New HPU Poll: 71% Think Nation on Wrong Track

by | Mar 1, 2016 | 2016 Elections, Carolina Strategic Analysis, Features, National Politics, NC Politics | 20 comments

The folks at High Point University released a new poll yesterday, looking at the North Carolina political landscape. Here are some tidbits:

-Two-thirds of registered voters know that Republicans are in control of the U.S. Senate. “All adults” fared worse: only 63% were aware of that.

-71% of registered voters think the nation is on the wrong track. That’s interesting because the economy is getting better. Clearly, there are a lot of people who think the country is going in a seriously wrong direction. In an election year, that should be a boost for the nominee of the party out of power – whoever that may be.

-Obama is at 43/49 approval. High ceiling, low floor … he hasn’t been really popular in this state since early 2009.

-Richard Burr is at 29/35. Thom Tillis is at 31/34. Pat McCrory is at 48/39 – that’s actually pretty good!

-The General Assembly is more than twice as popular as Congress. Only 16% approve of Congress while 34% approve of the state legislature. Great job, Raleigh!

-60% think President Obama should nominate a replacement for Justice Scalia on the Supreme Court.

-68% say the Senate should “consider” any nominee Obama picks. Wait, shouldn’t that be lower than the first number? Who knows.

-10% say men make better leaders than women. 4% say women make better leaders than men. 83% say they don’t see gender.

The entire poll can be viewed here.

20 Comments

  1. MyTurnNC

    Democrats should be holding up the “terrible three” Republican governors who have wrecked their states as examples of Republicans’ lack off the ability to govern: Brownback of Kansas and Jindal of Louisiana for the sad state of their states economies and Snyder of Michigan who failed to prevent the lead poisoning of his people when he could have.

    • Ebrun

      All three of those “terrible” Republican Governors were re elected to a second term, Jindal in 2011 and Snyder and Brownback in 2014. It’s those stupid voters again. We really need to do something about these darn democratic elections. They’re just not compatible with the left’s agenda.

      • Apply Liberally

        As if the well-publicized failures and callous actions of Brownback, Jindal, and Snyder since 2014 did not happen?

        Brownback is the least popular governor in the nation among his state’s residents (http://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/prairie-politics/article45615459.html)

        Jindal’s popularity is near record lows for LA govs. (http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/11/uno_poll_bobby_jindal.html)

        Snyder’s popularity has plunged, with 58% rating him negatively, 69% sayin he’s done a poor job on the Flint issue, and 31% saying he should resign. (http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/flint-water-crisis/2016/01/27/exclusive-snyders-approval-plummets-amid-flint-crisis/79396494/)

        Reality is just not compatible with the right’s agenda.

        • Ebrun

          Elections have consequences. Public opinion polls, not so much. All three “terrible” Governors were re elected to a second term. The voters are responsible for liberals’ angst.

          • Apply Liberally

            Someone cannot read well, or is being unctious, or is just trolling this thread for kicks.
            Jindal lost last November. And, BTW, chew on this, one of the main reasons he lost: http://www.newsweek.com/how-bobby-jindal-broke-louisiana-economy-337999
            And the low popularity of the other two governors has occurred SINCE their re-elections in 2014.

          • Ebrun

            The Michigan economy is doing quite well with the GOP in charge of the state legislature and the Governor’s office, according to Detroit Free Press business reporter Matthew Dolan:

            “The state’s sustained recovery will help lower the state’s unemployment rate from the current 5% to 4.8% at the end of next year and 4.5% at the end of 2017, they said.

            To arrive at their forecast, the economists looked at barometers of economic health: growth in employment, growth in per capita income and growth in per capita gross domestic product , as well as declines in the unemployment rate.”

            The result? Michigan’s economy “has been on a bit of a roll for the past five or six years,” George Fulton, who is director of U-M’s Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics, said in a statement. “And the state appears to be poised to continue the ride for a while longer, although perhaps not at the same pace.”

            Wow, for the past “five or six years”? The GOP won the Michigan Governorship and took over the state legislature in 2011. Let’s see now, about how many years ago was that?

          • Apply Liberally

            Go ahead. as usual, ignore the point and divert.
            We were talking about 3 GOP governors who have taken actions that have created crises in their states, and were/are very unpopular because of those actions.
            Brownback and Jindal due to the damage they did to their state’s economies/finances; Jindal lost re-election because of that. Elections show the consequences of poor governance.
            And Michiganders have turned against Gov. Snyder — not because of the anything to do with the state’s economy, but rather due to his horrible handling of the Flint water issues. So I repeat. Snyder’s popularity has plunged in the last few months, with 58% of Michiganders rating him negatively, 69% saying he’s done a poor job on the Flint issue, and 31% saying he should resign. (http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/flint-water-crisis/2016/01/27/exclusive-snyders-approval-plummets-amid-flint-crisis/79396494/)

          • Ebrun

            Wow! Thirty-eight percent think he should resign? Now that’s significant. I guess only 62 percent think he should stay in office.

          • Ebrun

            Whoops, I guess only 31 percent think he should resign, not 38 percent, Not quote as impressive as I first thought.

          • Apply Liberally

            3 out of 10 Michiganders think their governor should resign, and someone tries try to troll that into a positive. SMH…..

            Sure, compared to the 54% of NJ voters who wish their GOP governor Christie would resign, I suppose that a percentage of just 31% would be something that clueless conservatives (including Snyder himself) might try to feel good about.

            JIndal (LA), McDonnell (VA), Brownback (KS), Deal (GA), Pence (IN), Christie (NJ), Snyder (MI), McCrory (NC), (ME), Corbett (PA), Walker (WS), Brewer (AZ), Abbott (TX), Perry (TX), LePage (Me), and Scott (FL)— a Hall of Shame of GOP incompetence and/or bigotry in recent years at the state level.

          • Ebrun

            Almost 48% voted for Snyder’s opponent in ’14. Now only 31 percent think he should resign. That’s nothing unusual. As for the Governors in GA, NC, FL, TX, IN, WS, AZ and ME, things are going well. So too in TN, AL, NM, NE, SD, OK, AR, NV, UT, WY, ID, IA and OH. Why do you think the Republicans have won major statewide elections in most of the 50 states if the GOP Governors are so terrible? Even Democrat strongholds like IL, MA and MD have recently elected Republican Governors.

            As I said earlier, Democrats’ problems lie with the voters.

          • Apply Liberally

            Snyder goes from taking 52% of the vote in 2014, to now, just 16 months later, having 58% of Michiganders rating him negatively and 31% saying he should resign, and you see little odd, amiss, or telling about that, saying “That’s nothing unusual”?? That’s a twisted reply, breathtaking in its flippancy, closed-mindedness, and lack of intellectual cohesion.

            And you clearly demonstrate that you’d prefer to overlook the shortcomings in the characters/integrity/actions of the likes of Snyder (Flint water poisoning), Jindal (rejection from re-election mainly due to hamstringing the state’s economy), Pence (embarrassing his state with his religious freedom act support), Scott (so many misdeads, I don’t know where to start), Brownback (ruination of the KS economy to the point of tax cuts causing the closing of KS schools), Christie (BridgeGate ring a bell?), McDonnell (soon to be in prison for what was essentially bribery), and LePage (serious efforts in ME to recall/impeach him due to a continuous string of xenophobic remarks and pay-offs to cronies), just as long as you get to post something as innocuous and lame as “things are going well” in their states.

            P.S. And I did notice that you omitted KS, MI or LA as states in which you believe “things are going well.” Thanks for at least acknowledging that Jindal, Brownback and Snyder did indeed mess things up economically in their home states. And yes, I know that the LA gov is now a Dem, but he’s been in office for less than 2 months now, and hasn’t had any time at all to fix any of that state’s financial issues left behind by Jindal).

          • Ebrun

            The Michigan economy is doing fine, see my precious post. Jindall did not run for re election last year. I spend some time in FL every year and the economy there is booming, While Scott is not the most likable politician, his success in leading the state out of the recession has earned him substantial public support. LaPage and Brownback were re elected just 16 months ago despite the same partisan complaints you keep bringing up.(Again, Democrats’ problems stem from the voters). The economy in Indiana, along with Michigan and Wisconsin, is doing well now that all three are right-to-work states.

            I do agree with you about Christie. His egotistical political ambition has not served NJ well, although he did have a recalcitrant Democrat legislature that opposed many of his reforms. His patronizing support of Trump is a pathetic example of a washed up pol desperate to find a new source of legitimacy.

            But let me ask you why can’t you engage in a give and take political debate without resorting to personal insults? I am sure you are convinced of the profundity of your political views, but you seem to take personal offense when they are challenged. Do you believe that your views are so sacrosanct that they are not to be subjected to critical disagreement?

          • Apply Liberally

            Most recent popularity polls have Scott as being somewhere around the 8th least popular governor in the US. He is currently sporting a 42/47% approval/disapproval rating in FL. Hardly “substantial public support.” And my family is from FL, some running private businesses, none would say the economy there is “booming.”

            Yes, Jindal did not run. Mea culpa. But just about every analysis out there opines that his legacy of trashing of the state’s economy truly helped in his prospective GOP successor’s defeat.

            And I have my own questions/concerns regarding your posts.

            Why can’t you engage in a give and take discourse without resorting to just about every trolling trick in the book, from redirecting/misdirecting/diverting your replies, to changing topics when challenged (apparently to confuse or further roil things), to selectively ignoring counterpoints that might undermine your stance, to interjecting convoluted logic (like your referring to a gov getting 52% of the vote but then earning 58% disapproval and 31% “think he should resign” ratings 16 months later as “not unusual”), to lobbing unsubstantiated assertions (like claiming “The economy in Indiana, along with Michigan and Wisconsin, is doing well now that all three are right-to-work states” when any objective synthesis of right-to-work law economic impact studies would show that RTW has had little to no influence on state job growth or business activity).

            You see, I take no offense to having my own political observations, nor those of other posters, challenged. I do, however, take offense to replies that are so obviously manipulative and evasive in nature and intent.

            And so, as we have again reached that point where a comment thread has been Ebrunized into tedium, I am done with this one.

          • Ebrun

            Ok. I give up. You continue to post personal insults that reflect more on your character than on mine. And like many liberals, you can’t accept the verdict of the voters unless your side wins. And yet some liberal pundits wonder why our politics are so divisive.

    • Apply Liberally

      Totally agree, MyTurnNC. And they could also cite a state like MN, which has a Democratic governor and senate which didn’t shy from raising taxes of corporations and the wealthy, and yet the state is showing an economic recovery that is far in excess of neighboring Wisconsin’s under its conservative governor.

  2. Cosmic janitor

    ‘The economy is improving’ – you’ve got to be kidding right? Homelessness and joblessness are on the proverbial rise, our nation’s manufacturing base is gone, health insurance is unaffordable, housing foreclosures are at an all time high, good paying jobs are non-existent and the national debt is 19 trillion! Now I’m going to ask you a question that some one on this blog once asked me John: ‘what planet do you live on?’ Oh lord, and his polls have McCrackhead with a 48% approval rating – for what, turning the state into a corporate fiefdom!

    • Ebrun

      Read ’em and weep, CJ, read ’em and weep. I gotta hunch the Charlotte City Council just substantially increased McCrory’s prospects for re election.

    • Pippie

      You sound like someone needs to buy a new tv. Yours is obviously stuck on Foxie News!

  3. Apply Liberally

    Talk about abusing stats and slanting your comments:

    1. Did the poll ask “WHY do you think the nation is on the wrong track?” I always respond that I think the nation is “on the wrong track” on such surveys. Very few ask WHY. If they do, my answer would be “because regressives, Tea Partiers, and neo-cons have caused gridlock, underfunding, and obstructionism in D.C., don’t seem to care about the middle class, and have been tone-deaf on social trends.”

    2. Burr’s and Tillis’ numbers suck. Why don’t you comment on that?

    3. You actually wrote: “34% approve of the state legislature. Great job, Raleigh!” LOL! That means that 66% do not approve of the NCGA’s job, doesn’t it?

    4. A strong majority in NC think that the GOP is off base on the issue of a SCOTUS replacement. Again, no comment? Your silence shows your bias.

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