I’m of
the Nate Silver school of polling, which is you can only work with the data
generated, so unless I’m going to gather all data myself then I’m going to have
to deal with a certain amount of bias and flaws in the methodologies. That
being said: THE MAJORITY OF AMERICANS THINK THE GOP IS TOO EXTREME!
I’ve been
saying this for a while to a conservative friend of mine, so I’m very excited
that it has been backed up. I essentially tell her every time we speak she
should be more critical of her own party than the Democrats because they
represent her. However, whenever I point out how extreme they are that they
contradict themselves and are opposed to some of her beliefs.
Anyway,
the CNN/ORC International poll has
some interesting results:
- The GOP should give up more than the Democrats in any bipartisan solution to the country’s problem.
- A slight majority (53%) believe the GOP’s policies and views are too extreme.
- Less than a third trust the congressional Republicans more than President Obama to deal with the major issues.
- Finally, most people think it is a good thing the GOP control the House because they are resistant to unchecked Dem power.
I think
it is notable that when you look at the actual poll report you see the
divisions. So for President Obama’s approval rating for November 52% approve,
43% disapprove, and 4% No opinion, but the breakdown of that shows that those
who disagree most like disagree at a high rate (34%) and is consistent over time.
This could mean that people who disapprove of President Obama’s performance
will disapprove no matter what, which brings me to the question of extremes in
political parties. 43% of people believe the Republican Party is generally
mainstream and 37% believe the Democrats are too extreme. My hypothesis is
these are the same people. That final bullet does make me wonder how informed
the subjects were because this is gridlock.
The poll,
which came out on Thursday came less than two weeks before the county faces automatic
tax increases for almost everyone if the government can’t get their shit
together, but don’t worry we’re going to screw old people and poor no matter
what. The pool was conducted December 17-18 with 620 adults nationwide via
telephone. I skimmed the methods section, and it looks like every other phone
survey with pros and cons.
The whole
poll is worth a read, especially for those traveling to see family in the next
few weeks.
