Mid-term election results not a mandate for GOP, poll shows
Mid term election results not a mandate for GOP, poll showsNot that this reality will affect the way right-wing Republicans try to govern. They have a sordid mandate inside their head that tells them to govern without seeking the best solutions for most Americans. Government by and for the people? Republicans think that is a punch-line to a joke.
'Voters are looking for change — but not what the Republicans are offering'
It's the economy, stupid.
That catchphrase from the 1992 election -- which saw Bill Clinton propelled to the Oval Office on a wave of discontent over unemployment -- applies just as strongly in 2010, a new poll indicates.
The exit poll (PDF) from Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research suggests that while voters gave control of the House to the Republicans, it was not out of a desire to return to Republican policies, but rather out of a lack of other options.
The poll shows voters largely rejected the narrative put forward by Republicans: That the American public rebelled against the liberal-minded over-reaching of the Obama administration.
Roughly even numbers of Democratic, Republican and independent voters -- about three-quarters in each case -- said the economy was a factor in their vote. No other issue polled nearly as high.
Dissatisfaction with the available political options was also high, with 26 percent of voters saying their vote was a "message to both parties" that they are unsatisfied with the state of US politics. By contrast, 20 percent said the vote was a message specifically targeted at President Obama.
That appears to mesh with a recent poll showing 54 percent of voters would like to see a viable third party rise in the US.
"The results show that voters weren't necessarily allying themselves with the GOP, but rather were voicing their disapproval with Washington as a whole," writes Andy Kroll at Mother Jones.
Nor did voters generally align themselves with Republican talking points. Even a majority of self-identified Republicans -- 62 percent -- said they wanted lawmakers to "keep their hands off" Social Security when addressing the budget deficit. Among all voters, 68 percent opposed cuts to Social Security.
Voters preferred Democratic ideas for tackling the budget deficit. Fifty-one percent said they wanted to see an end to the Bush tax cuts for the rich and a new bank tax to address the deficit, while 39 percent backed the GOP's proposals to cut $100 billion from domestic spending, raise the retirement age and cancel unspent stimulus funds.
Sixty-six percent of voters agreed with President Obama's declaration that "we have to reduce our deficits, but [also] make investments in education, in research and innovation" and "we have to lead in the new energy, Green industrial revolution sweeping the world."
Govs. Haley Barbour (R-MS), Bobby Jindal (R-LA), Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) - Stimulus Bashing Governors Issue Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars In Stimulus Funded Bonds. Republican is just a synonym for spectacular hypocrite.
Republicans To Spend Tens of Millions in Tax payer Funds to Investigate Non-Existent Scandals
Before the midterm elections, Republicans indicated that if they gained control of the House, they would launch investigations into numerous "scandals" that have been pushed by Fox News over the past two years. Since the elections, Fox News figures have also called for these investigations. But the purported "controversies" have long been debunked.
