Gallup Again Finds That Tea Party Supporters Are Generally Conservative Republicans

July 2, 2010 — Ron Chusid

Another Gallup poll has demonstrated what we already knew–Tea Party supporters are generally part of the conservative Republican base:

There is significant overlap between Americans who identify as supporters of the Tea Party movement and those who identify as conservative Republicans. Their similar ideological makeup and views suggest that the Tea Party movement is more a rebranding of core Republicanism than a new or distinct entity on the American political scene…

While Tea Party supporters are not universal in their backing of Republican candidates, they skew heavily in that direction. About 80% of Tea Party supporters say they will vote for the Republican candidate in their district, slightly lower than the projected 95% Republican vote among conservative Republicans.

This suggests that the potential impact of the Tea Party on Republican chances of winning in congressional and senatorial races this fall — even if supporters turn out in record numbers — may be slightly less than would be expected.

It certainly came as no surprise that the poll showed unfavorable views of both Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi among the Tea Party supporters.

Posted in Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Polls, Republicans. Tags: , , , , . 2 Comments »

No Surprise Here: Obama Among Best Presidents And Bush Among Worst

July 2, 2010 — Ron Chusid

A survey of 238 presidential scholars showed exactly what would be expected. After eight years in office which were disastrous for the country, George Bush is ranked as one of the worse presidents. Barack Obama has done a tremendous job to correct much of the damage caused by George Bush and ranks among the top presidents:

George W. Bush was no FDR, but Barack Obama could be.

That’s the verdict of 238 of the nation’s leading presidential scholars, who – for a fifth time – rated Franklin Delano Roosevelt the best president ever in the latest Siena College Research Institute poll.

In office for barely two years, Obama entered the survey in the 15th position – two spots behind Bill Clinton and three spots ahead of Ronald Reagan.

Obama got high marks for intelligence, ability to communicate and imagination, but his score was dragged down by his relative lack of experience and family background.

“Most of the presidents came from elite backgrounds, and he certainly did not,” said professor Douglas Lonnstrom, who crunched the numbers. “He grew up without a father.”

By contrast, Bush’s dad was our 41st president, George H.W. Bush, who came in 22nd in the poll.

And yet, the scholars rated Dubya a dud as a president, ranking him in the bottom five at 39th place.

That’s a steep drop from 23rd place, which is where Bush ranked when he entered the survey after his first year in office.

Bush got docked for saddling Obama with two bloody wars and a recession, and he got low marks for “ability to compromise, foreign policy
accomplishments and intelligence,” according to the survey.

Only Warren G. Harding, who was 41st on the list, scored lower in the intelligence category.

Posted in Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, George Bush, Ronald Reagan. Tags: , , , . 4 Comments »
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