Gallup: Rank Level of Confidence – Congress Hits Bottom - Untold - Unions, Public Schools, The Media, the Presidency Well Below 50%

Gallop Poll on Trends July 2009 to July 2010 click to enlarge

Congress grabbed the attention in Gallup’s Trending Survey on Confidence in Institutions yesterday. Congress came in ranked dead last with an 11% confidence rating – down 6% points from last year’s poll. That said, Confidence in certain institutions which, in the past (circa 1950’s, 1960’s) were held as the epitome of trustworthiness, now fall with Congress at levels that should serve as a road map for Conservatives who would work to improve Washington, and the way we, as a nation are currently stymied by organized labor and woefully under performing public schools (also organized labor).

Congress may have an 11% approval ranking, losing 6 points over the past year, however, they are not alone: the Presidency has dropped 15% from a year ago, to a 36% confidence ranking - even with the Supreme Court, and above the following institutions: the public schools (34%), criminal justice systems (27%), newspapers (25%), banks (23%), Television News (22%), Organized Labor 20%, Tied at 19% Big Business (who actually gained 3 points) and HMO’s.
Who do American’s trust the most? The Military tops the list, followed by Small Business, the Police and Organized Religion – so much for the “Progressive Message”. What the balance of the poll suggests is that, “we the people” (or “the masses”) are not as trustworthy of institutions that appear to be owned and or affiliated with our government.

For example, Chris Christie, Governor of New Jersey, a Republican in a state known to run as blue as Massachusetts with a state government just as corrupt, faced down the “powerful teachers” union, and regularly spars with the press. He recently held the New Jersey legislature “hostage” until he got a vote to lower and cap the states property tax (Business week) – no mean feat.

Now, Christie faces the wrath of the unions and the teachers (unions again) as told by the press: Headlines in the past twenty four hours: “NJ’s largest state workers union warns lawmakers of cost for working with Gov. Christie” (Star-Ledger), and Salary Cap to Limit School Salaries”> (North Jersey.com)

Apparently, in New Jersey, and one can suspect elsewhere, the public no longer trusts the public schools to deliver a quality education, knowing full well that unions have become nothing more than lobbyist for the DNC, making money off the backs of, in most cases, degreed individuals who are in no more need of a union than a lobotomy. (Anyone capable of earning a master’s degree should be capable of holding and maintaining a job with benefits, without the aid and abet of a “union”. The only unions that should be chartered are those that support individuals who work in dangerous and life threatening environments, public or private and should not be extended to positions that would appear to be supervisory in nature. Additionally, unions should be, by law, unable to use dues collected for any other purpose than pensions and lawyers to wrangle with management – to whit, they have no place within our government or our schools.)The people get it, which explains the ranking. Chris Christie also gets it, which explains his success.

Shockingly (sarcasm), the press, both print and television news, take a beating this time out, (no change from last year), fully three-quarters of the nation do not trust the print and or televised news to deliver the goods in a trustworthy manner. From the largest newspapers and network news, to the local daily and NBC (or CBS, ABC) nightly news – the message is clear and “on-point” - any opposition to the President and or the Democrat Party is non-existent, (either in main news, sports, lifestyle and the real estate section, never mind editorials) should a Republican or Conservative (or God Forbid (God’s till popular) a member of the Tea Party, trip over a shoelace, it’s big news, for days on end – the public apparently has noticed. This accounts for the ratings over at Fox News, being through the roof as they offer an alternative, and also the falling subscriber base and the overall woes of a government run and progressive minded media.

Should someone wake up and decide to run a small business newspaper that delivered - news- without a slant to the left or right (leaving editorial where it belongs in the editorial section) - one might see a resurgence of the press, and a return of the economic health of the industry that once was looked upon as the pinnacle of trustworthiness – think Lois Lane.

Banks are caught between a rock and a hard place by none other than the government (Congress) who regulates and now, in some cases, outright owns them. (due to regulations - see Barney Frank) This particular ranking is in itself a double edged sword as it indicates confidence in the economy is not where it should be.

Therefore, when looking for someone trustworthy – one can still turn to the military (as long as the President is nowhere near it), the local police and ones neighborhood small business – organized religion is also considered somewhat “trustworthy”. All truly deserving institutions, to be sure, but what saddens those who may have seen teachers, banks and the Presidency and even the press - all held to a high esteem - those institutions once thought to be the backbone of our society - scoring so low in confidence – it denotes that there is work to be done.

Surely there is a way to bring confidence back to education, to the media, the Congress and the Presidency. 2010 is one of the building blocks to the future, with the public electing governors, congressional representatives and senators who share the principals and frankly the tactics of the Governor of New Jersey – 2012 will finish laying the foundation to a return of confidence in the power of the people to determine the course of our destiny – as defined by our Constitution.

Poll 2012 – Any Unnamed Republican Will Best Obama – Untold Story – Democrats Approval Tanks - Now On Par with Tea Party

A change in the offing? Will the Donkey be Replaced by a Symbol not yet Chosen? Image news political dot com

A QuinnipiacPoll released on July 21, 2010, which projects that President Barack Obama can be bested by any Republican in 2012 has been receiving a good deal of attention, however, there is more to the poll that indicates problems for Democrats in general through the next two election cycles.

Question 4 on the survey ask a general approval question for Congressional Democrats, the “score” given overall is 31% approval – 28% of Democrats Polled disapprove - including 28% of Democrats polled voting no confidence. In Question 15 on the survey which asks to rate approval for the Democrat Party overall – 34% disapprove of the Political Brand, opposed to Republicans who received a rating of 33% - that said, 21% indicated that they had not heard enough about the Republican Party in order to form an opinion, while 14% indicated they had not heard enough about the Democrat Party to form an opinion.

The Tea Party movement trends approximately even with the Democrats and Republicans: Question 16 reveals a 33% approval for the Tea Party, with 35% Not having heard enough in order to form an opinion. This indicates an opportunity exists for the Tea Party Organization to eventually brand ahead of Democrats and even with Republicans, thereby forming a viable third or replacement political party.

Question 2 of the Survey asks a general question regarding political preference should the 2010 elections be held (100 days approximately from the mid-term), now; voters would choose the Republican by 43 to 38%. The generic ballot question has run approximately the same across all polls, regardless of the type of pollster for the past six months.

In reviewing the Quinnipiac poll, one finds a badly damaged Democrat Brand going into 2010 and beyond for Barack Obama. Perhaps the most interesting aspect is the trending of the Tea Party on parity with both the Republican and Democrat parties. This sets the stage for a viable 3rd or replacement party in the near future, historically, the last change in major political parties, was in 1860, when the Republican Party replaced the Whig Party, formed a platform and nominated Abraham Lincoln as their candidate. As there has been little shift in power between the Republican and Democrat Parties in the ensuing decades, should the Tea Party form a platform, they would stand in place of the less dominant major political party – as of now, that would be the Democrat Party.

Finally, on "Buyer’s Remorse": Question 26, 37 to 35% of the respondents feel that the nation would have fared better under McCain’s leadership. That could be attributed to the low approval Obama receives on everything from the economy to the handling of the Arizona Law Suit. The survey was conducted using a sample of over 2000 voters, with marginals showing a correct portion of party affiliation, neither skewing the poll left or right based on 2008 trends. A word document is available for download which gives trends from past Quinnipiac polls as well as the marginals statistical data for the respondents here.

With the Fed projecting the unemployment rate to remain high through 2012, and the massive tax increases about to be put into play (2011) which will affect every household in the United States regardless of income status, may just be the final nail in the political coffin of the Democrat Party.

Taxes as any school child should be aware, was the reason for the formation of the United Sates, and the temperament of our nation regarding taxation has not changed in over three hundred years. It is without a doubt the economy that leads the concerns of the nations and determines the vote, however, with this particular poll, other issues of concern, from Afghanistan to the Arizona border, will continue to dog the administration and Democrats in general through the 2010 and 2012 elections.

Snow (R-ME) and Collins(R-ME) join Senate Democrats in Vote to Extend Unemployment Benefits – For 3 Months

The two Republican Maine Senators, Olympia Snow and Susan Collins, aremost often aligned with the Democrats on issues that divide the two major political parties – in the case of extending unemployment benefits for three months, voted as predicted – with the Democrats. As Nancy Pelosi touted the economic stimulus benefits of unemployment benefits one headline that has drawn attention – “Congress Prolongs Agony by Extending Unemployment Benefits” speaks volumes. In a year where almost every seat in Congress is up for reelection and the Democrat party stands to lose the majority, the extension of Unemployment benefits to 2.5 Million unemployed, is one of the largest political gambles of late.

News articles on the subject invariably point to the Republicans as obstructing millions from receiving extended benefits, using such adjectives as ”stubborn” (AP), while the Democrats, to insure the necessary vote, hastily swore in the temporary replacement for Robert Byrd, Carte Goodwin, D-WV in order to get the job done.

Herein lays the problem, the benefits are temporary and the cost of which will be added to the deficit. The Republicans, in practice, were attempting to force the Democrat majority to use other means, including unspent stimulus funds, in order to pay for the benefits, rather than add additional debt to the taxpayer. The Democrats countered that the Stimulus funds were to be used to create jobs (as yet those jobs created are at inflated salaries, and limited in scope), while Speaker Pelosi, infamously countered that unemployment benefits are a stimulus – therefore, no matter how one sliced it, the Democrats were determined to pass the extension in order to gain the possible 2.5 million much needed votes and at the same time paint the Republicans as opposed to extending a lifeline to the unemployed.

There are pros and cons to the extension as regards to the necessity and overall economic impact from the aforementioned “Congress Prolongs Agony by Extending Unemployment Benefits”. Citing findings from the Heritage Foundation, the article notes:

According to Heritage research:
o Extending either the amount or the duration of unemployment benefits increases the length of time that workers remain unemployed.
o Roughly one-third of workers receiving unemployment benefits find work immediately once their benefits expire. This happens both when unemployment is high and when unemployment is low, said a report in Industrial and Labor Relations Review.
o Each 13-week extension of benefits increases the average length of time workers receiving benefits stay unemployed by approximately two weeks.
o Families respond to unemployment benefits by reducing other income. Research in the Journal of Labor Economics found that wives’ earnings fall by between 36 and 73 cents for each dollar of benefits married men receive.

Here’s an interesting forum post that backs up the Heritage Foundation findings:

“Gentex, my main customer, has billboards on the highway hours away, ads on busses, ads in magazines and online. Unemployment is over 16% and growing, but it's such a good deal to be unemployed, they can't find enough workers. Frustrating.”

On one hand, local businesses that need to hire, cannot find workers, and/or as one New York Times article noted factories are ready to hire, however, they cannot find skilled employees.

The question, remains, however, where those 4.3 million American’s who have been out of work for more than 52 weeks” (Dept. of Labor cited in article as the source) will find work that suits them. The fact that large business, in general, has literally gone into hiding, due to a lack of confidence the Obama administration’s policies, and general uncertainty regarding the economy has a hiring freeze in place, even though the cash is available to resume hiring is also frustrating.

Therefore, we have a Congress and administration in place that will spend at will to conveniently supply aid and comfort to millions in the form of entitlements, with some business losing out as they cannot find employees, and others pushed to the brink (larger business) insuring that no large-scale hiring will take place, either scenario insures that without workers, there will be fewer taxes generated in order to pay for those entitlements.

It is assumed that the average voter will not notice that the “compassion of the Democrats” in passing the unemployment must, at some point, come to an abrupt end, with no way to continue to pay due to a continually reduced tax base. That assumption did not work 30 years ago under President Jimmy Carter, and, as the present administration has done its best to follow Carter’s example with the like result, it follows that with growing public angst, regardless of passing unemployment extensions, or berating the opposition by telling half truths, Congress and possibly the Senate will change political hands – at which point, historically speaking, businesses may grow less leery, begin to hire, and get the economy back on foot, however recovery from Carter policy was slow and painful – and voters took notice, well past the mid-term and into the general election.