Below are today’s excerpts from the media mentioning Public Opinion Strategies and our Partners.
MSNBC’s First Read includes a quote from Bill McInturff on the NBC/WSJ poll results:
While we have covered all the new administration’s ups and downs, it is absolutely clear which party has suffered the most in public opinion these first six weeks: the GOP. NBC/WSJ co-pollster Peter Hart (D) says Republicans “have been tone deaf to the results of the 2008 election… They never heard the message. They continue to preach the old-time religion.” Adds co-pollster Bill McInturff (R), “These are difficult and problematic numbers.”
McInturff is also quoted there about the economy:
Per the poll, 84% say Obama inherited this economy, and two-thirds of those people think he has at least a year before he’s responsible for it. “That’s a long leash,” McInturff says. “It normally doesn’t last that long. But believe me, that’s a good place to start.” But McInturff warns that while these numbers suggest a patient public, “Americans are notoriously impatient people.” So how long does the honeymoon last if the economy doesn’t get better?
A Reuters article also reports on the NBC/WSJ results:
American voters regard the country’s ballooning budget deficit and national debt as major threats to the United States’ future, but there is no consensus on how and when to tackle the problem, according to a survey.
The survey by Hart Research Associates and Public Opinion Strategies published on Wednesday found that voters believed the political leadership in Washington was not paying enough attention to these two issues.
“Voters see these long-term economic trends, specifically the country’s growing budget deficit and national debt, as very serious and significant threats to the nation and its future,” the organizers of the survey said in a statement.
The survey of 1,008 registered voters was conducted between February 18-23.
Neil Newhouse is quoted by KCRG-TV about poll results regarding red light cameras in Missouri
“Support for red light cameras is the best-kept secret in Missouri politics right now,” said pollster Neil Newhouse. “Two-thirds of Missouri voters support the use of red light cameras.”
Newhouse conducted a survey of 600 people in Missouri. He says the result was consistent with a similar poll conducted in Arizona.
The St. Louis Beacon discusses Newhouse’s testimony before the Missouri Senate Transportation Committee regarding the red light camera poll mentioned above:
A GOP pollster hired by American Traffic Solutions, a firm that makes red-light cameras, told a state Senate panel this morning that a solid majority of Missourians support the devices.
But those same people wrongly believe they’re outnumbered, because of all the publicity and furor focused on red-light opponents, the polling results show.
Red-light cameras are a hot topic in the St. Louis area, where several communities have installed them at key intersections (such as, Brentwood Boulevard and Manchester Road.)
Neil Newhouse, a partner and co-founder of the nationally respected Public Opinion Strategies polling firm, laid out to members of the Senate Transportation Committee the results of a 600-person survey conducted across Missouri in mid-February.
The panel is considering proposals to ban the cameras.
In an article on Republican strategy at National Review Online, Ramesh Ponnuru and Reihan Salam mention a poll conducted during the 2008 campaign that Glen Bolger participated in:
Midway through the 2008 election, pollsters Glen Bolger (a Republican) and Stanley Greenberg (a Democrat) conducted a survey for National Public Radio that included a “blind taste test” of party policies on a range of issues. The parties’ positions and themes were presented both with and without party labels, and voters were asked to judge the position on the merits. And time and again, like Coke employees favoring Pepsi in a blind sample, Republican respondents preferred the Democratic position on domestic questions. On taxes, for example, the Democratic position called for rolling back the Bush tax cuts and focusing solely on middle-class tax relief. The Republican position called for renewing the Bush tax agenda, coupled with cuts in wasteful spending. When the Republican position was labeled as such, it was supported by 66 percent of Republicans. But when it was not labeled as the GOP position, it was supported by only 38 percent of Republicans — and a narrow majority of Republican voters actually preferred the Democratic line.
