These poll numbers were released earlier today by Rasmussen Reports -- "an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information."
39% Say It's Good To Be Party of No, 34% Disagree
Friday, April 16, 2010
Democrats have criticized Republicans for being the Party of No for their consistent opposition to President Obama's agenda, and voters have mixed feelings about whether that's a good place for the GOP to be.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 39% of U.S. voters say it's a good thing in today's political climate to be the Party of No. But 34% disagree and say it's not a good thing. Twenty-six percent (26%) aren't sure.
Sixty-four percent (64%) of GOP voters say it's good to be the Party of No, while 52% of Democrats view it as a bad thing. Among voters not affiliated with either party, 42% see the position as a positive, 34% as a negative.
"In other words," Scott Rasmussen explains, "being labeled the Party of No is a winner in Republican and conservative-leaning districts, a modest plus among unaffiliated voters and a clear loser in more Democratic and liberal-leaning districts."
Seventy-four percent (74%) of voters correctly identify Republicans as the political party some have labeled the Party of No. Despite, or perhaps because of, this high level of awareness, Republicans have built a solid lead over Democrats on the Generic Congressional Ballot .
Forty-nine percent (49%) of all voters say it's more important for Congress to pass good legislation than to prevent bad legislation from becoming law. Forty-three percent (43%) say preventing bad laws from being enacted is more important. That's little changed since last November .
Perhaps it's no surprise that since their party controls both houses of Congress, most Democrats (66%) think passing good legislation is a more important role for Congress. But the majority of Republicans (52%) and voters not affiliated with either party (53%), groups that have opposed most of the Democrats' congressional agenda, disagree and view stopping bad legislation as a more important role.
The difference between the Political Class and Mainstream American voters is even more emphatic. Ninety-one percent (91%) of the Political Class say passing good legislation is the more important role. Fifty-four percent (54%) of Mainstream voters say preventing bad legislation from becoming law takes precedence.
While 50% of Mainstream voters think it's a good thing to be the Party of No in the current political climate, 81% of the Political Class see it as a bad thing.
Sixty-five percent (65%) of voters nationwide think politics in the nation's capital will become more partisan over the next year. Fewer voters than ever think the president is governing in a bipartisan fashion.
Just 21% of voters nationwide believe that the federal government now enjoys the consent of the governed .
That's one reason why 70% of voters remain angry at the government's policies .
Twenty-four percent (24%) of voters now consider themselves a part of the Tea Party movement . Another 10% say they are not a part of the movement but have close friends or family members who are.
The rise in Tea Party support comes at a time when more voters than ever (58%) favor repeal of the national health care plan just passed by Democrats in Congress and signed into law by the president. No Republicans in either the House or the Senate voted for the health care plan.
Republicans also opposed the unpopular bailouts of General Motors, Chrysler and the financial industry and voted against the $787-billion economic stimulus plan , which voters continue to have mixed feelings about.
Still, 75% of Republican voters say GOP leaders are out of touch with the party's base . By contrast, 54% of Democratic voters believe Democrats in Congress have done a good job representing their party's values over the past several years.
Thirty-five percent (35%) of voters now think Republicans and Democrats are so much alike that an entirely new political party is needed to represent the American people.