Pew Poll on Major Issues, Brutal Numbers for Republicans

gifford1967 · Feb 21, 2013

Not even mentioned in the write up below- Just 22% of citizens identify as Republicans. These numbers are just crazy bad for the GOP. But what can they do? Their tea bagger base gives them almost no room to maneuver.

On issues, GOP is badly out of step with America
By Greg Sargent , Updated: February 21, 2013
Washington Post

Pew Research released a remarkable survey this morning that gauges public opinion on pretty much every major issue facing the country. It is not an exaggeration to say that solid majorities of the American people agree with Obama and Democrats — and disagree with Republicans — on every single one of them. This is not a partisan observation. It’s what the numbers show:

Taxes and the deficit: 76 percent say the we should reduce the deficit with a combination of tax increases and spending cuts (the Democratic position), while only 19 percent say tax increases should be off the table completely (the Republican position). While a majority of those who want a combination of the two want it to be weighted towards spending cuts, that’s also the position held by many Democratic leaders (to the chagrin of the left).

Minimum wage: The public favors raising it to $9.00 per hour by 71-26. Even 50 percent of Republicans favor raising it.

Gun control: Americans favor passing major new gun legislation in the next few years by 67-29. Americans favor expanded background checks by 83-15, favor an assault weapons ban by 56-41, and favor banning high capacity magazine clips by 53-44.

Climate change: 54 percent say the most important priority for our energy supply should be developing alternative energy sources, while only 34 percent say it should be expanding exploration and production of oil, coal and natural gas. Americans favor setting stricter emission limits on power plants by 62-28.

Immigration: Here the picture is more mixed, but not by much. Forty seven percent say that border security and a path to citizenship should be given equal priority, while only 25 percent favor prioritizing only enforcement, and 25 percent favor prioritizing only a path to citizenship. But it needs to be restated that the combination of enforcement and a path to citizenship is the Democratic position. With the exception of a few Senators, most GOP lawmakers favor either enforcement only or a combination of enforcement and a murkily defined second-class status.

On every one of these major issues with the exception of the isolated assault and magazine ban policies, the GOP position is favored by roughly a third or fewer Americans. Now, in fairness to Republicans, in some cases (the economy, the deficit) Obama’s approval is lagging. But on the issues themselves, public preferences are overwhelmingly clear.

What’s more, in another striking finding, large majorities favor federal legislative action on every one of these issues this year or in the next few years. In other words, there is broad consensus around both the idea that the federal government should act to solve our most pressing problems, and around how the government should go about doing this. Which is to say there’s wide consensus around the Democratic vision of governing, broadly defined, while the Republican vision, broadly defined, is adhered to by a small minority. You’d think GOP strategists might find these numbers at least somewhat worrisome — and you’d think they badly undermine the notion that Republicans don’t need to change their ideas, only their packaging.

* GOP will take blame for the sequester: One last finding from the Pew poll, this one concerning the sequester:

Obama holds the upper hand politically over Congressional Republicans. If there is no deficit deal by March 1, 49% say congressional Republicans would be more to blame while just 31% would mostly blame President Obama.

The Times has a big piece this morning arguing that Republicans believe they hold the upper hand in the battle over the sequester. But given this finding, and given public preference for the Democratic solution to averting it — not to mention the state of the GOP brand in general — it’s unclear what the basis for that belief is.

* Chart of the day: Steve Benen has a good one illustrating the politics of the sequester in one easy visual.

* GOP’s numbers in the toilet: A new Bloomberg News poll piles on:

Fifty-five percent of Americans approve of Obama’s performance in office, his strongest level of support since September 2009, according to a Bloomberg National poll conducted Feb. 15-18. Only 35 percent of the country has a favorable view of the Republican Party, the lowest rating in a survey that began in September 2009.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...issues-gop-is-badly-out-of-step-with-america/
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Link to poll- http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...op-guns-energy-immigration-sequester/1934233/

rocketsjudoka · Feb 21, 2013

Even with the poll numbers so much against them the House GOP doesn't have much impetus to give. Thanks to gerrymandering so many districts are safe and / or will punish lack of ideological purity.

B-Bob · Feb 21, 2013

Washington Post said: ↑

... 76 percent say the we ...
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I look forward to a day when fewer Americans say "the we." I mean, if the we don't learn to talk, the we are doomed.

glynch · Feb 22, 2013

rocketsjudoka said: ↑

Even with the poll numbers so much against them the House GOP doesn't have much impetus to give. Thanks to gerrymandering so many districts are safe and / or will punish lack of ideological purity.
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In addition these Republicans get nearly all of their money from wealthy folks and corporations who do not have the view of taxation for the wealthy/corporations that the majority has.

Refman · Feb 23, 2013

glynch said: ↑

In addition these Republicans get nearly all of their money from wealthy folks and corporations who do not have the view of taxation for the wealthy/corporations that the majority has.
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Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg has dinner with President Obama a few months before his company, which paid no taxes, gets a $429 million tax refund. This despite the fact that it made a billion dollars in profit. Yeah, those Democrats have such a different view of corporate taxation.

As for personal taxation, the notion that simply taxing "the rich" will be an economic panacea is a farce. There aren't enough rich people to tax to make up our deficit. There is going to have to be both meaningful tax increases and meaningful spending cuts in order to fix this.

A_3PO · Feb 23, 2013

Refman said: ↑

Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg has dinner with President Obama a few months before his company, which paid no taxes, gets a $429 million tax refund. This despite the fact that it made a billion dollars in profit. Yeah, those Democrats have such a different view of corporate taxation.
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Did Obama have anything to do with Facebook paying no taxes and getting a refund? A lot of folks in "Silicon Valley" are Democrats and I doubt corporate taxation has much to do with it.

Refman said: ↑

As for personal taxation, the notion that simply taxing "the rich" will be an economic panacea is a farce. There aren't enough rich people to tax to make up our deficit. There is going to have to be both meaningful tax increases and meaningful spending cuts in order to fix this.
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Completely agree.

glynch · Feb 23, 2013

Refman said: ↑

Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg has dinner with President Obama a few months before his company, which paid no taxes, gets a $429 million tax refund. This despite the fact that it made a billion dollars in profit. Yeah, those Democrats have such a different view of corporate taxation.
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Hey, I have never said that a minority of Democrats do not share the Republican idea wrt to corporate taxation. BTW is Zuckerman a Dem and how do you know there was cause and effect? Would Zuckerman have had the same tax break whether he dined with Obama or not?

As for personal taxation, the notion that simply taxing "the rich" will be an economic panacea is a farce. There aren't enough rich people to tax to make up our deficit.
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I suppose you are correct depending on where you draw the line at rich. However, are you saying then you are like most Republicans against increasing taxes on the rich?

There is going to have to be both meaningful tax increases and meaningful spending cuts in order to fix this.
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Actually if increase spending in a recession or period of very slow growth, you grow the economy which tends to shrink the deficit.
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LosPollosHermanos · Feb 23, 2013

The GOP is a bit slow when it comes to arithmetic, they won't do a single thing until they are backed into a corner and succumb.

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