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McClatchy-Marist Survey: Even a plurality of Democrats want to move on from Obama
Hotair ^ | 03/09/2015 | NOAH ROTHMAN

Posted on 03/09/2015 6:45:38 PM PDT by SeekAndFind

The conventional wisdom inside the beltway and on the sets of cable news outlets is that the Democratic Party has grown, perhaps inexorably, more liberal over the course of the Obama era. It is not hard to find liberal Democrats who believe that the Obama presidency failed to meet their expectations. As it happens, though, a new McClatchy-Marist survey found that a plurality of Democrats agree that it is time to move on from the Obama era of Democratic governance.

According to that survey, 47 percent of Democrats agree that “It’s more important to have a Democratic nominee for president who will move in a different direction.” 45 percent would contend, however, that “It’s more important to have a Democratic nominee for president who will continue President Obama’s policies.”

Some might say that this is a virtual tie, and the margin of error for this subgroup of 462 Democratic and Democrat-leaning respondents (4.6 percent) renders this finding easily dismissed. When you dig a bit deeper into this poll’s results, however, this survey becomes a bit more interesting.

President Obama’s fiercest critics on the left are, well, on the left… The far-left. Those who proudly count themselves members of the Elizabeth Warren Wing of the Democratic Party often echo the Massachusetts senator’s criticisms of the president as too close to those in the banking sector of the economy.

“They protected Wall Street. Not families who were losing their homes,” Warren said of the Obama administration in an interview with Salon. “Not people who lost their jobs. Not young people who were struggling to get an education. And it happened over and over and over.”

It stands to reason that those in Warren’s camp – urban, coastal, highly educated, and relatively well-off liberals – would be those most predisposed to want to move on from the Obama era. That’s not the case, according to McClatchy-Marist.

According to this survey, those who identify as “strong Democrats” and “very liberal” are most likely to contend that that the next Democratic nominee should be someone committed to preserving the gains of the Obama era and maintaining the course for the nation set by the 44th President of the United States. Similarly, those Democrats who make $50,000 per year or more and who are 45-years-old or older also agree that the next Democratic presidential nominee must be cast in the same mold as Obama.

Democrats ages 18 to 29, surprisingly, tend to disagree that the next Democratic nominee must pledge to continue down the course set by Obama. Those ages 30 to 44 strongly disagree with this assertion. Only 33 percent of Democratic voters in their 30s and early 40s think the next Democratic nominee must be an Obama Democrat. Similarly, voters who make less than $50,000 are not thrilled about a third term for Obama. The views of these groups align more closely with those Democrats who identify as “moderate” or “conservative,” both of which are made up of a majority of respondents who want to see the Democratic Party move on from Obama’s style of governance.

Surely, there is a fair bit of overlap when it comes to Democrats who think Obama has been too cautious in pursuing progressive reforms and those who believe Obama is excessively liberal, but this survey seems to indicate that at least a plurality of those Democrats who want to see their party move on from Obama do not want to see it veer further leftward. That conclusion flies in the face of conventional wisdom that presupposes the Democratic Party is hurtling down an unalterable course toward the fringes of left-wing thought.

It’s only one poll, and its findings are not entirely conclusive, but this is an interesting counterpoint for those who claim that Democrats who are unhappy with Obama are only unhappy because he isn’t liberal enough.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: democrats; marist; obama; poll

1 posted on 03/09/2015 6:45:38 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

Yeah, now that the damage has been done.


2 posted on 03/09/2015 6:47:43 PM PDT by mylife
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To: SeekAndFind

The impeach him and remove him from office, or bear the stain and taint of this man forever.


3 posted on 03/09/2015 6:53:03 PM PDT by chris37 (heartless)
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To: SeekAndFind
"The gains of the Obama era"?

I guess I haven't been paying close enough attention. What are the "gains" of the last 6 years?

That is, for anyone who is not an Obama crony, an illegal alien, a supporter of ISIS, or a prisoner at Guantanamo on 1/20/2009?

4 posted on 03/09/2015 6:56:38 PM PDT by Verginius Rufus
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To: SeekAndFind

So they’ll vote for Hillary or Warren because they are female. Those idiots won’t learn.


5 posted on 03/09/2015 6:56:46 PM PDT by fatnotlazy
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To: SeekAndFind

Shouldn’t that be McClatchy Marxist?


6 posted on 03/09/2015 6:58:18 PM PDT by CarmichaelPatriot
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To: SeekAndFind

They just want another shot at getting communism right.


7 posted on 03/09/2015 7:01:01 PM PDT by cripplecreek ("For by wise guidance you can wage your war")
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To: chris37

TRANSLATION:

Those who finished college, can’t get a job or a full time job, and are saddled with student loans, those forced to stay living at home because of no work, are pissed off at Dems.

Next, the 30 year olds are feeling the loss of $5k per year in salary, plus having to get healthcare that they never would have bothered getting since they are in perfect health,
if it weren’t for Obamacare mandates. Or, they are being persued by the IRS for not signing up for Obamacare and must pay the fine. Also, IRS is after those who welched on their student loan re-payments.

Now there is also the millions of long term unemployed and those that can’t get full time jobs because Obamacare’s penalty for companies that hire full timers.

Lastly, Obama is making it harder to get bye by depressing wages with open illegal immigration taking jobs from low skilled workers.

Now if only the gop was not beholden to the Chamber of Whores, they could flip these people to GOP from the Dems.


8 posted on 03/09/2015 7:06:45 PM PDT by Zenjitsuman (New Boss Nancy Pelosi)
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To: Zenjitsuman

They could indeed, but they do not operate that way.

They do not even bother to explain their philosophy or anything that they stand for, because they have no philosophy and stand for nothing other than big government.

The only question that remains is how long are Americans going to tolerate this, and I really hope the answer isn’t forever, because right now, that’s what the answer looks like.


9 posted on 03/09/2015 7:34:46 PM PDT by chris37 (heartless)
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To: SeekAndFind

Obama isn’t liberal enough? That’s racist!


10 posted on 03/09/2015 7:59:06 PM PDT by glock rocks (Whenever I find myself in a conundrum, I ask myself: What would Elvis do?)
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To: SeekAndFind

BS.. He can’t even tie his shoes. He is a puppet and they know it. They can’t wait to vote for the next puppet the Left throws at them. Every Leftist candidate is of the ruling class, so they will get the same. Warren, the protector of families and the American way of life, sure.


11 posted on 03/10/2015 2:44:01 AM PDT by momincombatboots (Back to West by G-d Virginia.)
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