Statistics from Massachusetts
Mark Mellman fuzzes up the statistics and the polling in an interesting piece in The Hill:
Were they using their ballots to attack President Barack Obama? Not according to the data. A post-election poll from The Washington Post/Kaiser/Harvard found voters approved of the way the president is handling his job by 61 percent to 37. Even Rasmussen found a clear 53 percent majority approving of the president. Just 23 percent of voters overall, and far fewer than half of Scott Brown voters, said their vote was cast in opposition to the president. None of this can be construed as a rejection of President Obama.
Voters’ much-discussed “anger” was actually more likely to be directed at Republicans than at the president. Just 16 percent told pollsters they were “angry” about the administration’s polices, with nearly half again as many expressing anger at the policies put forward by Republicans in Congress.
Perhaps Massachusetts voters exempt the president personally but intended to send a strong signal of disapproval to Democrats more broadly. Not so much. Congressional GOPers suffered from a much more negative image in Massachusetts than did their Democratic counterparts. Net favorability for Senate Democrats, while hardly strong, was still 27 points higher than for Senate Republicans…
The Post/Kaiser/Harvard poll found a narrow 43 percent-48 percent margin opposed to a content-less healthcare plan. Rasmussen found 47 percent in favor, 51 percent opposed. Our poll had very similar results, but just 31 percent of voters opposed the bill because it went “too far,” while the balance of opponents felt it did not go far enough.
Okay. Please feel free to believe this if you like and good luck. 80% of Brown voters opposed Obamacare, according to the WaPo poll in the first paragraph — and 60% “strongly opposed” it. (BTW, Rasmussen reports continued fallout from Massachusetts, and not the kind that Mellman would approve of.)
February 1st, 2010 at 6:14 am
Let ‘em keep whistling past the graveyard–it’ll be that much worse for them in Nov!
February 1st, 2010 at 10:55 am
“Voters’ much-discussed “anger” was actually more likely to be directed at Republicans than at the president.”
So they voted for a Republican?
February 1st, 2010 at 1:01 pm
It is not PC to speak ill of our black president … but hating his far left policy is acceptable.
February 2nd, 2010 at 6:01 am
I think it would be cathartic to have a history of voting democrat and actually voting for Scott Brown.
I don’t think the post-election poll would be able to capture those conflicted emotions. I suspect this poll would be biased to those who would respond rather than those who simply did the “dirty deed”; felt exhilaration and shame, and left quietly.
Those who knew they were voting for a loser would feel anger and frustration and would strike out at the perceived enemy. I suspect they would shout to the rooftops and vent with their frustrations.
Hence, its all George Bush’s fault. Oh, and thow Karl Rove in the equation too. While you are at it, strike out at the tea partiers and the American population in general.