Extremist views
Mollie Hemingway ·
Sep 20, 2010 at 8:17am
This is probably the type of polling result that drives the political elites batty:
Fifty-two percent (52%) of Likely U.S. Voters say their own views are closer to Sarah Palin’s than they are to President Obama’s, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
Just 40% say their views are closer to the president’s than to those of the former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate.
Among the Political Class, however, 68% say their views are more like Obama’s, while 63% of Mainstream voters describe their views as more like Palin’s.
Political class defined here.
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Comments :
Re: Extremist views
To comment on my own post -- there's also this tweet I just saw:
What strikes me about this polling is how it shows such a gap between the general political elite, including folks such as Lisa "clueless" Murkowski, and the general populace.
Jun '10
Re: Extremist views
I think Grover Norquist has the best one sentence description of the Tea Party types: "The Leave Us Alone Coalition." They're not necessarily all on the right either. Spending their hard-earned money, and their children's economic future, stupidly, wastefully, is not leaving them alone.
Aug '10
Re: Extremist views
I predict that whatever is behind the Tea Party is in its ascendancy. It will be a bumpy ride, but it has tremendous jet thrust and updraft. No campaigns of detraction will prevent it from its eventual success. The old elites are already proving themselves uninteresting. Ricochet will also become a successful site, in my opinion. The question for both the Tea Party and Ricochet will be, "How do we practice Safe Politics and not contract a case of elitism? May I humbly suggest the following, retain an honest connection with those Americans that work and build America (legally); remove barriers and prejudices that prevent families from thriving; get rid of Affirmative Injustice programs; cultivate work and genuine intellectual development (not faux intellectualism); decentralization of business, education and government as a guard against destructive influences; and turn away from the cults of celebrity, beauty and manufactured reputation. Regarding that last point, I am rather glad that some of these new leaders are seen to have made mistakes. I can appreciate someone who has courageously repented of earlier mistakes. It shows both "try" and growth. What are intolerable are manufactured and maintained images hiding pervasive disregard of the public's trust.
Edited on Sep 20, 2010 at 9:40amSep '10
Re: Extremist views
Mollie Hemingway: To comment on my own post -- there's also this tweet I just saw:
What strikes me about this polling is how it shows such a gap between the general political elite, including folks such as Lisa "clueless" Murkowski, and the general populace. · Sep 20 at 8:40am
As a lifelong Wisconsinite, I am feelin' good about these recent polls. Last week Rasmussen had Feingold trailing 44-51. However, I also know that Feingold is an extremely talented politician, and a complete snake. I fully expect him to savage Ron Johnson in the coming weeks with millions of dollars worth of slime ball ads. He's already using the SSI scare ads.
Things look good right now, but i've learned to never count out old Russ. He is going to try to hang on to this seat with a death grip. Its the only thing that gives his life any meaning.
And as far as extremist views go, Russ has been one of the senates most vocal supporters of a single payer national health care system.
May '10
Re: Extremist views
The surprise story is that this honestly surprises some people. Sarah Palin has had to work hard and struggle for everything: Paying her own way through 3 Universities, working with her hands and her brains, cleaning out the decades old corruption in Alaska - she connects on a basic value level. Our elite and pretend ruling elite have not. They may or may not have more book learning than Sarah (or indeed many of the rest of us), but they a) lack the common sense, down to Earth wisdom most of us truly appreciate and b) view the non-elite with arrogant condescension, which most of us reject.
Jul '10
Re: Extremist views
David, are you running? Cause you'd have my vote...
Aug '10
Re: Extremist views
The bottom of the article provides my obligatory pessimistic conservative comment:
"Voters think Hillary Clinton is more qualified to be president than Obama, but most believe that both Democrats are more fit for the White House than three top Republicans interested in the job, including Palin."
It's all well and good to relive 1994's election... but it still looks like we're going to relive 1996 as well in two years.
May '10
Re: Extremist views
Mollie Hemingway:
Just 40%? Folks, that's a lot of people. If I had any respect for polling, which I don't, I'd be seriously worried (which I am, but not because of polls).
As for the gap between elites and regular Americans, I wonder how popular talk radio is in D.C. compared with other cities, and also compared with less urban areas.
Aug '10
Re: Extremist views
Well thanks, Jonathan. I am not sure what office they'd let me run for given my arch conservative ideas and background. I have not seen many Ricochet Contributors discussing hotly contested elections for Dog Catcher--that's about the best office I could imagine winning. I read your Bio, by the way. Refreshingly frank, to be sure. Say, I have an idea: ...want to be my running mate? You could be Vice Dog Catcher. I tell you--talk about a balanced ticket! We'll absolutely make their heads spin! We'll be swept into power in the wake of mass, national confusion. The UN will create a new positions for International Secretary and Vice Secretary Dog Catcher. There may be a Peace Prize in it for us. Stockholm is a beautiful place to visit. I was a kind of Lefty too in my twenties. Keep working on it. Being a Lefty is great preparation for being a Righty. Keep writing, it will keep you sane.