PEW RESEARCH SHOWS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF WHERE AMERICANS ARE TODAY

 

…According to Pew, Americans trust the Democrats more than they do the GOP.

 

This random sampling of American opinions pretty much tells it like it is in America today.

This year, between January 15^th and the 19^th, The Pew Research Center performed their annual random survey of 1,504 American voting adults.

The Pew Poll is totally non-partisan and is always considered as one of the most accurate national political polls.

One of the most significant changes in government is that for the first time since Barack Obama took office, the nation’s deficit reduction has slipped as a policy priority among the American public. Overall, today, 63% of Americans say reducing the nation’s budget deficit should be a top priority for Congress and the president this year, that’s down from 72% a year ago.

Under the Obama administration, the budget deficit has been shrinking faster today than any time in history.  For this reason, the budget deficit today does not rank among the Democrats’ top five priorities. 

What did appear as a major change this year however, is how divided the American Democrats and Independents are from the GOP.  We all knew this was coming, but I guess Pew just made it official.

Another area that has majorly divided the parties is the attitude toward dealing with the problems of America’s poor and needy.  The Democrats and the Independents see this issue by 64% and 48%, respectively.  While only 32% of the Republicans see it as a top priority.

One of the areas that is kind of lopsided is on the president’s job rating versus his personal favorability. 

Today, President Obama’s job rating is more negative than positive. Only 43% of all Americans approve of the way Obama is handling his job as president, while 49% disapprove.  With the terrible problems the president has recently had in getting things through Congress with the “just say no” Republicans, that probably explains why a year ago he had a 52% job approval and a 40% disapproval.

On the other hand, on balance, Obama’s personal favorability is positive, with 51% viewing him favorably and only 45% expressing an unfavorable opinion.  

Now, as to the president #1 room-mate, fully 68% of those Americans asked, they view Michelle Obama favorably, compared with just 24% who view her unfavorably.

The survey finds that the Democratic Party holds very wide leads on several key traits and characteristics, including “willingness to work with political leaders from the other party” (52% Democrats, 27% Republicans), and which party has concerns “with the needs of people like me”  (52% Democrats, 32% Republicans).

Most Americans do not expect any improvement in relations between the two major parties in the coming year. About six-in-ten (59%) say they think relations between Republicans and Democrats in Washington will stay the same as they are now; 22% expect them to get worse while just 15% say they will get better. Majorities of Republicans (65%), Democrats (56%) and independents (59%) all think partisan relations will stay about the same.

Unfortunately, the new Massachusetts Senator, Elizabeth Warren, who has become a leading Democratic figure on such issues as income inequality, she is not yet well known among the American public.  However, among the liberal Democrats, favorable opinions of Warren outnumber unfavorable ones by about ten-to-one (54% to 5%).  This is a Senator, such as was Senator Hillary Clinton, whose career bears watching closely in the future.

Believe it or not, there is some partisan agreement over the leading priorities for the president and Congress. The economy, America’s lack-of-jobs situation and terrorism all rank among the top five policy priorities for Republicans, Democrats and Independents.

In addition, while education issues are highly rated by Democrats and independents, it does not rank among Republicans’ five highest-rated policy priorities.  This make one wonder how the GOP expects the next generations of Americans to deal with those over-achieving students coming out of China, South East Asia, Korea, and India.

Overall, the widest partisan difference is over the importance of climate change and protecting the environment, which are viewed as a top priority by 65% of Democrats and only 28% of Republicans. The gap is nearly as large as that of dealing with the problems of the poor and needy at 32 points.  (I guess the Republicans think the droughts in the west, melting ice caps and bizarre snow and ice storms are just a fluke.)

Fortunately, both Republicans and Democrats give about equal priority to reforming the nation’s tax system and reducing the influence of lobbyists.

One area that is interesting is that while there is a sharp partisan divide between the Democrats and the GOP in their views of the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA), also called Obamacare, majorities of Democrats (67),  independents (56%) and Republicans (55%) say reducing health care costs should be a top priority. 

The ACA has already shown a reduction in these costs, but the conservatives still want to yell that, “Obamacare is a total disaster and will eventually fail”.  However, they also said that about Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.  And the ACA’s sister health care plan in Massachusetts seems to be doing very well for that states citizens.

Here are some other stats from the latest annual Pew Poll:

·       By a margin of 52% to 27%, the public says Democrats are more willing than Republicans to work with political leaders from the other party. A 54% majority also says the Republican Party is more extreme in its positions, compared with 35% of Democrats.

·       By a 20-point margin, the public sees Democrats 52% as being more concerned than Republicans 32% with the needs of people like themselves, while a majority says Republicans are more influenced by lobbyists and special interests, 47% vs. 30% for Democrats.

·       Four-in-ten Americans believe the Democratic Party governs in a more honest and ethical way 41%, compared with 31% who choose the Republicans. But about three-in-ten (28%) do not pick either party as having an edge on honesty.

However, about as many say the Republican Party 40% as the Democratic Party 41% is better able to manage the federal government. This is little changed from December, 2012.

Pew Research pretty much made it clear that that in the areas that count, the Democrats and Independents are much more in line with what the American public thinks is the right direction.

Copyright G.Ater  2014