Posted on 10/08/2005 7:35:16 PM PDT by neverdem
Poll finds fears about gas prices, Iraq, the economy and disaster costs
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Evangelicals, Republican women, Southerners and other critical groups in President Bush's political coalition are worried about the direction the nation is headed and disappointed with his performance, an AP-Ipsos poll found.
That unease could be a troubling sign for a White House already struggling to keep the Republican Party base from slipping over Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, Gulf Coast spending projects, immigration and other issues.
"Politically, this is very serious for the president," said James Thurber, a political scientist at American University. "If the base of his party has lost faith, that could spell trouble for his policy agenda and for the party generally."
Sentiment about the nation's direction has sunk to new depths at a time people are anxious about Iraq, the economy, gas prices and the management of billions of dollars being spent for recovery from natural disasters.
Only 28 percent say the country is headed in the right direction while two-thirds, 66 percent, say it is on the wrong track, the poll found.
"There is a growing, deep-seated discontentment and pessimism about the direction of the country," said Republican strategist Tony Fabrizio.
Supporters uneasy
Among those most likely to have lost confidence about the nation's direction over the past year are white evangelicals, down 30 percentage points since November, Republican women, down 28 points, Southerners, down 26 points, and suburban men, down 20 points.
Bush's supporters are uneasy about issues such as federal deficits, immigration and his latest nomination for the Supreme Court. Social conservatives are concerned about his choice of Miers, a relatively unknown lawyer who has served as White House counsel.
The president's job approval is mired at the lowest level of his presidency — 39 percent. While four of five Republicans say they approve of Bush's job performance — enthusiasm has dipped over the last year.
Party backing slips
In December 2004, soon after his re-election, almost two-thirds of Republicans strongly approved of the job done by Bush. The AP-Ipsos survey found that just half in his own party feel that way now.
The poll of 1,000 adults was conducted by Ipsos, an international polling company, from Monday to Wednesday and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
I think we've all found out this week that "elitist" is White House code for "someone who criticizes/disagrees with/is unhappy with Bush."
Won't declare war on Mexico so he can close the borders.
Didn't bitch slap John McCain for CFR.
What if he had not done a prescription drug plan:
NYT Headline:
Bush Vetos Democrat Prescription Drug Plan
Denies 55 million elderly Americans prescription drugs.
All expected to die!!
IIRC, I'd say yes.
Hey Map-
Could be code for anyone with a Harvard/Yale/Stanford degree that likes taking potshots at a normal person!
If Conservatives can't constructively criticize our own to stay on the Right path, do we deserve to keep the majority we have?
"koolaid" applies to those who accept being told "trust us" without asking any tough questions, or believe
that a certain party can do no wrong, in spite of actual actions."
Ok I get it now.
I hope, like hell.
Ann Coulter, in particular, has ruined herself with a large number of people, calling Miers a "cleaning lady," and laughing, on Bill Maher, about impeaching Bush.
What a bimbo!
I concur with flash on this one.
"George never was a true blue conservative but right of the middle."
I may get flamed for this, but I sort of like Bush for that reason, myself being a moderate right-winger. (This doesn't mean, though, that I am happy with everything.)
Unfortunately, you please all, you please none. When you've got a large, diverse country, with many shades of gray even within the conservative base, it is hard to appeal to one group without upsetting another. Even Clinton had to move more, from left wing to the center. Maybe it's the only way to do a balancing act.
UGH Please don't bring that guy up, LOL!!!!!
Define "moderate conservative"
RINO
Any relation to George Stepinpoopalis..?
How about the nation has been kept safe by President Bush since 9/11, doesn't that amount to anything? In his recent speech re the war on terror, he enumerated the gains we've made; but surely, there is much more of his hard work concerning Homeland Security that we do not know about because of its classified status.
And what about the economy?
So questioning Bush is tantamount to "having little faith" that Christ spoke of? Bush is your Saviour?
Questioning the President makes one a false prophet, apostate or a ravenous wolf?
Is George Bush the Fourth Member of the Quadrinity??
This would be funny if it weren't so sad... and pathetic.
Not hardly. John McCain is a democrat. And a t*rd.
You have millions of illegals in South Carolina, do you? That "guest worker" koolaid doesn't sell in the Southwest. You'll need to come up with some other way to package the GOP sellout.
It amounts to something, but you can't rest on your laurels with a wide open border and PC security screening because you fear the ACLU.
And what about the economy?
The tax cuts were great, but spending is out of control as is the energy situation, and there are 15M people here ILLEGALLY taking jobs meant for Americans and/or lowering the wage pool.
Got a couple of links for you:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/95-964.pdf
http://www.homelandsecurity.org/journal/Commentary/barnes.htm
Degrees of conservatism are always up for debate amongst us, however, IMHO, the combination of wild spending, caving in to the RATs, lack of backbone has taken its toll with the base. I voted for Bush primarily due to the war on terror and my fear of the RATs.
Rs in congress derserve mush of the blame.
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