The results of the latest Rasmussen national telephone survey show that for the second straight month, voters trust Republicans more than Democrats on economic issues by a margin of 46%-41%. These numbers represent only the second time in the last two years that Rasmussen has shown the GOP ahead of Democrats on the economic issue, with the GOP’s victories coming this month and last month. 43% of those surveyed rated President Obama’s performance on the economy as “poor.” Republicans showed improvements across the board; not only did they retain their lead on the economy but Republicans gained ground on both health care and education.
One particularly noteworthy tidbit from the poll is that independents trusted Republicans more on the economy by a very comfortable margin of 46% to 32%. This result suggests that the Democrats, particularly President Obama, are not holding the support of independents that trended heavily Democratic in the last Presidential election.
Republicans should not get too excited. President Obama retains solid, albeit falling approval rankings and it would be truly troubling if Republicans could not make up ground on the Democrats at a time when unemployment stands at 9.5% (highest since 1983) and consumer confidence has fallen off considerably (lowest point in the last three months) . That said, this week we began to hear grumblings from some Democrats in the House about the need for a “second stimulus.” These calls come amid a time when the President is increasingly on the defensive about his first stimulus. If unemployment numbers do not fall over the next few months and the economy remains in the toilet, Republicans will have an opportunity to deliver a formidable blow to the Democratic opposition. To deliver such a blow, Republicans will have to effectively argue to the public that the poor state of the economy is a direct consequence of Democratic missteps and, just as important, they will need to have alternative, better policy options to present to the American people.
The state of the economy hurts every single American citizen, Republican or Democrat. Any Republican cheering against the economy for political reasons (Rush, I’m talking to you) is cheering not against the Democrats but against the well being of the American people. These numbers are not cause for celebration, but rather a signal of the need for preparation. President Obama has taken his shot and we should all hope for the sake of ourselves, our neighbors, and our country that it works. But if it does not, Republicans need to be ready to go with fresh ideas for a country that continues to hurt.
7 responses so far
1 ottovbvs // Jul 10, 2009 at 8:23 am
Jeb, if you believe these Rasmussen polls good luck to you….and I have a bridge in Brooklyn you might like to buy.
2 barker13 // Jul 10, 2009 at 8:40 am
The American People have no cause to trust EITHER Party on economic issues or any other issues. That’s the sad truth.
A while back eight RINOs stabbed the American People in the back by putting Cap & Trade over the top in the House.
(*SHRUG*)
Do you need me to recap recent GOP Senate betrayals, Jeb?
(*SIGH*)
“Any Republican cheering against the economy for political reasons (Rush, I’m talking to you)…”
Oh, yeah… good; Frum’s attacking Palin and DeMint, you’re attacking Limbaugh, and I’m the only one attacking GOP elected officials who actually hurt the nation through their votes.
(*SIGH*)
Oh, yeah… building a “new” majority… (*SNORT*)
Right. (*SMIRK*)
BILL
3 Oneon1isto // Jul 10, 2009 at 11:27 am
I think the numbers are more a function of who’s in leadership. When you’re steering the ship it’s easier to see your mistakes. Republicans can sit on the sidelines and say “see! see! see! we were right!”. Even though no one has any clue how to fully right the American ship.
American’s just can’t complain that much about Republicans right now because…well…they’re not doing anything.
4 midcon // Jul 10, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Polls notwithstanding, the jury is in on Republicans and the economy (at least since the beginning of this decade). The jury is still out on the Democrats, but I haven’t seen anything yet. The stock market remains in the tank; housing starts remain at an all time low; foreclosures continue unabated and unemployment continues to rise.
Whatever the Administration and Congress are doing, in my opinion, has benefited far too few individuals. Does anyone know of someone who is going to buy a home because of the paltry $8K tax credit? I know of no one who is going to take that kind of risk in today’s environment. I personally know of people hanging on by their fingernails, but because they are not behind in their mortgage payments no one will talk to them about refinancing.
Our nation has two constituencies represented by an inverse bell curve. Those on the ends – the extremely well off and those at the lower end of economic scale are the ones that are served by the government. The vast majority of our citizens get no assistance, no credit, no attention. They are left to fend for themselves because they don’t qualify for anything. Yet the government bends over backwards to help the predatory borrowers save their homes just to have them default again a year down the road.
You watch how the health care debacle turns out. It won’t help the ones in the middle of the curve. They will get what they have always gotten – screwed.
5 SFTor1 // Jul 19, 2009 at 1:29 am
So far the Obama Administration has failed in its handling of the financial crisis. The continuing handouts to Goldman and AIG are a disgrace, and have only made those too big to fail bigger. The bailout of Main Street is too small and too slow. The Obama Administration is in with the same financial thugs that have always run the table since the repeal of Glass-Steagall. They comprise an oligarchy which absolutely must be broken. The opportunity to do so has slipped out of reach this time as far as I can tell. These financial leeches could of course be legislated into smaller units—the only thing that prohibits that option is the fact that with few exceptions every member of Congress is basically a criminal on the take. I’ll exempt Kucinich and Paul until I hear otherwise.
I for one have no idea how the situation can be addressed. Perhaps we can level K Street and declare it a toxic waste site. Maybe we can start chopping off hands at Friday prayers, or maybe the two parties will find the sense to pass real campaign finance reform. Our political system is poisoned by special interest money, and will continue to decline into irrelevance until that money is taken out.
I am a liberal, I do think the Obama Administration may still prove its worth, but we are not on the right track.
This country is in trouble.
6 SFTor1 // Jul 19, 2009 at 1:42 am
I’m not entirely done: climate change is a self-perpetuating hoax, cap and trade is a get-rich quick scheme, and Al Gore needs to enjoy some CO2 inside a plastic bag tied around his big beefy head. (Don’t worry, we’ll let him out when he promises to behave.) How long has he been out shilling for cap and trade, while his Generation Investment Management is getting ready to cash in? It’s enough to make you want to vomit.
I’m still a liberal, mind you.
7 SFTor1 // Jul 19, 2009 at 1:47 am
Still not done: cap and trade is the green equivalent of our military spending, which also needs to take a serious cut. We are spending…what? Three times as much as the rest of the world combined? We take the money from that and get people healthy, educated, and back to work. I’ll stop bitching now.
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