The week ended with unemployment still at 10%, and most of our indicators show Americans remain pretty gloomy about the country’s economic future. No wonder they’re sour on Congress and the president and what they’re up to.
Fifty-four percent (54%) of Democratic voters believe Democrats in Congress have done a good job representing their party’s values over the past several years.
President Obama and congressional Democrats may be suffering these days in the polls, but Republican voters are still unhappy with the job their legislators are doing in Washington, D.C.
The two top Republican hopefuls for the U.S. Senate in Kentucky have put a little more distance between themselves and their chief Democratic contenders in a new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state.
Longtime Senator Chris Dodd announced yesterday he will retire rather than run for reelection, and Democratic prospects in Connecticut have suddenly gotten a lot better. Richard Blumenthal, the state attorney general, announced his candidacy yesterday, and he leads all potential Republican challengers by wide margins.
More voters have greater confidence in the telephone book these days than in the current Congress, and most think their national legislators are paid too much to boot.
Now that Colorado Governor Bill Ritter has said he will step down rather than run for reelection, Democrats may be more competitive in this year's gubernatorial race.
Voters remain highly skeptical about incumbents from both political parties which helps to explain why a number of longtime members of Congress are not seeking reelection in November.
As 2010 begins, the numbers for Senator Blanche Lambert Lincoln are pretty much the same as last year’s while she prepares to face Arkansas voters in November.
Television is still likely to rule as the primary source of political news for most Americans this year.
State Attorney General Martha Coakley holds a nine-point lead over her Republican rival, state Senator Scott Brown, in Massachusetts’ special U.S. Senate election to fill the seat of the late Edward M. Kennedy.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger reportedly intends to ask this week for a federal bailout to keep his state from going bankrupt. But most voters have never been fans of any kind of federal bailout, and most continue to oppose a bailout for California, even when told what specific budget cuts may be necessary.
While most Americans continue to oppose the overall health care plan working its way through Congress, two reforms in the plan are supported by more than 70% of the public - creating a new national insurance exchange and requiring health insurance companies to accept applicants with pre-existing conditions.
When it comes to paying for the cost of the proposed health care reform plan, voters are okay with taxing the rich but strongly reject cuts in Medicare and excise taxes on “Cadillac” health plans provided by employers.
Forty-two percent (42%) of U.S. voters now favor the health care reform plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. That’s the most positive result since mid-November, but still most voters remain opposed.
Fifty-three percent (53%) of voters favor a ban on abortion coverage in any health insurance plan that receives federal subsidies. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 40% are opposed to such a ban in the proposed health care legislation now before Congress.
Business is good for the government these days.
Government employees are much more bullish about the economy than those who work in the private sector. That’s a big change from the beginning of the year when those on the public payroll were a bit more pessimistic than private sector workers.
When tracking President Obama’s job approval on a daily basis, people sometimes get so caught up in the day-to-day fluctuations that they miss the bigger picture. To look at the longer-term trends, Rasmussen Reports compiles the numbers on a full-month basis, and the results can be seen in the graphics below.
If the health care plan before Congress becomes law, 47% of voters nationwide believe states should have the right to opt out of it.
Thirty-four percent (34%) of voters nationwide favor a single-payer health care system where the federal government provides coverage for everyone. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 52% are opposed to such a system, and 14% are not sure.
