “Individual initiative,” “limited government,” Yes. Weepy the Orange, not so much.
I’m figuring tea partying will help the dums, which means, as usual when dealing with these two monoliths of yokelry, us rubes get hosed.
I don’t think the world will end. When people see the stark contrast between the two parties, I think they will go for the sane. The baggers are just to far out there. They will have to go on more shows than Fox.
That Chick who won’t Jill off is a pill. Christine O’Donnell I think her name is. I might have to send her a big old Golden Stiffy to practice with.
I bet a sex tape cums out about her with a horse or something.LOL
Good one Tim.
When all is said and done we know that republicans would love nothing more than going back to the Bush years but that won’t work because to do that would require borrowing yet more money. As for the polls I’d take them with a grain of salt. I’ve taken such polls and found the questions skewed. Most are done with agendas and are paid for by corporate America. When an opening question was “When Obama is going to take away your guns…” then polls are of little value at least to me.
Dave, keep that thought and keep passing it on.
Paine, there are far worse people to have my writing mistaken for.
Tom, I think if all women voters could sit down for a one-on-one chat with Boehner, Gohmert, Pence, et al, about 75 percent would vote for their opponents, regardless of party or ideology. If it was with Gingrich, make that 95 percent.
Randal, isn’t it fortunate that one monolith of yokelry is so much less inclined to wield a hose than the other?
Tim, I’m not so much concerned about tea baggers winning as I am about having a bunch moreo rdinary radical-right Republicans of the McConnell, DeMint, Cantor and Ryan kind. As for O’Donnell getting your special award, she’s a contender.
Demeur, I too take polls with a grain of salt. The one the post is about is reputable. The one that asked about Obama and guns is what’s called a “push poll.” Its purpose isn’t to get your opinion. Rather, it’s intended to plant ideas that whoever paid for it wants planted.
“Perhaps more jarringly for Republican leaders, fewer than half of Republican respondents favored extending all the Bush tax cuts or replacing Medicare benefits with vouchers.”
This is good to hear. The trouble is that the Republican leadership has bought into all this Tea Party nonsense so much that they don’t listen to their more sensible constituents. I wouldn’t imagine that this would increase their voter base.
L.P., I hope it won’t increase their base. But it’s crazy out there right now, and anything’s possible.