Rasmussen: 79% of voters say the nation is “going the wrong way” while only 14% say the nation is “on the right track.”
TEA Party Abandons Core Concerns;
Hillary Clinton Poised to Contend:
2012 Political Waters Roiled, Muddy
Two related stories springing up in recent weeks have greatly muddied the American political waters as the nation heads toward the 2012 campaign. Both stories owe the vigor of their credibility to recent polls at the eminently respected RasmussenReports.com website. Scott Rasmussen’s polling group, which has outdone all other political surveys in accuracy over the last dozen years, ran the results of two surprising polls in the last week and information from several other polls contributed to the muddying. First the result of some related “normal polling” by Rasmussen:
A) The generic congressional ballot shows Republicans getting 45% and Democrats 36% in prospective 2012 congressional voting. The highest seen was a 12-point differential favoring the Republicans a few weeks prior to the 2010 landslide midterm election.
B) After the Obama administration moved to set the nation’s immigration laws aside and via regulatory fiat put Homeland Security in charge of deciding which illegal aliens are deported and who gets to stay (Republicans call the move “Backdoor Amnesty”) a Rasmussen poll showed the move was highly unpopular. 61% of American voters say that border security is vital while 31% say Amnesty is the correct policy, roughly a 2-1 margin opposed to the President’s move.
C) While only 15% of the nation says that the economy is improving; 63% say it’s getting worse.
D) 79% of voters say the nation is “going the wrong way” while only 14% say the nation is “on the right track.”
E) In a ranking of the top ten concerns voters worrying them right now, the Economy outranked all other concerns as it has for almost the last 38 months (Mr. Obama has been in office for 33 of those months). The surprise was that 84% of Americans ranked the Economy as “very important” well ahead of Government Ethics and Corruption (67%) and Health Care (65%).
F) Finally, while only 29% of likely voters believe that President Obama is doing a good or an excellent job on the economy; 51% rank the President’s efforts as poor with 14% more ranking him as doing only a fair job with the economy.
In short, “it’s the economy, stupid!” is the watchword for 2012 politics and most Americans are unimpressed with Barack Obama’s decisions and results. Now let’s have a look at those two new and surprising Rasmussen polls alluded to in this blog’s first paragraph and headlines . . . .
1) When voters were asked about the label “Tea Party candidate,” 43% regarded the label as “negative” and only 32% regarded it as a “positive” according to Rasmussen in a poll done yesterday.
2) Besides a recent ABC poll which showed that Obama was in a statistical dead heat with Rick Perry, Mitt Romney, Ron Paul and Michele Bachmann; and besides the oft-quoted Rasmussen polls which now show a generic Republican beating Barack Obama 48% to 40%; and Obama leading Texas Governor Perry 43% to 40% . . . a recent Rasmussen poll showed Hillary Clinton has a higher approval rating by all Americans over Barack Obama by 47% to 43% and Hillary, as we all know has shown as yet, absolutely NO interest or inclination to run.
Looking at item #1, the Democratic leadership’s efforts to paint the TEA Party as extremists, racists, economic terrorists, stupid and just plain nuts is finally paying dividends for them. Of course Rajjpuut’s unwavering stance on the TEA Party’s raison d’etre shows exactly why this cynical ploy is working as the words and actions of TEA Party’s most prominent names are willfully sabotaging the movement . . . .
I. Rajjpuut has long stated that the TEA Party can do far more good for the country as “kingmakers” rather than as a separate political party actually nominating or running candidates. For example, your blogster was highly critical for roughly four months of the senate candidacies of Sharon Angle in Nevada; Ken Buck in Colorado; and Christine (“I’m not a witch”) O’Donnell in Delaware which gave victories to three Democratic senators pinned on the ropes and which prevented the Republicans having a senate plurality (50-48 with two Independents) right now. Just as Ross Perot in 1992 guaranteed the defeat of G.H.W. Bush by Bill Clinton, any third-party pretensions by the TEA Party can only further mire the nation in progressive politicians with their tax-spend and expand government approach.
II. The original TEA Party script is simple, powerful and vital to America’s interest and yet it’s being ignored totally. In the last six months there has been an explosion of high profile TEA Party people like Michele Bachmann, Ron Paul and Sarah Palin who have ignored Rajjpuut’s well-thought out advice and taken to free-lancing rather than following the TEA Party script that initiated the landslide effects of 2010 . . for example, they’ve . . .
A. Made absolutely asinine remarks that reflect badly on the movement: Paul has looked like a 12-year-old on foreign affairs. Bachmann made a huge historical gaffe citing New Hampshire as the site of the start of the Revolutionary War; and she’s been getting into conservative social issues (submission to her husband; gay marriage; and several other “focus on family-type” social conservative comments). Palin continues to frequently express social conservativism issues (that do NOT play well in Peoria) like abortion**, school prayer and Creationism on an equal basis with fiscal conservativism and far ahead of Constitutional conservativism. Rick Perry who reaches out to the TEA Party has even made public statements about teaching Creationism in public schools alongside Evolution. In short, the TEA Party seems to have lost its way, forgotten its focus
B. In an ideal world, the vast majority of Americans would believe (and have evidence backing up their belief) that the TEA Party is this and only this:
1. Staunchly fiscally-conservative
2. Staunchly Constitutionally-conservative
3. Staunchly free-market conservative
4. Staunchly in favor of smaller, less expensive and far less obstructive and intrusive federal government
5. A grass-roots movement tying together concerns of conservatives whether Republicans, Independents, Democrats and Libertarians.
6. Has NO leader and no political agenda other than helping save America.
C. Meanwhile this important document has been totally ignored:
Rajjpuut has repeatedly emphasized that next to the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution, no more important political document has ever been written in the English language than the TEA Party Contract from America. You’ll notice that the American people, not Republicans or TEA Partiers, who in early 2010 voted on the 28 issues raised by the TEA Party did not place a single social-conservative issue among the ten items in the contract . . . indeed every single one of the contract items refers only to fiscal responsibility, Constitutional fidelity, shrinking the size and interference and obstructive power of the federal government, and a just plain common-sense businesslike approach to running government. And yet, how often have you heard anyone other than Rajjpuut espousing the continued proclamation of these ideals** as the key to recapturing the three branches of elected federal government and beginning to restore America to her former greatness and character?
The TEA Party needs to get its act together: that is clear. Meanwhile Hillary Clinton is looking more and more like a threat to Barack Obama’s hoped for hegemony. According to top Democrats who don’t want to be named, Clinton has been upset by the economic approach favored by Obama; and was angry about the country’s credit being downgraded. For her part, Clinton appears happy as Secretary of State (though less happy since Robert Gates retired he was her favorite “pal” at the White House) and seems content to serve out her full-term in that role. Bill Clinton, on the other hand sees Obama as weak and a danger to the Democrats’ goals. Clinton, the ex-President has recently been spending a lot of time in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and in Washington talking to Democratic operatives . . . as much as anything, Bill Clinton’s ambition for his wife and himself may be fueling the intensity and frequency of rumors that Hillary in 2012 is a strong possibility. There are also frequently quoted statements that Hillary and Barack have not had a single conversation outside of “office necessity” in three or four months. The United Kingdom’s well-reputed Telegraph blogsite recently ran a headline: “Democrats Doubt Barack Obama’s Re-election Chances” which emphasized the movement of thinking toward Hillary Clinton. The often spurious but always provocative political blogsite weeklyworldnews.com has in recent weeks cited several surveys of Democratic primary voters. In the most recent their numbers are 52% for Hillary and 45% for Obama with 3% undecided. Weeklyworldnews also claimed that James Carville, Paul Begala and, most intriguingly FOXNews analyst Dick Morris, “have all signed up to join the Hillary for President team.”
Ya’all live long, strong and ornery,
Rajjpuut
**The capacity of one single social conservative issue, abortion, to derail voters from voting for candidates interested in fiscal- and Constitutional conservativism canNOT be over-emphasized. Since Roe vs. Wade was passed in the early 70’s American opinion has by a 59-40% margin been opposed to anti-abortionism IF that meant denial of abortion “rights” in case of rape or incest; or for a very young girl; or where the mother’s life is deemed endangered. While the country as a whole identifies itself a “right-center” nation on fiscal and Constitutional issues . . . Americans are liberal or moderate on social issues and especially so on abortion . . . and the staunch anti-abortionists who dominate the extreme rightwing of the G.O.P. (and who have recently sought to usurp the TEA Party as their own as well) will not meet 60% of America halfway.
Comments
And just in general. We have some leaders who seem to be pretty dumb and lack self control and commen sense when they make statements that are so far out there. I agree with most of what they say but the Independent voter will not.
@Raj, At least the values of this Tea Party has been consistent. I agree with what you say, but consider this the main stream doesn't want the Tea Party to have a message. It is the intent of insiders to weaken the movement. While the movement is not opposed to social conservative beliefs, the platform is based fiscal conservatism, the Constitution and Free Markets. This group continues to advocate these planks. We are the first to the fight and first to espouse this message. It is probably why Dr. Savage so kindly endorse TeaParty.org.
It is encouraging that people want to present themselves as Tea Party candidates and embrace these values, but it is quite a difference when their message reflects their social values. I happen to be a Christian, but felt this movement required adherence to the principles of the Founding Father's and avoid engaging the social perspective. The church is a perfect example losing the moral argument, when radicals are artificially maintained by our taxes. I believe if funding is cutoff to the radicals then social conservatives will win the moral argument.