Poll: Americans Blame Republicans For Failure To Move On Stim
Some striking numbers in the new Pew poll dramatize again that the Republicans are, in some ways, losing the political battle over the stimulus package:
With the congressional debate over the stimulus proposal at a crucial point, the public is evenly divided over whether Obama and Republicans on Capitol Hill are working together; 45% say they are not working together while 43% say that they are. However, by nearly four-to-one (61% to 16%), those who say Obama and the Republicans are not cooperating blame Republicans, rather than Obama, for the failure to work together.
Moreover, only about a third of Americans (34%) approve of the job that Republican leaders in Congress are doing, while 51% disapprove. The balance of opinion toward Democratic congressional leaders is much more positive; 48% approve of the job that they are doing compared with 38% who disapprove.
And yet, the politics of the situation remain murky, suggesting that the Republicans have won some tactical gains. The very same poll, while finding that President Obama’s numbers are astonishingly high, also finds that the number who think the stim bill is a good idea has slipped a bit, from 57% last month to 51% now. And more buy the GOP argument, too, with 48% saying that tax cuts are more stimulative while only 39% say spending is.
Keep in mind that this poll was taken after Obama began more aggressively championing the plan and more directly confronting the GOP’s pro-tax-cut ideology, too. Go figure.
O where or where is sbj to tell me there is something wrong with this?
Republicans should be very afraid. They should be afraid of voters and of Obama’s popularity with voters and their lack of same.
I. Love. This!!!
it still feels to me like his personal popularity isn’t directly impacting public perceptions of the stim package, but I could be wrong.
“The very same poll . . . finds that the number who think the stim bill is a good idea has slipped a bit, from 57% last month to 51% now. And more buy the GOP argument, too, with 48% saying that tax cuts are more stimulative while only 39% say spending is.”
This is fascinating stuff. As I listened to NPR’s coverage of this Pew poll just this morning there was not one mention of the points that Greg raises. Way to go, Greg, else I would not have known.
Off with you, Tena, or I shall taunt you a second time!
You seem to think that I am arguing that the Repubs are popular, or that Obama is not, or something like that. What has given you that idea? Why should I feel obligated to complain about a poll? I’m not understanding your taunt . . .
I’m not understanding your taunt . . .
I know. And butter wouldn’t melt in your mouth, either, sweetie.
it still feels to me like his personal popularity isn’t directly impacting public perceptions of the stim package, but I could be wrong.
Huh? How do figure that when polls yesterday showed 67% of Americans agreeing with Obama’s handling of the stimulus?
The fact that GOP talking points on tax cuts are working at all is proof positive of Fool me once, shame on you…fool me twice, shame on me. I’m not sure how the failure of two rounds of Bush tax cuts in the last 8 years + a doubling of the national debt = bolstering GOP’s arguments that tax cuts are great and they are very fiscally conservative. Fiscally conservative only when it comes to spending money on education and food stamps, but not unnecessary wars apparently.
Greg
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I think you have to be careful in saying the Republicans are winning the spin war just because most Americans think tax cuts are more stimulative. Remember that from day one President Obama had 300 billion of tax cuts in the bill. Also remember that the poll doesn’t differentiate between what kind of tax cuts.
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President Obama campaigned on a pledge of tax cuts for 95 percent of working families. In this plan working people will be getting a tax rebate check to spend. Those checks will definitely be stimulative. Not as stimulative as infrastructure spending or putting money into food stamps but still stimulative because they are targeted toward the middle class. To people who will spend that money.
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See its the false strawman that we all myself included fall into. If a poll shows that tax cuts are better for stimulus we automatically think thats something against Democrats ( because you know those lefty libruls just LOVE raising your taxes) when in truth President Obama himself put the tax cuts in also. So is it really a loss for him? I don’t really think so.
when in truth President Obama himself put the tax cuts in also. So is it really a loss for him? I don’t really think so.
Posted by: sgwhiteinfla | February 10th, 2009 at 11:36 am
Yes he did – he promised during his campaign that he would in fact cut some taxes. Last night he said that the bill contains tax relief for those Americans he promised tax cuts to all along.
Here’s a nice graphic comparing the relative stimulative effects of various spending and tax cuts.
http://www.epi.org/page/-/img/20081022snapshot600.jpg
for your reading pleasure.
I think you have to be careful in saying the Republicans are winning the spin war just because most Americans think tax cuts are more stimulative.
Let me observe that looking at that table under “Tax Cuts Seen as More Stimulative than Spending” indicates that the public is misinformed on the level of “Saddam did 911.”
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Look at this:
://www.epi.org/page/-/img/20081022snapshot600.jpg
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I’m saying that beltway journalism is failing, not that the Republicans are winning. Mainstream journalism is failing to inform their reading public on a massive massive scale. Utter, epic FAIL. I mean, that spending is more stimulative than tax cuts isn’t even a debatable point, *it’s a FACT.*