Rasmussen Poll: Only 37% Now Support Existing Stimulus Plan
Pollsters vary in their findings, and Rasmussen’s polls don’t always agree with Gallup’s — but this clearly shows a steep drop in support for the present incarnation of President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus plan:
Support for the economic recovery plan working its way through Congress has fallen again this week. For the first time, a plurality of voters nationwide oppose the $800-billion-plus plan.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 37% favor the legislation, 43% are opposed, and 20% are not sure.
Two weeks ago, 45% supported the plan. Last week, 42% supported it.
Opposition has grown from 34% two weeks ago to 39% last week and 43% today.
Sixty-four percent (64%) of Democrats still support the plan. That figure is down from 74% a week ago. Just 13% of Republicans and 27% of those not affiliated with either major party agree.
Seventy-two percent (72%) of Republicans oppose the plan along with 50% of unaffiliated voters and 16% of Democrats.
The two main shifts seem to be the continued mobilization of GOPers back to the party line as articulated by members of Congress and talk show hosts. Some will say it shows how easy it is to push a button and turn on the partisanship light. The other is the erosion in support from independent voters.
Just as George Bush couldn’t be successful morphing from a Texas governor who was popular among people of both parties, Obama will need to retain his bipartisan appeal to succeed. It has also been evident in recent weeks that — so far, at least — Obama has not used the bully pulpit and all of the tools at his disposal to clamor (not ask) for the bill’s passage and/or to get Democrats to seriously fine tune it and peel off some of the Republican opposition.
Look for a VERY unhappy day at the stock market if this comes to a vote and fails to pass or is fillbustered and doesn’t come to a vote.
3 Responses to “Rasmussen Poll: Only 37% Now Support Existing Stimulus Plan”
The behavior of the Dems in the House has been disgraceful. More to the point, the more the public learns about what's in the bill, the more they don't like it. (The bill as-is has always been opposed by a true supermajority.) It's up to the Senate to improve it. What else presents itself, in the legitimate realm of speculation, is how much the Obama personnel mistakes have tarnished the Dems and the bill by association even more. Obama is irresponsible and continues to blunder if he calls it “his” rather than the Dem House's bill, or if he engages in the most stupid hype and hysteria-mongering (which only appeals to the fools who have liked the bill as-is all along) if he claims with a straight face that failure to pass this bill will be catastrophic. No, it's the correct thing to do, given how bad this bill is as well as how wrongly it was passed.
Looks like the stock market is already showing its displeasure – anyone notice that it sank when Obama was elected and again when he was inaugurated? Not doing anything great right now – I expect that it might actually start back up once the bill is killed. Expect it to putter around and do nothing if that monster spending bill is actually approved.
Whatever happened to all tthat “Hope” people were voting for? (Well, 53%, anyway…) Seems Obama has gotten a bit negative since he got into office. I'm betting that the best thing to do would be nothing (if we can't get some payroll and corporate tax cuts at least) – and the economy (like it did in the '70's and '80's which were comparable) will just recover all on its own. Best thing would be to give everyone debit cards and tell them they can only spend it in stores or for supplies.