What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending February 19, 2010
Fix it or throw it out. Americans seem to be in that kind of mood these days.
Public Content
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February 20, 2010
February 20, 2010
Tea Party Power to Solve the Debt Problem By Lawrence Kudlow
The New York Times ran a front-page story this week called "Party Gridlock in Washington Feeds New Fear of a Debt Crisis." As usual, they got it wrong. Instead, the headline should have read, "After Scott Brown's Astonishing Senate Win in Massachusetts, New Political Gridlock in Washington Could Spell the End of the Liberal Crack-Up We Have Witnessed over the Past Year."
February 19, 2010
To Tax and Who To Tax: Voters Are Evenly Divided
Voters are now evenly divided as to which candidate they would prefer to vote for: A candidate who opposes all tax increases or one who promises to increase taxes only on the rich. But most still believe tax hikes hurt the economy.
February 19, 2010
43% Expect Change If GOP Takes Over Congress, 32% Don’t
Given increasing voter unhappiness with Congress, many analysts suggest Republicans may win control of at least the House in this November’s elections, but voters have mixed feelings about how big a change that might really be.
February 19, 2010
73% Agree That Washington Is “Broken”
Seventy-three percent (73%) of U.S. voters agree with Vice President Joseph Biden that “Washington right now is broken.”
February 19, 2010
What Went Wrong? By Susan Estrich
Something has gone very wrong.
Was it just a year ago that Democrats assumed more control in Washington than the party has had in my lifetime? It was.
February 19, 2010
“Missing Bush?” Why Republican Revisionism Won’t Sell By Howard Rich
As America loudly repudiates the leftist agenda of President Barack Obama and his Congressional allies, a group of partisan GOP opportunists is busy promoting a theory of “Republican revisionism.”
February 19, 2010
49% Favor Building New Nuclear Plants
President Obama this week announced an $8.3-billion government loan guarantee to build the first new nuclear plant in this country in over a quarter of a century.
February 19, 2010
GOP Will Gain Significantly, But Probably Remain in House Minority By Isaac T. Wood
The last two U.S. House of Representatives elections have been Democratic landslides that have left them with a 79-seat majority. In 2006, Democrats picked up 29 seats on election night (exactly as the Crystal Ball predicted, by the way) and didn’t lose a single seat of their own, even adding another pick-up in a December runoff. The winning streak continued in 2008, with Democrats netting 21 new seats in what was a Blue year across the board.
February 19, 2010
Oregon Governor: Democrats Have It For Now
This year’s race for governor of Oregon is a free-for-all at this stage, with a former Democratic governor who’s the best known of the candidates running slightly ahead.
February 18, 2010
60% in California Say Better If Most Incumbents in State Legislature Are Defeated
As California stumbles through its continuing budget crisis, 60% of likely voters in the state now believe it would be better if most incumbents in the state legislature were defeated in this November’s elections.
February 18, 2010
Wisconsin Senate: Feingold Leads Two Announced GOP Challengers
Wisconsin incumbent Democrat Russ Feingold leads his two best-known announced Republican challengers for the U.S. Senate in the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in the state.
February 18, 2010
65% of Virginia Voters Approve of McDonnell So Far
Just over a month after Bob McDonnell assumed office in Virginia, a new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Virginia voters finds that 65% at least somewhat approve of the job he’s doing as governor, including 29% who strongly approve.
February 18, 2010
Gridlock Leading to Debt Crisis? By Lawrence Kudlow
The New York Times ran a front-page story yesterday called “Party Gridlock in Washington Feeds New Fear of a Debt Crisis.” I would’ve preferred a different title. In the aftermath of Scott Brown’s Senate win in Massachusetts, the new political gridlock in Washington could spell the end of the liberal crack-up that we have witnessed over the past year.
February 18, 2010
61% Say Government Should Keep Out of Housing Market
Sixty-one percent (61%) of Americans say it is better for the economy for the government to stay out of the housing market.
February 18, 2010
Indiana Senate: Hill, Ellsworth Trail Three Main GOP Hopefuls
As expected with incumbent Senator Evan Bayh’s surprise announcement this week that he will not seek reelection, Indiana’s U.S. Senate race is wide open. The three leading Republican contenders all post leads for now over the two most prominently mentioned Democratic hopefuls, but it’s not even clear if those Democrats are in the race.
February 18, 2010
The GOP's Mixed Medicare Message By Joe Conason
For voters listening to the Republican leadership over the past year, the most startling surprise was the shift in their attitude toward Medicare. Where faithfulness to true conservatism was once measured by fierce hostility to the popular insurance program for the elderly, as articulated by Ronald Reagan at the birth of Medicare in 1965, today the Republicans claim to be its staunchest defenders.
February 18, 2010
The Winter of Global Warming By Debra J. Saunders
The last few months have been cruel and wintry for global-warming true believers. The long storm began in November, when a leak of e-mails from Britain's University of East Anglia Climate Research Unit revealed that key global-warming scientists tried to stifle dissent and politicize peer review, which led to revelations that the researchers had dumped much of the raw data used to bolster the alarmist argument.
February 18, 2010
Republican Talk of the 'Sensible Middle' Makes No Sense By Froma Harrop
We keep hearing that "Obama should move to the center." A variation on this theme is that the president should find the "sensible middle" on policy.
February 18, 2010
Only 21% Say U.S. Government Has Consent of the Governed
The founding document of the United States, the Declaration of Independence, states that governments derive “their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Today, however, just 21% of voters nationwide believe that the federal government enjoys the consent of the governed.
