Posted on 04/13/2006 10:27:25 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
California voters remain unhappy with their elected officials in Sacramento. Both Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state legislature continue to receive poor job ratings, with just 39% of voters currently approving of the performance of the Governor and 28% saying this with regard to the state legislature.
In addition, a 56% majority of Californians feels the direction of the state is seriously off on the wrong track, twice the proportion (28%) who see the state moving in the right direction.
Voter still favor by a 57% to 30% margin the Governor’s proposal to spend $200 billion over ten years on a wide variety of infrastructure projects, which the legislature failed to enact in time for the June primary election. However, should the Governor and the legislature be at odds over the specifics of the infrastructure bill, voters split sharply along partisan lines over who they’d be inclined to favor.
These are the highlights of the latest Field Poll survey conducted among 917 registered voters statewide between the period April 3-10.
Schwarzenegger’s job rating remains low
Schwarzenegger’s job ratings have remained in a low trough for almost a year now, after receivingvery positive assessments throughout his first 16 months in office. At present, just 39% approveof his performance, while 47% disapprove, an appraisal very similar to what he received twomonths ago.
Views of the Governor are highly partisan, with Democrats disapproving by a 66% to 24%margin, and Republicans viewing him positively 61% to 24%. Non-partisans remain morenegative than positive in their assessments of Schwarzenegger by a 46% to 37% margin.
Greater than two to one negative assessment of the state legislature
By a two to one margin (56% to 28%), California voters also disapprove of the job being done bythe state legislature. Voters’ current appraisal represents a decline over the past two months and areturn to the highly negative assessments given that body throughout most of 2005.
Majorities of voters of all political parties register disapproval of the way the state legislature is doing its job.
Sacremento must be destroyed. Worthless bunch of comunist.
Two to one majority believes state is on the wrong track
For many years The Field Poll has asked cross-sections of voters whether they felt things inCalifornia were generally going in the right direction or were seriously off on the wrong track. Inevery measurement, save one, over the past five years, majorities have held much more negativethan positive appraisal of the state’s overall direction. The lone exception was September 2004
during Governor Schwarzenegger’s first year in office.
Today’s sentiments remain highly negative, with 56% feeling the state is seriously off on the wrong track, and just 28% saying things are moving in the right direction.
Majorities or pluralities of Democrats, Republicans and non-partisans concur that the state isseriously off on the wrong track.
Continuing positive reaction to Governor’s bond proposal
Earlier this year Schwarzenegger proposed spending about $200 billion over ten years oninfrastructure projects for improvements to the state’s roads, water and flood control, educationalfacilities, prisons and the courts and urged the legislature to place bonds of up to $70 billion on theJune primary election ballot. While the legislature failed to act, voters still express strong supportfor the Governor’s proposal. Currently, 57% favor and 30% are opposed to the proposal – virtually the same as the 56% to 27% margin of support found in February.
Voters in all areas of the state endorse the proposal. In addition, the Governor’s bond infrastructure proposal is supported by a plurality of Democrats and large majorities of Republicans and nonpartisans.
Huge partisan split over who voters would support if the Governor and legislature were at odds on the infrastructure bond bill
When asked whether they would be more inclined to support the Governor or the legislature if the two were at odds over the specifics of the infrastructure bond bill, 41% of voters would side with the legislature, while 38% would favor the Governor. However, this close division masks huge
partisan differences on this issue.
Greater than six in ten Democrats say they would side with the legislature by a 61% to 19% margin in disputes involving the infrastructure bond package, while Republicans would line up with Schwarzenegger by a similar three to one margin (62% to 20%). Non-partisans are about evenly divided.
Information About The Survey
Sample Details
The findings in this report are based on a random sample survey of Californians registered to vote.
Interviewing was conducted by telephone in English and Spanish between the period April 3- 10, 2006. A total of 1,431 California adults were reached and screened by telephone, of whom 917 reported being registered to vote.
In order to cover a broad range of issues and still minimize possible voter fatigue the overall registered voter sample was divided into two roughly equivalent sized subsamples of 462 and 455 voters each on some questions.
Questions about the direction of the state and the job performance rating of the governor and state legislature reported in this release were asked of 455 voters each.
Telephone households were sampled using a random digit dial methodology, which randomly selects operating landline telephone exchanges within all area codes serving California households in proportion to population. Within each exchange, random samples of telephone numbers are created by adding random digits to each selected telephone exchange. This method gives each phone listing an equal chance of being selected and permits access to all landline telephone numbers both listed and unlisted.
According to statistical theory, 95% of the time results from the overall registered voter sample have a
sampling error of +/- 3.3 percentage points while findings from each random subsample have a sampling error of +/- 4.8 percentage points. There are other possible sources of error in any survey other than sampling variability. Different results could occur because of differences in question wording, sampling, or sequencing or through undetected omissions or errors in interviewing or data processing. Extensive efforts were made to minimize such potential errors.
Questions Asked
Thinking about the state, do you think things in California are generally going in the right direction or do
you feel things are seriously off on the wrong track?
Do you approve or disapprove of the way Arnold Schwarzenegger is handling his job as Governor of
California?
Overall, do you approve or disapprove of the way the California state legislature is doing its job?
Governor Schwarzenegger has proposed spending over $200 billion dollars over 10 years on infrastructure
projects, including up to $70 billion dollars in new state bonds, to fund improvements to roads, water and
flood control, educational facilities, prisons, and the courts. Generally speaking, do you favor or oppose
the Governor’s infrastructure improvement proposal?
Suppose that during negotiations on the infrastructure improvement package in Sacramento, Governor
Schwarzenegger and the state legislature were at odds about the specifics of the package. If you did not
know anything more about the matter, whose position would you be more inclined to support on this issue -
- Governor Schwarzenegger or the state legislature?
Damn, they are even conducting their poll interviews in Spanish? There is just something really wrong........
That question is just an eensy teensy bit skewed, doncha think?
"right track" vs. "seriously off on the wrong track"
No comment. :-}
As a side note, just saw on 10 pm news that another Field poll not yet posted also shows
westly up by 11 over phil and
westly even in a head to head with Gub,
phil down 4 to the gub in a head to head.
Si. :-{o
I just checked Bradley's blog comments. It sounds like those polls were given to campaigns and news outlet subscribers early this morning. They were saying "double digit" westly over anglehead, which is consistent. I would guess the midnight news releases will have the story.
Now, why can't we turn the legislature around with 70% disapproval and they still refuse to budge? How inept is the Republican Party that it cannot capitalize?
Ya think?? It's not just bad out there, it's worse!
Uh-oh! You're thinking! That's forbidden by your Media puppet masters in Planet Kalifornia.
The voters are the reason the government is on the "wrong track." I don't know why they're mad at the people in charge. They've given the voters exactly what they wanted.
How inept is the Republican Party that it cannot capitalize?
--
while they all clamor for reform on both sides of the aisle, it is a dog and pony show after all, few are willing to do the right thing as it will then make their existence irrelevant for the most part.
power, especially unbridled as some wield, makes folks a little nutty in the 24by7 media age we now live in.
they get warped into really believing they are the anointed ones and can do no wrong, even while they are lining their own pockets and their donors and benefactors as well with more loot from the public trough, oft times for the sake of political expediency and a photo op to get re-elected.
If Arnold could chuck wood... How much wood could the Arnold chuck, IF the Arnold could chuck wood???
If Arnold picked a peck of pickled peppers... How may pecks of pickled peppers could the Arnold pick, IF the Arnold could pick pickled peppers???
The final question is... If the CAGOP "leadership" even knew how to pack pickled peppers, or box wood chucks, or even how to find a dry levy to drive to... What would the new mob of FR Moderats have to say about such a paramount revelation??? (snort!)
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