polling

American Majority Rejects Washington Austerity Consensus – And We Demand Media Coverage

Roger Hickey — Mon, 09 May 2011 21:01:53 -0400

Out in America, unemployment is back up to 9 percent, but inside the Washington Beltway bubble the consensus, driven by conservatives, seems to be for austerity. An unholy alliance of pundits, politicians and even reporters— who differ only in degree—is insisting on the need to slash federal spending over the next few months.

As we approach the deadline for Congress to raise the debt ceiling, not a hour goes by in the 24-hour cycle without the media interviewing some expert who declares that the deficit is the most important threat facing the country, that tax increases are off the table, and that a severe crisis awaits if the Congress doesn’t cut and radically restructure Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

But one voice is missing from this discussion: that of the American Majority.

Occasionally some talking head on TV will acknowledge the almost daily public opinion polling showing conclusively that strong majorities of Americans:

oppose cutting benefits for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid recipients;
reject the idea of raising the age of eligibility for these popular programs;
hate the proposal to turn Medicare into a voucher or privatize Social Security;
support taxing the rich and corporations to close the deficit and fund needed investment;
favor cutting military spending for both obsolete weapons systems and current wars;
and, while acknowledging the need to reduce deficits, place a higher priority on creating jobs and getting the sputtering economy growing.

Rarely in the public discussion are the views of the American majority presented in such a comprehensive way. Instead, some budget expert from a think-tank like Brookings or an honest reporter will nervously interject that “recent polls show Americans may resist taking the medicine,” and then the discussion moves on to why austerity is absolutely necessary. Rarely on talk shows or even in serious print news article does anyone challenge the predictable Republican mantra that “we don’t have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem.” And, given the consensus that we face a “debt and deficit crisis” that could soon hurt the economy, rarely is anyone allowed to warn that a strong dose of spending cuts might hurt America’s faltering recovery.

And so the inside-the-bubble discussion moves on to how much to cut which programs—and whether automatic spending caps might work to appease the bond markets.

No more silent majority. Today the Campaign for America’s Future is sending letters to all the major media demanding that the views of the American Majority be represented in the news programs, print articles and opinion pages, and in the non-stop daily and Sunday talk shows in which the debate about America’s future is being conducted as we move toward the showdown over the budget.

We are demanding representation in the media proportional to the size of the American Majority. And we are making the point that the views of the majority are not irrational—and that in a democracy the majority deserves to be heard, not patronized. We are also supplying the media with an extensive list of economists, experts and advocates who share the majority view that deficits are not now the major threat to U.S. prosperity, and that getting revenue back into the budget is far less damaging (and more just) than cutting spending and crippling important programs for the poor and the elderly. And we are telling them that occasionally featuring the great Paul Krugman, as though his views represent a lonely majority, is not enough.

Out in the real world, despite being excluded from the Beltway discussion, the real people who represent the American Majority are finding their voice, as Republican members of Congress, including Rep. Paul Ryan, discovered when they went home last month to defend the Ryan/GOP budget they all voted for. They encountered well-informed and angry constituents protesting the plan to turn Medicare into a voucher and demanding to know why unemployment is still so high and why the rich are still enjoying the Bush tax cuts. It didn’t make any difference to these voters that columnists at The Washington Post thought Ryan’s plan was “bold and brave.” They were just angry that all the Republicans in the House voted to dismantle Medicare.

You can also see the American Majority stirring powerfully in the huge populist rebellion against the attempt to cripple workers’ rights in Wisconsin, Indiana, Maine and around the country. The right-wing governors in these states thought they could isolate what they see as a small unionized minority and pit other working people against them. Instead, citizens of all kinds are seeing the assault on union workers as an extension of the war on the battered middle class—a war in which conservatives preach austerity to the rest of us while demanding tax cuts and bailouts for themselves.

In the dangerous looming showdown over the budget and the debt ceiling, those of us who share the views of the American Majority must demand to be heard. We have to get over our self-image as an embattled, if righteous, minority.

In recent weeks millions of our fellow Americans who voted in 2010 for conservative candidates who promised jobs have begun to realize what an extreme and destructive that their real agenda poses for our country. Even most rank-and-file Tea Party supporters reject dismantling Medicare and cutting Social Security. In April, when the polling firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner read a list of the programs likely to be cut by across-the-board spending caps (which Republicans and some Democrats are demanding as the price of raising the debt limit), 72 percent said they would rather raise taxes on those earning more than one million dollars. In March, Bloomberg asked Americans to choose a priority—creating jobs or cutting spending—and 56 percent said creating jobs, rather than spending cuts, is the more important priority for the federal government right now. See all the polling that we have compiled at ourfuture.org/americanmajority.

So it is time for all of us to ask, if we are the American Majority, why aren’t 72 percent of the pundits on television talking about raising taxes on the rich? Why don’t we read about—and hear from—the 56 percent of Americans (and experts) who think that jobs and economic recovery is more important than austerity. We don’t need to demand quotas—but equal time would seem to be justified.

The Campaign for America’s Future is joining with the Center for Economic and Policy Research (whose Co-Director, Dean Baker blogs regularly about economic bias in the media) and with FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting) to monitor the media’s coverage and representation of the American Majority views as they go into covering the big deficit fight. But we want to enlist YOU too. Send us accounts of unbalanced coverage in the national media and in your local newspapers and television. Call up reporters, editors, assignment people and tell them when they are under-representing the views of the American Majority. We should have at least half the experts, pundits, quotes and real people represented in their coverage. In a debate as important as the one we are going into, we can’t allow the media to ignore the American Majority.

And while we challenge the media to present the views of the American people on the economy, let’s get to work on the politicians as well. (More on that soon.)

Emulating Reagan Won't Cut It

Isaiah J. Poole — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 10:06:23 -0500

Majority of Americans Believe Economic Downturn is Here

Armand Biroonak — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0400

According to a recent USA Today/Gallup poll, 69 percent of Americans believe our economy is in a recession or worse, 33 percent think this is a depression.

Americans Worried About Financial Outlook

Armand Biroonak — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0400

A recent USA Today/Gallup Poll shows that 73 percent of Americans say our nation’s financial troubles will get worse and 64 percent are worried that they may not have enough money for retirement.

Military Officers Believe Military Has Been Diminished By Iraq War

Alexander Sewell — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400

A poll of 3,400 military officers found that 60 percent say the U.S. military is weaker today than it was five years ago, and nearly 90 percent say the Iraq war has “stretched the U.S. military dangerously thin.”

Poll: The American Dream No Longer a Reality

Armand Biroonak — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400

A June poll by Rockefeller Foundation/Time Magazine found that half of Americans no longer think the American dream is within reach.

More Than Half of Workers Want Unions

Armand Biroonak — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:12:29 -0400

Recent findings suggest that more than half of all U.S. workers—nearly 60 million—say they would join a union right now if they could.

McCain Losing "Maverick" Brand; Voters Most Likely To See Him As "Old"

Cliff Schecter — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 08:36:34 -0400

According to the Pew Research Center, when asked to describe their views of McCain in a word, the term "maverick" didn't even come up. Nor did "reformer" or "independent." Ruh-roh. It looks like the bear-hug embrace of Bush, 100 years in Iraq and his newfound affection for Bushenomics have all done serious damage to McCain's perceived maverickness:

John McCain once had the most powerful brand in American politics.

He was often called the country's most popular politician and widely admired for his independent streak. It wasn't too many years ago that "maverick" was the cliche of choice in describing him.

But that term didn't even make the list this year when voters were asked by the Pew Research Center to sum up McCain in a single word. "Old" got the most mentions, followed by "honest," "experienced," "patriot," "conservative" and a dozen more. The words "independent," "change" or "reformer" weren't among them.

Voters have notoriously short memories, but it could be argued that McCain cheapened his own brand.

He embraced President Bush and attempted to become, like Bush, the choice of the Republican establishment. In the process, he helped obliterate recollections of his first run for president, when he became the first Republican in a long time with strong crossover appeal to independents and Democrats.

Losing his reputation for independence could prove particularly costly this year.

It turns out that there may be a cost for flip-flopping on tax cuts for the top 1% and wanting to "bomb bomb bomb Iran." Who would have thunk it?

And the cost could be a whole set of voters (independents) who will be very important in determining the outcomes in states such as Colorado, New Mexico and Montana, to name a few. Additionally, being tied to the GOP brand this year is as close as it gets to a political death sentence (ask GOP House candidates in Mississippi, Louisiana and Illinois about that).

John McCain may just have lost his greatest asset.

First Draft of History: 98% of historians call Bush a "Failure"

Eric Lotke — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 09:06:40 -0400

U.S. News and World Report reports President Bush "often argues that history will vindicate him. So he can't be pleased with an informal survey of 109 professional historians conducted by the History News Network." The survey found that 98% of historians believe that Bush's presidency has been a failure. 61% say Bush is the worst in American history. Among the reasons given for his low ratings: invading Iraq, tax breaks for the rich, and alienating nations around the world.

Government not Doing Enough on Economy

Alex Carter — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 13:16:12 -0400

A poll released Monday by Rasmussen Reports found that 63% of Americans believe the U.S. government isn't doing enough to help out the economy, while 19% believe the government's response has been adequate this election year.

Mostly Democrats believe that the government's response has been inadequate, however. Seventy seven percent of Democrats say the government hasn't done enough, while 43% of Republicans gave that response. Meanwhile, 67% of independent voters said the government isn't doing enough.

The economy is a key issue this election season. A Rasmussen poll released Sunday found that 38% of likely voters believe the economy is the top voting issue of the 2008 election, compared to 19% who said it's the war in Iraq. That same poll found that 48% of voters said the best thing the government can do for the economy is reduce taxes and regulations. The poll found that 36% disagree with that approach while 16% aren't sure. April 7, 2008.