Patterico's Pontifications

8/23/2009

New polls fuel the progressive crackup

Filed under: General — Karl @ 12:33 pm



[Posted by Karl]

The latest Washington Post/ABC News and dKos/Research 2000 polls reflect the Left’s growing frustration with the Obama administration. Greg Sargent calls this disenchantment a “major factor” in Obama’s current slide. For example:

The WaPo poll found that “49 percent now express confidence that Obama will make the right decisions for the country, down from 60 percent at the 100-day mark in his presidency.”

On that question, among liberals, Obama has dropped a surprising 12 points, from 90% to 78%, in the same time period. Among Dems, he’s dropped eight points, from 90% to 82%.

***

The WaPo poll also found a steep drop in approval of Obama’s handling of health care, which now stands at 46%, down 11 points from 57% in April.

But guess what: The drop during that time period was the same among liberals: Down 11 points, from 81% in April to 70% now. Among Dems overall, Obama fell six points, from 83% to 77%.

Sargent also notes that in the latest dKos/Research 2000 weekly tracking poll, the net favorable ratings for Obama and Congressional Dems dropped more among Democrats than among Independents or Republicans.

You can bet that the left wing of the Democratic Party will make these findings part of their campaign to push back against the Obama administration’s refusal to insist on a government-run health insurance plan. The part where WaPo polling analyst Jennifer Agiesta cautions Sargent that independents were likely a greater factor will be omitted. The same people who ridiculed the notion that healthcare might be Obama’s Waterloo a few weeks ago seem bent on making a similar threat against Pres. Obama now.

–Karl

49 Responses to “New polls fuel the progressive crackup”

  1. Karl – Don’t fall for this crap. Unfortunately progressives hold a lot of important committee positions in the house and are loud online. They like to make themselves way more important than their numbers suggest, rather than a bunch of impotent fringe leftist losers out of touch with American opinion as this health care debacle suggests.

    daleyrocks (718861)

  2. That’s not all what’s going on in the polls. Michelle Malkin pointed to this story about Harry Reid’s falling poll numbers:

    It’s the highest stakes ever for a Nevada election, and former boxer Sen. Harry Reid is on the ropes early. Either Republican Danny Tarkanian or Sue Lowden would knock out Reid in a general election, according to a recent poll of Nevada voters.

    That would be humiliating to Reid and the Dems if he can’t hold on to his Senate seat.

    Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (3b3b67)

  3. Geez, what more can this guy do?

    1) Vote/sign TARPs I and II;
    2) Pass a $700 billion “stimulus”/state government budget shortfall slush fund;
    3) Take over one major American auto company and get the union to take over another, with it’s workforce in control of the third;
    4) Promote an energy industry-crushing bill;
    5) Promote a government health care plan, in one of four or five bills in Congress, that will eventually result in the destruction of the health insurance industry (at least for those that couldn’t make any special deals with Obama, a la Big Pharma and the AMA);
    6) Sign a “Cash for Clunkers” bill which created a mini-bubble in auto sales that can no longer be sustained;
    7) Sign a “First-Time Homebuyer” credit into law during a recession caused by banks making home loans to people that couldn’t afford to pay
    8) Condemned the constitutional removal of a left-wing wannabe dictator in Honduras
    9) All the while LYING on a nearly daily basis as to what he is promoting

    For all intents and purposes, Obama has been every leftist’s wet dream.

    Another Chris (da3e63)

  4. For an administration that’s staffed with so many ex – Clintonites, they’ve been surprisingly tone – deaf on the former President’s triangulation strategies. He really screwed the pooch by appointing Rahm to that post – there’s no one on his staff that can tell him when he’s completely full of sh-t, and not get fired for it.

    Dmac (e6d1c2)

  5. No way the libs would ever vote for a Republican, tho, and Obama knows it, so his real attention will be on his slide amongst the independents. Libs just talk about taking their vote elsewhere; independents mean it.

    ras (20bd5b)

  6. POPCORN, GET YOUR POPCORN HERE!!!

    it’s the only part of the economy that’s actually growing. %-)

    redc1c4 (fb8750)

  7. POPCORN, GET YOUR POPCORN HERE!!!

    it’s the only part of the economy that’s actually growing.

    Besides gun and ammo sales, of course.

    Another Chris (da3e63)

  8. He really screwed the pooch by appointing Rahm to that post

    But based on Obama’s background, that is pretty much what he preferred. That’s because Obama is more dogmatic than Bill Clinton. Although Clinton was associated with quite a few shady characters, they were more in the category of financial wheeler-dealer than Obama and his ultra-“progressives” along the lines of Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers.

    Mark (411533)

  9. Mark, Obama has his shady characters in finance both legal and illegal, don’t forget. Check the deed to his house.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  10. He needs a Bruce Springsteen tribute, cause lately when he looks into our eyes he’s singing:

    I’m goin down, down, down, down
    I’m goin down, down, down, down
    I’m goin down, down, down, down
    I’m goin down, down, down, down

    Ray (3c46ca)

  11. Bill Clinton was a crafty politician, Barrack Obama is nothing but an amateur hack who happens to be articulate… when using a teleprompter.

    Ray (3c46ca)

  12. Dmac,

    Noting that the Left will likely try to use these polls to their advantage is not the same as “falling for it.” Rather, pointing out that the larger problem is with Independents is helping ensure that people don’t fall for it.

    Karl (ade276)

  13. You must always keep in mind that His Holyness of Hope & Change has risen out of Chicago politics. He has filled his dirty gray house with an assortment Chicago ward healers & grubby deal makers. He is nothing but King Richard Daly East.

    OldGeezer (4e0dda)

  14. The One’s poll numbers re HealthCare Reform have to be devastating. If he drops the Public Option, the Left deserts him; if he doesn’t, Independents and Conservatives take a nap.
    He’s caught between a rock and a rock.

    Comment by Another Chris — 8/23/2009 @ 1:58 pm
    Just think what those sales would be if retailers actually had some product to sell (particularly ammo, which has seemed to be in short supply since before the election).

    AD - RtR/OS! (12f8f2)

  15. #3

    You left out setting up the dictatorship via czars, releasing the Black Panthers and giving the IG’s the heave ho.

    I’m sure if I thought about it a little bit, I could come up with a few more.

    rls (e58293)

  16. Patterico.com was curiously silent about the polls that placed Bush at 30% or so during his last term.

    I’d love to see if Karl, JDumb (aka ADumb) showed concerned about those polls back then.

    Andrew (39a8a6)

  17. Andrew, that’s another attempt at thread hijacking on your part.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  18. Patterico.com was curiously silent about the polls that placed Bush at 30% or so during his last term.

    Yeah… Because he wasn’t the anointed leader of The Glorious All, who could do no wrong.

    If Obama had a hostile press like Bush did, Obama’s numbers would be in the single digits…

    Scott Jacobs (d027b8)

  19. Yea Andrew,

    I miss those days of 30% poll numbers…

    And 6% unemployment..

    the bhead (a31060)

  20. JD and AD are not the same person. Andrew’s next published comment will acknowledge this, apologize for the baseless accusation, and contain no insults whatsoever.

    Patterico (cc3b34)

  21. Geez, Pat…you take all of the fun out of dealing with derangement.

    AD - RtR/OS! (12f8f2)

  22. “Progressives?? These people want to take us back to the Stone Age!” – Rush Limbaugh ~08/21/09

    Whatever these people are, “progressive” is the wrong adjective. Ideologically they are akin to Islamists.

    Peg C. (48175e)

  23. There have been a couple of comments that have not met the criteria. They have not been published. I suspect they never will.

    Patterico (cc3b34)

  24. I think you guys aren’t going to have Andrew to kick around any more. His choice.

    Patterico (cc3b34)

  25. I would think that multiple failures would lead to perma-ban…

    Just my opinion. 🙂

    Scott Jacobs (d027b8)

  26. Man, kicking around the “sack” was more fun than playing polo with a human head (that is the Afghan national sport, is it not?).

    AD - RtR/OS! (12f8f2)

  27. I think you guys aren’t going to have Andrew to kick around any more. His choice.
    Comment by Patterico — 8/23/2009 @ 5:06 pm

    But “Dummerer than a sack of Andrews” will live on, much like “I work here is done”.

    Stashiu3 (ed6467)

  28. Patterico – It did not bother me. It just proves its mendoucheity with every comment, plus, it was my muse for “dummerer than a sack of Andrews” 😉

    JD (9e41b2)

  29. Comment by JD — 8/23/2009 @ 5:15 pm

    More shameless self-promotion by the whippersnapper.

    AD - RtR/OS! (12f8f2)

  30. But “Dummerer than a sack of Andrews” will live on, much like “I work here is done”.

    And “You don’t have to read something to know its contents.”

    Paul (creator of "Staunch Brayer") (3b3b67)

  31. Obama has his shady characters in finance both legal and illegal,

    I now realize I was giving the joker in the White House some benefit of the doubt.

    I think you guys aren’t going to have Andrew to kick around any more.

    I must be more of the libertine or permissive progressive when it comes to message boards, because as a moderator I’d tolerate just about anything, or would red pen only select portions of postings that violated TOS standards.

    Oh, well, since I don’t manage this or any other blog, I’ve never been personally tested, so maybe I’d see things differently under circumstances of ownership.

    As for the Obama White House and its dishonesty about (and the legal inappropriateness of it using) political mass emailings on healthcare, I still don’t know why the Drudgereport has so far downplayed, or seemingly ignored that story. However, Drudge did provide a link to this:

    The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Sunday shows that 27% of the nation’s voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty-one percent (41%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -14. These figures mark the lowest Approval Index rating yet recorded for this President. The previous low of -12 was reached on July 30.

    Prior to today, the number who Strongly Approved of the President’s performance had never fallen below 29%. Some of the decline has come from within the President’s own party. Just 49% of Democrats offer such a positive assessment of the President at this time.

    At the other end of the spectrum, today’s total for Strongly Disapprove matches the highest level yet recorded. The 41% mark was reached just once before and that came one week ago today. Seventy percent (70%) of Republicans now Strongly Disapprove along with 49% of those not affiliated with either major party.

    Overall, 48% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President’s performance. Fifty-one percent (51%) now disapprove.

    Of the priorities outlined by the President earlier this year, 40% of voters say cutting the deficit is most important. Twenty-one percent (21%) believe health care should be the top objective. While deficit reduction is seen as the most important, 67% say it is the least likely to be achieved.


    ______________________________________________

    Mark (411533)

  32. I must be more of the libertine or permissive progressive when it comes to message boards, because as a moderator I’d tolerate just about anything, or would red pen only select portions of postings that violated TOS standards.
    Comment by Mark — 8/23/2009 @ 5:39 pm

    Accusing well-respected regulars of sockpuppeting and refusing to retract it when told by the host is unacceptable. Keep that in mind if you do start a blog or your regulars will probably leave you for a host who respects them and their reputations.

    Stashiu3 (ed6467)

  33. It didn’t bother me folks. It was a compliment. Had he said that me and lovie or imdw or sementiKKKleo were the same person, then we would have had issues.

    JD (769f99)

  34. Not to mention that the number of people actually banned here is amazingly low. Is it even in the double-digits?

    Scott Jacobs (d027b8)

  35. The line about Bush’s poll numbers was hilarious. I seriously believe that in 5 or 10 years, the Bush administration is going to be remembered as a Golden Age of the United States both in economics and in terms of integrity of government.

    Andrew’s main problem is the crudity of his trolling and thread hijacking. He really is pretty dumb.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  36. Noting that the Left will likely try to use these polls to their advantage is not the same as “falling for it.”

    FYI – that wasn’t me, Karl.

    Dmac (e6d1c2)

  37. Karl – Just back. Ibelieve your #12 was meant for me not Dmac. I did not mean you were being taken in by the dKos polling, only that the progressives love to inflate their senses of self-importance. Of course they may express their displeasure with Obama and his failure to immediately meet their radical agenda, but what are their alternatives? They aren’t likely to vote republican. The more important information is in the independent voter statistics, which could represent swing votes and the fear put into democrats running in states or districts won by McCain last year.

    Otherwise, the progressive noise is just more whining from a group of impotent fringe lefty losers who didn’t experience immediate gratification from the Messiah’s coronation.

    daleyrocks (718861)

  38. Also, Greg Sargent is a notable internet buffoon an intractable partisan. Can he be taken seriously writing:

    “Nearly everyone seems to agree that President Obama is bleeding liberal support over his overly conciliatory approach to the GOP on health care reform…..”

    Hello? Overly conciliatory approach? Huh? I guess he must mean by not trying to ram it through before the August recess when they didn’t even have the votes in their own party to get it done or some such nonsense.

    daleyrocks (718861)

  39. daleyrocks, it is quite the incoherent comment since there has been absolutely zero “conciliation” toward the GOP. Obama has been losing moderate Democrats but pretending that its the GOP he’s having trouble with.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  40. SPQR – The Journolist needs to not only get it’s narrative straight, but at least give it a chance of passing the pink face test.

    daleyrocks (718861)

  41. Obama has been losing moderate Democrats but pretending that it’s the GOP he’s having trouble with.

    Exactly! The donkeys have a majority in both houses. And the Senate majority is filibuster-proof. Not a blessed thing the GOP could do to block their bill. But it’s all the Republicans fault. Of course, Democrats being honest about their predicament is out of the question!

    RB (0772e7)

  42. The Journolist will have its hands full trying to suppress the “death book” controversy.

    Here’s the book’s text.

    Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (0ea407)

  43. Bradley – That book does not exist. What controversy?

    See, it’s easy.

    daleyrocks (718861)

  44. “he screwed the pooch by appointing Rahm to that post…”

    Yeah, but the problem here for O is that without Rahm and Axelrod there would BE no president Obama. Period. Without them and their contacts and influence there would not even have been a Barack convention speech in 2004. They have been and continue to be the ones running the show while he’s out campaigning and doing town halls and foreign trips and baseball games and giving teleprompted pressers. What’s he going to do? He can’t fire “Barack’s brains”.

    elissa (6c18a2)

  45. “What’s he going to do? He can’t fire “Barack’s brains”.”

    elissa – Nice!

    daleyrocks (718861)

  46. Judging from Romenesko, much of the MSM’s elite opinionmakers have also cracked up, frustrated with not being able to make the public accept their opinions of ObamaCare.

    Poor Howard “Conflict of Interest” Kurtz is beside himself with angst that journalists are left out of the debate:

    The crackling, often angry debate over health-care reform has severely tested the media’s ability to untangle a story of immense complexity. In many ways, news organizations have risen to the occasion; in others they have become agents of distortion. But even when they report the facts, they have had trouble influencing public opinion.

    Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (0ea407)

  47. Brother Bradley – The JournoList will have no problem dealing with that. They will ignore it, or scream “it is not in the bill” 😉

    JD (1255f0)

  48. O is that without Rahm and Axelrod there would BE no president Obama. Period

    True enough – but these guys are quickly becoming the polarizing figures he doesn’t need if he wants another term. OTOH, since he’s quite simpatico with their behavior and general attitude, he probably has no idea why they’re detested in the first place.

    Dmac (e6d1c2)

  49. […] speech.” Things have been going so badly for Obama and ObamaCare in recent weeks that he was beginning to lose support on the left. Obama apparently decided he needed to pump up his flagging base, and knew that is who would be […]

    The Greenroom » Forum Archive » Pres. Obama’s historic speech to somebody, Pt. 2 (e2f069)


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