(9 am. – promoted by ek hornbeck)
Given that I have continually written about the importance of the independent vote, reading this poll is an early sign of bad tidings for Democrats and President Obama.
WASHINGTON (CNN) – A majority of independent voters disapprove of how Barack Obama’s handling his job as president, according to a new national poll.Fifty-three percent of independents questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Tuesday say they disapprove of how Obama’s handling his duties in the White House, with 43 percent in approval. That result marks the first time in a CNN poll that a majority of independents give the president’s performance a thumbs-down.
Obama’s overall approval rating of 53 percent is down 3 points from a month ago, and down 8 points from June. Forty-five percent of those questioned disapprove, up 5 points from a month ago and up 8 points from June.
Fifty-three percent of independents disapprove. Obama’s approval rating down 3 points overall in one month alone.
The Daily Kos poll, commented on by Markos, shows the loss is even worse.
Note the partisan trends — Republicans have barely budged. They’ve been home for a while. Democrats have lost among self-identified Democrats, losing a net eight points. But look at Independents, who appear more disgusted at the political process than anything. Democrats have lost 13 points among Independents–or 38 percent–but Republicans have lost 8 points as well, or 33 percent off their May levels. Meanwhile, the “not sure” numbers among Independents is up 50 percent to 42 percent.
We’re not seeing a partisan shift among Independents, rather a tuning out. They clearly remain unhappy with Republicans (at 16%), but are becoming disenchanted with Democrats. If the Republican message was winning the debate, Independents would be flocking to the GOP. Instead, they appear more disgusted at Democratic incompetence than policy.
Can you say Du’h!
Obama and Democrats are losing union support.
The AFL-CIO, America’s largest federation of labor unions representing over 11 million members, is digging its heels in and telling congressional Democrats they will not enjoy the union’s support unless a public insurance policy emerges from the current debate.
“The AFL-CIO’s incoming president, Richard Trumka, outlined ‘three absolute musts’ in any overhaul package: a public option, an employer mandate and no tax on employer-provided health benefits,” reported Politico.
“Asked if the union would work against any bill that did not hit those targets, Trumka told reporters during a briefing: ‘That means we won’t support the bill if it doesn’t have the public option.'”
They have already pretty much lost the LGBT community.
Well, no, gay and lesbian Americans, and their supporters, were not upset with President Obama over two portions of the 50-some page brief. We were livid with him because most of the brief was supremely homophobic, and the administration didn’t even have to defend the law at all, as Joe and I (who are both lawyers) documented in a huge post dissecting the entire legal document.
But putting that aside, we did in fact praise Obama for the second DOMA brief which was “better.” If by better, you mean still defending state-sanctioned discrimination that you once called abhorrent and promised to help overturn. President Obama is under the belief that he can put a more humane face on bigotry and prejudice. Not only is such a thing impossible, it’s rather dangerous to boot. We don’t want prejudice against gays and lesbians – or any Americans, for that matter – sugar-coated in order to make it palatable. We need a president with the courage and the conviction to keep his promises.
The blogosphere is starting to rumble against the Democrats and President Obama as you can see here, here.
Who was it that said Obama had to govern from the middle? Nancy Pelosi.
(CNN) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday called on President-elect Barack Obama to govern from the middle, as her party sat poised to gain its widest House majority in 15 years.
Right. Because when your political party gets the biggest majority in years, it’s best not to use it so says she of “Impeachment is off the table” infamy.
And people wonder why independents are fleeing the Democrats.
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both of which are more interested in their own interests than not ours. I’m sure Obama will see this poll as a reason to move further right.
… more likely, liberal (since progressive is often not an option) and voting for someone who shaded almost all of his primary promises onto the least progressive side of the debate …
… that aint no movement.
As Sirota says, A Party is not a Movement. The first loyalty of a party is to retaining political power. The first loyalty of a movement is to its policy goals.
There is, in other words, no actual progressive “wing” of any political party without a progressive movement to give it muscle and sinew and bones. And a progressive movement will not be trapped by thinking that voting in a Democratic primary to exercise power in the Democratic party is the same as sitting in the stands of your favorite football team cheering them on.
Since movements are built in the actual political contest, and so many progressives allowed themselves to be fooled by fictitious realities – if we did not take advantage of 2006 and 2008 to build the movement, now is the time to start.