This press release from We Ask America takes a look at political reactions in Wisconsin to the Republicans’ move to weaken collective bargaining for public employees.
We Ask America was the only firm known to have surveyed the 8th Congressional District in Illinois. It predicted that Joe Walsh had a chance of winning. Neither newspapers nor electronic media picked up on that aspect of the congressional race in which Joe Walsh just barely beat incumbent Melissa Bean.
Crossfire
Posted: 28 Mar 2011 05:35 AM PDT
We continue our series on the approval ratings of Midwest governors with Wisconsin’s Scott Walker.
As everyone who follows politics knows, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker has been making some bold moves. His budget reforms that–among other things–targeted public unions exploded into a combination of street warfare and soap opera as pro-union forces took to the streets and Democratic state senators fled to hide in Illinois. (At the same time, Democratic state senators from Indiana were “vacationing” in the Land of Lincoln to avoid some issues in Hoosier-land. What’s next…Gadhafi in Peoria?)
As we’ve mentioned in a previous post, Wisconsin’s public opinion pendulum is in constant motion, and the state has historically embraced free-thinkers over the long run.
Earlier polls showed split decisions on many of the issues involved here, but how did all the hub-bub affect Gov. Walker’s general approval rating?
In addition to some basic demographic questions, we asked 1,693 Wisconsin residents the following simple question:
Here’s what they said:
Date of Poll: 3/27/2011
Participants: 1,693 Wisconsin residents
Margin of Error: ±2.38%
| APPROVE | DISAPPROVE | NO OPINION | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ALL RESPONSES: | 43.71% | 54.87% | 1.42% |
| By GENDER: | |||
| Female: | 39.98% | 58.13% | 1.89% |
| Male: | 47.92% | 51.19% | 0.88% |
| By PARTY ID: | |||
| Republican | 69.88% | 29.32% | 0.80% |
| Democrat | 17.85% | 80.42% | 1.73% |
| Independent | 44.36% | 54.01% | 1.63% |
The most startling numbers are the extraordinarily low percentage of people who are uncertain or have no opinion.
This Madison demonstrator carries a sign saying, "No Child Left Behind Requires No Teacher Left Behind."
But that probably shouldn’t be a huge surprise since Walker’s agenda has galvanized the state and put it into the national spotlight.
Headlines on Walker’s actions have dominated the news from Superior to Beloit.
Walker–like other Midwest governors we’re polling–should have the advantage of time being on his side, and his numbers aren’t quite as bad as Ohio’s John Kasich or Illinois’ Pat Quinn.
But Democrats are eyeballing opportunities to challenge the new GOP domination through Wisconsin’s loosey-goosey recall election laws. (Click HERE for a great article on this from RealClearPolitics.com.)
And the low percentage of those with no opinion on Walker indicate an electorate that is refreshingly engaged in the political doings in Wisconsin, although Walker may feel caught in the crossfire.
Clearly, things aren’t going to settle down in America’s Dairyland for a long, long time.