We are also seeing more MAC views of the economy and what the basic role of government should be reflected in the continuous polling at Rasmussen. The majority remain generally hopeful and supportive of President Obama, but his approval ratings are not rising while his negatives continue to creep up. I think if the recession continues or gets worse, that is a trend we can probably expect.
Most importantly, however, the current socioeconomic conditions coupled with political/international concerns do seem to be making more people back up and really think about what their position is on various issues. And I think the polls reflect that more and more are taking more of a MAC view of more of these. (Note on the 'generic ballot', this reflects who the person would most likely vote for if the election was held today and does not necessarily reflect the party the person identifies with.)
Quote:Democratic and Republican candidates are tied for the second straight week in the latest edition of the Generic Congressional Ballot.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 39% would vote for their district’s Democratic congressional candidate while 39% would choose the Republican.
Support for both parties dropped one point from last week. Support for Democratic candidates is just one point above its low point for the past year. Support for the GOP is just two points below its highest level found over the same time period.
Men favor the GOP by a five-point margin, while women prefer Democrats by the same margin.
Voters not affiliated with either party favor the GOP 33% to 23%.
Democratic support has ranged from a low of 38% to a high of 50% in the past 12 months. In that same time period, Republicans have been preferred by 34% to 41% of voters nationwide.
Since the first week of the year, Democratic support has ranged from 38% to 42%, while the Republican range has been from 35% to 41%.
Democrats held a six- or seven-point lead over the GOP for the first several weeks of 2009. That began to slip in early February, and the Republicans actually took a two-point lead for a single week in the middle of March. Since mid-April, the parties have been roughly even.
Recent polling shows that 51% of Americans favor an across-the-board tax cut for all Americans to stimulate the U.S. economy. Meanwhile, most voters (53%) believe increases in government spending hurt the economy.
When it comes to health care, 80% of U.S. voters oppose providing government health care coverage for illegal immigrants as part of the health care reform package that is working its way through Congress. A more recent survey shows that 41% of American adults believe it would be a good idea to set up a government health insurance company to compete with private health insurance companies, but an identical percentage does not think it’s a good idea.
On a different topic, North Korea now tops the list of nations voters believe to be the biggest threats to U.S. national security.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/congressional_ballot/generic_congressional_ballot
Other polls featured on Rasmussen today:
80% Want Government To Sell Stake In GM, Chrysler Right Now
Voters Now Trust Republicans More than Democrats on Economic Issues
38% Say U.S. Heading in Right Direction
64% Say Comedians Shouldn't Joke about Children of Public Figures
Little Change in Perceptions of Sotomayor
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I didn't hunt up their poll, but earlier, Rasmussen also agreed
with USA Today re closing GITMO:
Quote:Poll: Most oppose closing Gitmo
By Susan Page, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON " Americans are overwhelmingly opposed to closing the detention center for suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay and moving some of the detainees to prisons on U.S. soil, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds.
By more than 2-1, those surveyed say Guantanamo shouldn't be closed. By more than 3-1, they oppose moving some of the accused terrorists housed there to prisons in their own states.
The findings underscore the difficult task President Obama faces in convincing those at home that he should follow through on his campaign promise to close the prison in Cuba, especially in the absence of a plan of where the prisoners would go.
In many parts of the world, however, Gitmo has become a symbol of U.S. arrogance and abuse, and Obama has cited its closure as a way to lay the foundation for better relations. He is scheduled to deliver a major address aimed at the Muslim world on Thursday from Cairo.
It is one of the few subjects on which most Americans side with the views of the Bush administration over its successor.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-06-01-gitmo_N.htm
