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* The Post-Dispatch has a new poll out, and many of you are not going to like some of the results.
For instance, when asked…
Illinois law has recently been changed to require that senior citizens be allowed to ride free on all local public transit systems. What’s your opinion?
71 percent said they agreed with the plan, and just 18 percent said they disagreed.
* Also, 42 percent said they had a favorable opinion of the governor (double the results in the last poll), while just 37 percent said the same about the Illinois Legislature. 54 percent said they viewed Dick Durbin in a favorable light.
* 41 percent approved of Blagojevich’s job performance, while 59 percent disapproved. That ain’t great.
* But, when asked…
Gov. Rod Blagojevich has said universal health care coverage for Illinoisans is the most important issue facing the state. What’s your opinion?
52 percent agreed that it was the most important issue while just 33 percent disagreed.
Go read the whole poll and discuss these and other results.
…Adding… The poll may have a bit of good news for Blagojevich, but Obama doesn’t want him around…
The Obama Illinois campaign, in advance of the Feb. 5 balloting–where the Clinton team is making a run for Illinois delegates–is ramping up, with all the top Democratic office holders stumping for Barack Obama starting on Monday with one exception–Gov. Blagojevich. There’s just too much heat on Blagojevich.
Blagojevich’s name is surfacing in too many corruption investigations, including that of indicted Tony Rezko, a major Blagojevich fund-raiser who has also raised money for Obama. With Rezko surfacing as a campaign issue for Obama–and with Blagojevich’s own problems, no wonder he won’t be at the Monday press conference in Chicago.
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 9:56 am
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I like the results!The voting public is a lot more insightful that a lot of people give them credit for.
Comment by Bill Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 10:11 am
Those numbers sound high compared to at least two other polls you have cited (which have the gov’s approval rating in the low 20s at best). I’d almost be tempted to think the gov commissioned this poll if I didn’t know otherwise
Also, did anyone notice that for the question “What do YOU think is the most important issue” in the state, the top answer is education funding, with health care second. Only when the question is phrased in a leading fashion as “the governor says health care is most important, do you agree with that?” does it come out on top.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 10:12 am
Also, would the style of polling used reach cell-phone only users as well as landline users?
Back in the 1930s, when the infamous Literary Digest poll predicting an Alf Landon victory over FDR took place, one of its weaknesses was that it was a telephone poll in an era when only the more affluent could afford to own a phone.
I wonder if that has not been reversed today — more affluent people rely primarily on cell phones while the elderly and less affluent use landlines. Does that make sense?
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 10:17 am
82 percent of those polled also said that they are in favor of the Governor’s recently announced “Let’s give everyone a pony” plan.
Comment by Michael Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 10:18 am
The Governor had a higher “fair+poor” rating among voters 65 and over than any other age category. This Governor and legislature has courted this age group by continuing to increase the senior property tax exemption regardless of income and continuously increasing the maximum income for the senior assessment freeze to a level where the latest increase - to $55,000 - is one and a half times the average family income in the county where I live. Seniors pay less; the rest of us - including “the working men and women” pay more to make up the difference. Looks like the seniors aren’t impressed.
Comment by puzzler Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 10:20 am
And with Rezko’s arrest earlier this morning on a bond violation, you’d think Obama would want to steer clear of the entire state.
Rezko is a maniac.
Comment by Macbeth Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 10:20 am
Every time we run a poll here, people want to talk about how polls are unbelievable. Please, try to stifle that urge. Yes, there are outliers, and yes weird things do occasionally happen, but when you think about it the results from this poll aren’t hugely out of line.
Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 10:22 am
Unfortunately, we live in a nation where everyone wants their freebies. So this poll doesn’t surprise me. Nor does health care as a top issue mean much, it’s usually at the top and people will always make it such until that’s free as well. Everyone wants to go to the party, no one wants to stay and clean up.
Comment by William Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 10:25 am
If his numbers didn’t go up after this that would have been a bad sign. It will be interesting to see if it is just a bounce or if it lasts…
Comment by OneManBlog Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 10:38 am
So, it seems that many of those polled felt it was the State’s responsibility to pay for their mass transit costs, and their health care costs. But it was also the State’s responsibilities to pay for education and infrastructure. Finding the money to do this wasn’t their problem either.
Uh, what responsibilities did these same people feel they were responsible for - or - should everything be free?
This poll says a whole lot more about how feeble citizens are becoming and how selfish they are. After years of being told that they could get freebies without cost from politicians without beliefs or values beyond their immediate elections, it appears that many in the electorate believe the lies they have been told.
Blagojevich is proving that you cannot stoop too low to win votes from idiots.
Comment by VanillaMan Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 10:39 am
My step-mother is 86 and she wants free gasoline and free car insurance. She doesn’t use mass transit and since she has to pay higher taxes, she feels that she is ENTITLED to something “free” from the [IL] government.
Comment by North of I-80 Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 10:40 am
The P-D polls have a tendency to have higher approval ratings–I would imagine it’s something in their methodology. They were consistently higher than other polls when reporting Matt Blunt’s approval ratings over the last 3 years.
I would imagine its a methodological difference, but I haven’t found any obvious reasons for the tendency.
Comment by archpundit Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 10:42 am
Shouldn’t Obama’s official team “B” be holding the press conferences in IL as far away from Chicago as possible? Like in the Lincoln Presidential Library or on the steps of the old capitol building? I mean Chicago is so Rezko and Blagojevich. Abraham Lincoln Obama for President!
Comment by Vole Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 10:43 am
This really doesn’t seem too far fetched. I agree with Rich (not surprisingly).
Is it reasonable that 52% of people think universal health care is the most important issue? Yes.
Is it reasonable that 76% of DEMOCRATS think so?
Yes.
As much as people gripe about the seniors thing, most people generally feel it is a good idea, now that they are separating it from the drama from a few weeks ago.
And support for it is generally high (and even) across different age groups.
The only surprise here is the moment of silence. Thought that there would be a higher pushback.
Comment by GoBearsss Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 10:44 am
“Illinois law has recently been changed to require that senior citizens be allowed to ride free on all local public transit systems.”
This is a lie. The language of the amendatory veto applies only to urban areas of the state, and not to rural areas, according to Bill Jung, CEO of RIDES Mass Transit District (Olney Daily Mail, 1/24/08) Those old people don’t matter to Hot Rod because there’s not enough of them. So much for his alleged “compassion.”
Comment by enrico depressario Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 11:00 am
I think that the poll is great and it demonstrates that this governor is far more in touch with real people than many commenters on this blog would lead one to believe. The governor is an incredibly insightful politician who knows the problems that real people face. Dont forget, he grew up in a 5 room apartment on the west side with 2 working parents, one of whom was an immigrant. He knows who we are because he is us.
Comment by Anon Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 11:00 am
“We have met the enemy and he is us.”
Comment by Mr. Wizard Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 11:09 am
Anon,
Well said!
Comment by Bill Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 11:09 am
thanks Bill — there are manymore of us out here than the cap fax bloggers can comprehend. However, most of us are working trying to make an honest living. We dont have the time to spend bashing the governor to no end.
Comment by Anon Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 11:13 am
Anon -
That’s not really fair.
For many people, bashing the governor to no end IS how they make their living.
Comment by GoBearsss Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 11:34 am
Rod can’t be me. I grew up in a house trailer down state. And to the best of my knowledge I am not “official A”. And god, I hope Rod does not know me.
Anonymous vole.
Comment by Vole Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 11:43 am
I don’t think I would read this approval of the free rides to seniors as being all about the freebies. People in other age groups also approved of this change, even though they have to realize that they are paying for it. Maybe it’s because they feel a solidarity with our older Illinoisans, maybe it’s because they have aged parents.
Comment by cermak_rd Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 11:49 am
Anon — HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Thanks for the morning laugh, friend.
Comment by William Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 11:49 am
Regardless of the guv’s commendable efforts to increase benefits like health insurance not only
to the poor but also to the increasingly in-need-of-help Illinois middle class, universal health care is going to be a tough slog unless the feds take it on.
In California, it looks like Schwarzenegger’s plan is going under, partly because of resistance to
mandatory health insurance. Apparently, people
who willingly accept mandatatory car insurance
laws would prefer to gamble with their health
costs so they can maintain the illusion of choice.
Of course, they will have no choice if they have
no health insurance and get really sick. They’ll have to take charity care…and believe me, that
is not choice.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 12:00 pm
As ususal, if a poll shows that the Governor’s numbers are in the toilet, it’s as good as gold. If the poll shows that people are in favor of what Rod’s doing, well, it’s a fixed poll.
Comment by Bobby Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 12:07 pm
You have to admit it’s not tracking with other recent polls. The healthcare/education numbers don’t track with any statewide poll I’ve seen in the last year. Things can change, but this poll seems to be the odd one out.
Comment by hmmm Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 12:23 pm
Almost everyone is concerned about healthcare, so the remaining question is how centralized should the system be?
Should government hire a bunch of actuaries and other insurance specialists to set up a new system that replicates existing private ones and reduces tax revenues?
Why not just reform private insurance? Why not focus on prevention with credit/penalties for things patients can control (diet, exercise, risk-taking, etc.), offer several basic choices of affordable catastrophic coverage plans (much like uninsured motorist coverage or medicare supplements with about 10 standardized packages from a minimum standard basic plan to the full works), ensure portability between jobs by allowing individuals to pick up the costs, and prohibit discrimination based on things individuals can’t control (age, sex, race, genes, etc.)?
The toughest questions are who should pay for extra risk due to past/present work hazards and whether to grandfather preexisting conditions. Both answers should probably depend on how much control the individual has/had over the risk.
If health insurance choices were designed to be simpler (by standardization to allow apples to apples price comparisons between companies) and more affordable, more people would participate, making health insurance even more affordable for everyone.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 12:39 pm
Rich -
I’m not going to argue with the data the poll does present, but I do think a couple of things about it are ridiculous.
What’s the point of a poll that asks people how they would vote if every single Constitutional officer runs for Governor at the same time?
Head-to-heads of Rod with Madigan, Hynes, maybe Alexi would have been of interest, but the ONLY thing we learn from this poll is that Rod Blagojevich starts out a contested Dem primary with 34% of the vote.
Also, while polling on “top priority” does usually show health care and education neck-and-neck as top issues in Illinois, if you ask folks whose responsibility it is to address those problems, 2/3 of IL voters say its the state government’s job to fix our schools, while 2/3 say its the FEDERAL government’s job to fix health care.
BTW, do you know if the “top priority” question was open-ended? I’m shocked not to see “job growth” on the list of top issues.
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 12:48 pm
Polls are like the truth, they can be twisted into any shape and form. I truly believe people can support a concept, but oppose the messenger. That seems to be the case with this poll.
Comment by William Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 1:09 pm
Why do commenters say that the American people want things for free? Every single person in this country pays taxes, and every single one of us knows it, too. The issue is what to do with the money the government collects. Health care, schools, and public transit seem like very good uses to many people.
Comment by Lefty Lefty Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 2:10 pm
–Every single person in this country pays taxes–
Not even close, about half.
Comment by Greg Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 2:52 pm
I’m sure Blago poll tested his “free ride” idea before he announced it. So lets now break down his campaign spending for 2007:
40% Legal fees
25% Polling costs
15% Campaign assistance for his “slate” running against Pro-Madigan House members
10% Testicular Virility tests
5% Hairspray
5% Springfield Hooker
Comment by KenoMan Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 2:57 pm
As the recent presidential primaries have demonstrated polls are highly inaccurate the day before an election much less 3 years out. What is accurate is the level of competition willing to run against you and I have a feeling several well funded candidates will be standing in line to take on Blogo. They might as well declare this an open primary right now.
Comment by Garp Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 3:26 pm
Bring it on!
Comment by Bill Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 3:34 pm
Greg,
While OK, maybe less than half the people pay direct income taxes, I can’t imagine anyone who doesn’t pay any taxes. After all, if you pay rent, you pay property tax, if you pay for goods you pay sales tax, go to a movie hello entertainment tax… Even people getting section 8 rent and food stamps have to buy shoes & clothing every now and then.
Comment by cermak_rd Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 3:37 pm
It’s called the dead cat bounce. Even a dead cat dropped out a window will have a little bounce. That doesn’t mean it’s alive. The Blago bounce is up for now.
Comment by Southern Right Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 3:44 pm
I agree, Cermak. I should have explained my point more: with the proportion of our country that contributes, on net, to the federal treasury down to a touch below 50%, it makes sense that an increasing proportion of the population supports using that money for whatever they like. Perhaps “tyranny of the majority” isn’t the right phrase here…but it’s a lot easier to anger a dwindling percentage
Comment by Greg Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 3:46 pm
I really find it difficult to believe that his
approval rating has doubled since the last poll
was conducted. Maybe Rezco and Emil Jones were
polled numerous times?
Comment by Esteban Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 4:05 pm
Bill, If Rezco’s bond is truly revoked, I have a feeling your point-and mine-will be moot.
Comment by Garp Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 4:10 pm
Maybe, but Dirty Tony is not exactly a credible witness. Even if he flips the feds are going to need some strong corroboration which I stiil think doesn’t exist.
Comment by Bill Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 5:11 pm
Oh, the poll is probably right this week, I got to hear my sweet elderly mom go on for about four minutes on how significant this freebie was for her. Then I corrected her on about six aspects of the issue she’d taken verbatim from Blagoganda in the papers and just the headlines of the local news. After having her facts corrected, she was nonplussed about the benefit and pretty mad at having had her perceptions manipulated. Poll her again NOW, why don’t you.
But I can’t go straightening out all the old people of Illinois one geezer at a time. That’s what Blago counts on, every time.
We should not let him get away with it.
Comment by Gregor Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 5:52 pm
You have to feel for the Governor’s spokesperson. She has to call Lynn Sweet to beg for crumbs for Foxy Loxy, who is probably in a little twit because he was not asked to play with the other statewides.
I imagine Obama’s people would have liked to ask the Governor to see if he could help them with GOTV in Gnome.
Comment by St. Nick Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 7:06 pm
Thank you, Captain Obvious. Of course the public loves free rides for senior citizens, thats why Blago chose it. By the way, was the poll in the CTA region, or did it even mention that in order to pay for the free rides for seniors (regardless of their income) everyone else will see a fare increase?
Comment by It's Just Me Monday, Jan 28, 08 @ 9:29 pm
Why does everyone pick on Obama, his middle name and this crazy Rezko land thing? I think many of you are afraid that a black man WILL be the next president and you can’t handle it! So what if Obama got the best deal for property located next door to him owned by a frien. Who cares?!! This whole thing is being blown way out of porpotion and has nothing to do with the way he would govern. He’s donated all the money to charity–what more could America want…
Comment by Obama "08 Tuesday, Jan 29, 08 @ 12:26 am