Poll: GOP Leaders Have Low Favorable Ratings — Among Republicans
Some striking numbers buried in a new Rasmussen Poll show that GOP Congressional leaders are viewed favorably only by a minority.
A minority of Republican voters, that is.
Just 35% of GOP voters have a favorable rating of GOP House leader John Boehner. Only 40% of Republicans view Senate leader Mitch McConnell favorably.
What’s more, these findings are the work of Rasmussen, who critics have accused of tilting their polling to the right.
Yes, Congressional leaders of both parties are viewed unfavorably by majorities of voters overall. But unlike Boehner and McConnell, Dem leaders Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are viewed favorably by majorities in their own party.
There are a number of possible explanations. It could reflect general lack of morale among Republicans. Or maybe GOP voters are frustrated that their leaders haven’t succeeded in blocking Obama’s agenda. Or maybe the Dem strategy of using Rush Limbaugh to paint the GOP leadership as partisan and obstructionist, and to drive a wedge between conservative Republicans and moderate ones who want to see Obama succeed, is working.
In other polling news, Doug Schoen and Scott Rasmussen argue, provocatively, that Obama’s approval rating is dropping and that Americans are expressing “increasingly significant doubts about his initiatives.”
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Significant, given that Rasmussen is a chronically Republican-tainted polling operation to begin with. Must have given Scotty and his crowd extreme heartburn to have to report this. May I suggest Pepcid AC?
I have a better theory. When asked Republicans give a fair appraisal of their own party’s leadership but reflexively reject Democratic leadership. On the other hand Democrats, while somewhat doing the same thing, are more prone to give their true assessment of both parties. McConnell and Boehner suck by any standard
“Or maybe GOP voters are frustrated that their leaders haven’t succeeded in blocking Obama’s agenda.”
That’s the safest bet given Obama’s numbers among Republican voters. Pelosi and Reid weren’t on my Christmas card list for much of W’s second term. Especially after they regained control in 2007 and still could barely keep Bush in check.
O man – it’s a good time to be a Democrat.
GLOATgloatGLOATgloatGLOAT -
No surprise when those same GOP leaders rant all day how Government is the problem. Would you view someone favorably if they told you they are the problem in the U.S.?
They are the problem and they made every effort to be so. They get on national TV and proclaim how the government doesn’t work yet they forget they were in charge during the biggest failures in history. They own it. I think the average person is realising that now and not swayed by Fox propaganda Rush lies. Dittoheads=suicide cult.
I will preface this as I have most posts. I have been a lifelong Republican, but not one who has bought into the NeoCon influence and manipulation of the GOP by NeoCons for their own agenda. The list of possible explanations for lack of favorability is telling, but totally in line with the root of the problem and the explanation that was not listed, that being the awakening of Republicans to the Neo Con artistry we have been subject to in the last 8 years. Typical of the NeoCon influence and for whatever reasons, vanity perhaps, is a consistent exhibition of cluelessness to their own failings. Like those with substance abuse problems they continue to live in denial of their problems, thus continue to dive head on into being their own worst enemies. In case people have not noticed or noted, the last administration was led by someone who came to office by a one vote majority SCOTUS decision surrounding a voting controversy in the state governed by his own brother and someone who gained a second term by the skin of his teeth by any measure for a sitting U.S. president. His policies did not leave the nation in good shape or even in a mild recession, but in serious trouble. The explanation that is not listed is that Republicans have woken up and have been waking up since not long after 9/11/01, but enough gave Mr. Bush the benefit of the doubt to squeak out a second term. While the very vocal NeoCons and much of the public complained about a do-nothing new Democratic majority, they also ignored that people noted not only the literal slim majority the Democrats had to work with, but also how, rather than putting political party scorekeeping aside in favor of the health of the nation, Republicans merely continued to work to block in every way they could anything that came from the Democrats, bad OR good. The nation was neglected and suffered further as a result of the partisanship and after getting beaten, NeoCons still live in denial of what caused that defeat and continue to work the same mentalities and strategies that led to their defeat. There are different ways to arrive at the same place. The Republican Party, my party, continues to flounder and wallow because it chooses the difficult route to returning credibility to itself. It first needs to recognize and acknowledge what the failures were and who was behind them, then target what needs to be changed and be sincere and genuine in their efforts to make that change. Vanity and self-righteousness gets in the way of people seeing their true selves in the mirror and until they see their true selves in the mirror that aren’t going to see any failings that need to be corrected. Fewer Republicans than some think are living in denial of what the problems and failings were and continue to be. It’s time for those continuing to live in denial to get a clue. The problem is, those with high opinions of themselves don’t have the humility needed to see their faults and work to get out of their own way.
SO1–Taking you at your word that you are a Republican, I hope there are a lot more out there who, like you, are coming back to reality.