++For the past week or so Thom Hartman has been referring to a poll taken by the Progressive Change Institute about "likely voters" in 2016 positions on a variety of issues. In summary, Hartman says this reveals America to be a Center-Left country.
++So I finally discovered the poll on line. To read it clearly, you have to access the Pdf file.
++The poll was conducted on Jan.9- 15th, 2015 by GBA Strategies. 1,500 "likely voters'" in the next election were polled. 38.9% were self-described Democrats,25% were Independents, and 33.8% were self-described Republicans.
++Now I'm only going to list the percentage who support an idea. But no ideas had a majority negative view.
++Allow the government to negotiate drug prices. 79% approve
++Students having the same interest rates as banks. 78% approve
++Universal pre-K education.
77% approve
++Fair Trade to preserve jobs.
75% support
++Fix Tax Loopholes on companies that ship jobs overseas.
74% approve
++End gerrymandering.
73% support
++Let homeowners use 401 (K) to pay down mortgages.
72% support
++Have a Medicare Buy-in for All
71% approve
++Disclose corporate spending on politics and lobbying.
71% support
++Require NSA to get warrants.
71% support
++Debt-free College at Public Universities.
71% approve
++Expand Social Security Benefits.
70% support
++Green New Deal for clean energy jobs.
70% support
++Retrain Coal Miners and oil workers for clean energy jobs.
67% support
++Full Employment Act.
66% Support
++Transparency in Trade Negotiations.
66% support
++Full minimum wage for Tipped workers.
64% support
++Free Community College.
63% support
++Ensure Net Neutrality
61% approve
++Tax The Rich--50% Reagan Rule
59% support
++Minimum guaranteed income
59% support
++Financial Transactions Tax
55% Approve
++Tax The Rich--A Millionaires and billionaire's tax
54% Support
++Free High Quality Public Child Care.
53% Support
++Glass-Steigel
47% Approve
++Now there is no major opposition in the poll to these items. These are affirmative statements and the remaining answers are low levels of disapproval or those polled did not know.
++This poll mirrors polls on Obamacare if you break the Affordable Care Act down in its component parts.Polls on Obamacare usually have a majority opposing but one-third of the respondents don't think it goes far enough.
++In a blind poll , Americans were asked their choice of the country with the ideal income distribution. They choose Scandinavian models and did not recognize the American reality.
++That's why I found it refreshing that Bernie Sanders didn't shrink from bringing up Scandinavia on
the major news networks, when they tried to dismiss this.
++It looks like you have a pretty progressive set of attitudes with a polling sample that mirrors the political demographic of the country.
++Now Thom Hartman raises the issue, "How much of this do you think the Republicans would deliver on?" He answered his own question "Nothing."
++I think this is an important poll for all of us to remember as 2016 comes upon us.
Showing posts with label Thom Hartman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thom Hartman. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
#47 Traitors picking up speed
++The hashtag named after the Daily News headline has been picking up speed all day.
++Jeb Bush said that the Senators only reacted to what they perceived a "bad deal" and that President Obama is to blame because he didn't consult with them more.
++Point of Fact--a bad deal is what Bibi referred to which doesn't exist.
++Bobby Jindal thinks all presidential aspirants must emphasize Iran is negotiating with a lame duck.
++Tehran Tom appeared on the Morning Joe to emphasize he only wanted the Iranian leaders to realize the nature of our system. This is not going well for Tehran Tom.
++Thom Hartman on his show said this just followed the Republican history of interfering with the Vietnam talks and the hostage negotiations with Iran under Reagan. He was joined by the chairman of the New York State Republican Party. It's worth listening to for the GOP rant about the nature of the deal and the alleged opposition by America to it.
++The problem is that the deal could unravel because of many factors no one is discussing. The question --after Tehran Tom's stunt--is how can President Obama increase sanctions if the United States is perceived as killing the deal. The Asian countries will just take a walk, Russia and China will end their cooperation and the US will be left with one big shitshow.
++Then factor in Iraq and Syria and try and game out the scenarios there. If the GOP had any strategic thinkers still around,they might realize they have created a worse monster than the one they left us with. The reason neo-conservatives are so mad with Obama is that they thought after Iraq, they would head on to Iran. The big except is that we do not need an energy empire like they envisioned and Iraq is so splintered on the ground that the only commitment you could get is from Republicans who really thought we should be there forever. Their dreams of empire have vanished in the sands.
++Even the extension of Iranian influence is a burden for Tehran, although they haven't admitted as such. It is unlikely they can subdue Iraq, defeat ISIS and preserve Assad. They have already lost several generals of the Revolutionary Guard. And the Arab states are now contemplating a unified military force to combat ISIS but to a larger extent Iran.
++Strangely the Iranian nuclear deal would take a minor issue away from the scene.
++Meanwhile Salon is counting chickens before they hatch. They speculate that within a week Zionist United will be able to form a coalition of 58 seats and oust Bibi. Bibi's problems right now are security related. Former heads of Mossad have been blasting him for the re-appearance of Hamas' tunnels,the Islamic Jihad and real threats on the Golan Heights, which have not appeared in years. Mr. Security doesn't look so good.
++Jeb Bush said that the Senators only reacted to what they perceived a "bad deal" and that President Obama is to blame because he didn't consult with them more.
++Point of Fact--a bad deal is what Bibi referred to which doesn't exist.
++Bobby Jindal thinks all presidential aspirants must emphasize Iran is negotiating with a lame duck.
++Tehran Tom appeared on the Morning Joe to emphasize he only wanted the Iranian leaders to realize the nature of our system. This is not going well for Tehran Tom.
++Thom Hartman on his show said this just followed the Republican history of interfering with the Vietnam talks and the hostage negotiations with Iran under Reagan. He was joined by the chairman of the New York State Republican Party. It's worth listening to for the GOP rant about the nature of the deal and the alleged opposition by America to it.
++The problem is that the deal could unravel because of many factors no one is discussing. The question --after Tehran Tom's stunt--is how can President Obama increase sanctions if the United States is perceived as killing the deal. The Asian countries will just take a walk, Russia and China will end their cooperation and the US will be left with one big shitshow.
++Then factor in Iraq and Syria and try and game out the scenarios there. If the GOP had any strategic thinkers still around,they might realize they have created a worse monster than the one they left us with. The reason neo-conservatives are so mad with Obama is that they thought after Iraq, they would head on to Iran. The big except is that we do not need an energy empire like they envisioned and Iraq is so splintered on the ground that the only commitment you could get is from Republicans who really thought we should be there forever. Their dreams of empire have vanished in the sands.
++Even the extension of Iranian influence is a burden for Tehran, although they haven't admitted as such. It is unlikely they can subdue Iraq, defeat ISIS and preserve Assad. They have already lost several generals of the Revolutionary Guard. And the Arab states are now contemplating a unified military force to combat ISIS but to a larger extent Iran.
++Strangely the Iranian nuclear deal would take a minor issue away from the scene.
++Meanwhile Salon is counting chickens before they hatch. They speculate that within a week Zionist United will be able to form a coalition of 58 seats and oust Bibi. Bibi's problems right now are security related. Former heads of Mossad have been blasting him for the re-appearance of Hamas' tunnels,the Islamic Jihad and real threats on the Golan Heights, which have not appeared in years. Mr. Security doesn't look so good.
Thursday, January 1, 2015
Be Forewarned
++The good news is that this blog is in its 7th year. So that will be my New Year's Resolution--to add up the numbers for this quirky diary of the Obama years.
++Having said that, Jennifer Rubin writes in today's Imperial Post that we should feel optimistic because 9 seasoned conservatives won Senate seats,the elections were a rebuke against the President on every policy issue,that Americans now realize America is the indispensable nation, the economy is coming back without government intervention (Cough) and that there is a strong conservative reform movement. The latter got trashed last year and Paul Krugman could teach you about Keynes. It is true that the Obama recovery lacks the significant public sector investment of all others. But none of the politics makes one feel any bit optimistic. Oh and by the way she thinks the Presidential field of candidates for the GOP is refreshing. P.S. Marco Rubio is supposed to tell us about his plans within a month.
++Jeb has left all his boards and non-profits to clean the slate for 2016. He now has a core 23% support and he is maneuvering to make a move to put a lock on the nomination by Iowa.
++The AP wrote the story everything has been wondering "What if Hillary doesn't run?" Draft Jerry Brown. But it would open a hole so big no one on the horizon could fill. I think the Democrats need a Western flare. I really think the self-destruction of Gary Hart wounded the Democrats' possibilities.
++We will have more demographic speculation about the fate of the parties this year. It is true the Democrats start the electoral college with 247 votes. But look at the state houses and the legislatures the GOP controls. Watch for more debates on splitting electoral votes to give the GOP a chance.
++Jennifer Rubin who annoys me no end is like a less literate David Brooks who refuses to recognize how extreme the GOP has become. Jennifer likes to show that the acceptance of gays demonstrates how more inclusive the country has become. Like the GOP on immigration and on its abortion platform.
++Another person who annoys me these days is my old Harvard Divinity Schoolmate Chris Hedges. I have seen more of Noam Chomsky the last two years than in all my previous life. See Hedges interview Chomsky on democraticunderground today. Chomsky has evolved into the nice,wise Jewish grandfather recounting real history in nice coherent chunks. But Chris as he does with other academic heroes won't let the guy the time to unwind his thoughts. Chris, he will get there. He just interrupts Chomsky's thoughts by driving his pet hobby horses--that the service industry workers are the new working class and that this country will experience Revolution just like Central Europe where both us saw the incredible democratic revolutions in the 80s and 90s. Chomsky is more interesting.The riff that got cut off was Chomsky explaining that the United States until Woodrow Wilson was strongly pacifist. It was Wilson's Red Scare that ended pacifism as a national trait. It also ended authentically Left-wing politics.
++ I saw the trailer for the new Terminator. Arnold is back! Looking a bit ragged but he is in full force.
++The New York Times mimicked the Imperial Post with a long article about how the racism of David Duke has become mainstreamed in Louisiana politics.The Southern Poverty Law Center says Scalise's statements proclaiming ignorance about the group he spoke to was nonsense. The Hotel itself and even a minor league baseball team tried to avoid the venue. David Duke has invited every extreme right party to Louisiana to form an alliance. The British National Party showed up in force. By the way their American headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia.
++But the Washington Monthly asks why are we surprised by the embrace of racism. South Carolina's Governor Haley spoke to the Republican Governor's Association about how corporations aren't avoiding the state because of the confederate flag. Our soon to be jailed Governor Bob McDonnell tried to proclaim a Southern Heritage day. There is a long list of such incidents in the past few years.
++Thom Hartman had a panel on his show discussing the David Duke flap. Hartman ran a clip of Lee Atwater explaining how to encode race-baiting in campaign speak to the point that "cutting taxes" is the easier pitch because southerners know that African-Americans will bear the brunt. One of Jennifer Rubin's new conservative reformers piped up that Scalise's speaking to an extreme right white supremacist conclave is just like Barack Obama knowing Bill Ayres. I guess--sort of.This movement has a lot of mental firepower.
++President Obama keeps slipping detainees out of Gitmo. Even the Hill has noticed that he was repatriated more since the mid-terms than in the previous two years.
++Mahmoud Abbas wants Palestine to be a member of the International Criminal Court so he can press Israel on war crimes. The United States strenuously objects. But remember the United States had refused to join even though the court has made exceptions for our military personnel. So how can we in good conscience block such a move. Well, we are threatening to hold up aid to the Palestinian Authority.
++Palestine lost its bid to be recognized by the Security Council by only 1 vote. They thought they were going to win with 9 or 10 and only gathered 8 as the United States pressured countries to either vote no or abstain.
++The Huffington Post today had an article about the rise of anti-semiticism around the globe. They attribute this to the global media covering the Palestinian situation.
++I think this will become a larger problem in 2015 because the rise of extreme right parties in Europe have a large component of the old fashion WWII anti-semiticism. Palestine is an excuse because these parties are also anti-Muslim immigrants.
++Having said that, Jennifer Rubin writes in today's Imperial Post that we should feel optimistic because 9 seasoned conservatives won Senate seats,the elections were a rebuke against the President on every policy issue,that Americans now realize America is the indispensable nation, the economy is coming back without government intervention (Cough) and that there is a strong conservative reform movement. The latter got trashed last year and Paul Krugman could teach you about Keynes. It is true that the Obama recovery lacks the significant public sector investment of all others. But none of the politics makes one feel any bit optimistic. Oh and by the way she thinks the Presidential field of candidates for the GOP is refreshing. P.S. Marco Rubio is supposed to tell us about his plans within a month.
++Jeb has left all his boards and non-profits to clean the slate for 2016. He now has a core 23% support and he is maneuvering to make a move to put a lock on the nomination by Iowa.
++The AP wrote the story everything has been wondering "What if Hillary doesn't run?" Draft Jerry Brown. But it would open a hole so big no one on the horizon could fill. I think the Democrats need a Western flare. I really think the self-destruction of Gary Hart wounded the Democrats' possibilities.
++We will have more demographic speculation about the fate of the parties this year. It is true the Democrats start the electoral college with 247 votes. But look at the state houses and the legislatures the GOP controls. Watch for more debates on splitting electoral votes to give the GOP a chance.
++Jennifer Rubin who annoys me no end is like a less literate David Brooks who refuses to recognize how extreme the GOP has become. Jennifer likes to show that the acceptance of gays demonstrates how more inclusive the country has become. Like the GOP on immigration and on its abortion platform.
++Another person who annoys me these days is my old Harvard Divinity Schoolmate Chris Hedges. I have seen more of Noam Chomsky the last two years than in all my previous life. See Hedges interview Chomsky on democraticunderground today. Chomsky has evolved into the nice,wise Jewish grandfather recounting real history in nice coherent chunks. But Chris as he does with other academic heroes won't let the guy the time to unwind his thoughts. Chris, he will get there. He just interrupts Chomsky's thoughts by driving his pet hobby horses--that the service industry workers are the new working class and that this country will experience Revolution just like Central Europe where both us saw the incredible democratic revolutions in the 80s and 90s. Chomsky is more interesting.The riff that got cut off was Chomsky explaining that the United States until Woodrow Wilson was strongly pacifist. It was Wilson's Red Scare that ended pacifism as a national trait. It also ended authentically Left-wing politics.
++ I saw the trailer for the new Terminator. Arnold is back! Looking a bit ragged but he is in full force.
++The New York Times mimicked the Imperial Post with a long article about how the racism of David Duke has become mainstreamed in Louisiana politics.The Southern Poverty Law Center says Scalise's statements proclaiming ignorance about the group he spoke to was nonsense. The Hotel itself and even a minor league baseball team tried to avoid the venue. David Duke has invited every extreme right party to Louisiana to form an alliance. The British National Party showed up in force. By the way their American headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia.
++But the Washington Monthly asks why are we surprised by the embrace of racism. South Carolina's Governor Haley spoke to the Republican Governor's Association about how corporations aren't avoiding the state because of the confederate flag. Our soon to be jailed Governor Bob McDonnell tried to proclaim a Southern Heritage day. There is a long list of such incidents in the past few years.
++Thom Hartman had a panel on his show discussing the David Duke flap. Hartman ran a clip of Lee Atwater explaining how to encode race-baiting in campaign speak to the point that "cutting taxes" is the easier pitch because southerners know that African-Americans will bear the brunt. One of Jennifer Rubin's new conservative reformers piped up that Scalise's speaking to an extreme right white supremacist conclave is just like Barack Obama knowing Bill Ayres. I guess--sort of.This movement has a lot of mental firepower.
++President Obama keeps slipping detainees out of Gitmo. Even the Hill has noticed that he was repatriated more since the mid-terms than in the previous two years.
++Mahmoud Abbas wants Palestine to be a member of the International Criminal Court so he can press Israel on war crimes. The United States strenuously objects. But remember the United States had refused to join even though the court has made exceptions for our military personnel. So how can we in good conscience block such a move. Well, we are threatening to hold up aid to the Palestinian Authority.
++Palestine lost its bid to be recognized by the Security Council by only 1 vote. They thought they were going to win with 9 or 10 and only gathered 8 as the United States pressured countries to either vote no or abstain.
++The Huffington Post today had an article about the rise of anti-semiticism around the globe. They attribute this to the global media covering the Palestinian situation.
++I think this will become a larger problem in 2015 because the rise of extreme right parties in Europe have a large component of the old fashion WWII anti-semiticism. Palestine is an excuse because these parties are also anti-Muslim immigrants.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)