As President Barack Obama and lawmakers spar over huge federal deficits, they’re confronted by a classic contradiction: Most Americans want government austerity, a survey shows, but they also want increased spending on a host of popular programs: education, crime fighting, health care, Social Security, the environment and more. Less for […] Read more »
President Obama is about to lose the PR battle on the sequester
… More Americans trust Obama on the sequester than Republicans, but the margin between the two seems to be down. Obama held a 26pt lead over congressional Republicans in December per Pew Research, which dropped to 18pt in mid-February and 13pt by the end of the month. After the sequester […] Read more »
Two Misleading Polls on Sequestration
Two recent polls come to contradictory conclusions about the public’s willingness to accept spending cuts imposed by the sequestration that went into effect March 1. A Pew poll last month reported that among 19 government programs tested, not one elicited majority public support for cutting spending. And on 18 of […] Read more »
At the White House, As Goes the Budget, So Goes the Polls
… The early suspicion that Washington’s inability to head off budget sequestration would hurt both sides is still a very reasonable one, although the circumstances differ for each party. When pollsters ask respondents about approval/disapproval or favorable/unfavorable opinions of Congress overall, of the Republican Party, or of “Republicans in Congress,” […] Read more »
Most Back Cuts Overall – But Not to the Military
For all the dire warnings, most Americans welcome a five percent cut in overall federal spending this year. But the defense budget is another matter. The public by nearly 2-1, 61-33 percent, supports cutting the overall budget along the lines of the sequester that took effect last Friday. But by […] Read more »
The G. Gordon Liddy Republicans
One of my favorite Washington stories concerns infamous Watergate conspirator G. Gordon Liddy, who used to entertain party guests by holding his hand in a candle flame for some time. “What’s the trick?” shocked onlookers would ask. He would reply stoically “The trick is, I don’t care.” That explains Republicans’ […] Read more »