Weekend Open Thread
What’s on your mind?
Your Open Thread conversation starter for the weekend is some polling on health care. This time, it’s polling of voter attitudes towards both parties in the health care debate. The polling is showing that the GOP is being seen as the party of no.
* A Democracy Corps survey conducted in early September finds 56 percent agreeing that Republicans are “More interested in partisan politics than solving the country’s problems.”
* The same poll finds just 29 percent saying that Republicans have “new ideas for addressing the country’s problems,” a lower rating than when we last asked this question in 2005.[8]
* Quinnipiac finds just 29 percent think that Republicans are “making a good faith effort to cooperate” with Obama on health care, versus 59 percent who say they are not.[9]
* A CBS/New York Times survey finds that just 27 percent think Republican members of Congress are opposing Obama’s plans because they think they are “bad for the country” while 64 percent say they are doing it for “political reasons.”[10]
* CNN finds that 61 percent say Republicans are “being obstructionist for mostly political reasons” versus 35 percent who say they are being “constructive.”[11]
* A Washington Post/ABC survey finds 62 percent saying Republicans in Congress are “not making a good faith effort to cooperate” on health care, versus just 31 percent who say they are.[12]
* Pew finds that 62 percent of opponents of health care reform think that “policymakers who oppose the current proposals” should compromise with supporters while only 33 percent think they should try to block passage of legislation. [13]
This is exactly what we warned Republicans about. It wasn’t just us liberals warned them, it was also people like GOP communications guru Frank Luntz. Republicans have become the party that only plays short term games and doesn’t have a plan for long term. Having no ideas on how to address issues facing the American people is not the road to electoral victory no matter how fired up the fringe is.
Tags: Open Thread
LOL! Group names Newt Gingrinch as “Family Values Porn Fan of the Year, 2009.”
And that would be about all I want to know about that, thankyouverymuch.
Really interesting. James Fallows examines Obama’s Nobel Prize speech. He also points us to this post, by a former Carter speechwriter, with spot-on, dead accurate predictions of Republican talking points.
BTW — I went today over to the new Dupont Environmental Education Center and it is just glorious. A delightful building with amazing views of the city and the restored marshlands and a great boardwalk where you can observe up close the workings of the marsh. There are portions newly planted and you can see minnows in some of the water — this is any incredible restoration of habitat. They aren’t quite done, I think, but what is here is simply fantastic. Definitely go and definitely bring the kids — there is enough here to keep everyone engaged for a long time.
I received a phone call from the NRA this evening asking me to respond to a single question survey about what I thought about the “United Nations attempt to ban guns in America.”
I’m not proud of my response since it was in front of my children but I asked the woman if she was “kidding me” quickly followed by “drop dead.” I can only imagine that the follow-up question was something along the lines of “can we count on your support for $100? $50?
These people have no shame whatsoever.
Just back from the Big Bad Voodoo Daddy show at the Grand. Great band, great music and show. As always, the Grand is such a wonderful place to enjoy a show. We are so lucky to have it.
WTF?
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/33289924/ns/today-today_people/?GT1=43001
Rebecca, last night we saw Loudon Wainwright and Richard Thompson. And for an old guy, Thompson kicks some ass.
Next week, Robert Earl Keen at the Grand!!!!
And, don’t forget, Grammy Award-winning Cajun dance band Beausoleil avec Michael Doucet at the Arden Gild Hall this Thursday night!