For example, we have the Bloomberg/ WaPo poll here which shows a tremendous LACK of confidence in the conservatives to improve our economy.
1. If a Republican were president right now, do you think the economy would be better, worse, or about the same as it is now?
Better Worse The same No opinion All adults 23 25 45 7
and THAT includes Republicans and right-leaning Independents!
So, not only do the Republican and Tea Party members of congress have lower approval ratings and higher disapproval ratings than the Democrats, they don't have any faith that Republicans would have made it better, and a higher percentage - 25% - believe the right would have made things WORSE.
But I particularly liked this question, both parts equally:
3a. Of the following possible Republican candidates for president, which one do you think would do the most to improve the economy?The no opinions are about double what the highest rating to improve the economy scored, and 'none of these' was only a point off - well within the poll's +/- % range.
All adults Leaned GOP Mitt Romney 17 22 Herman Cain 10 20 Rick Perry 7 12 Ron Paul 7 8 Newt Gingrich 4 6 Michele Bachmann 4 3 Jon Huntsman 2 * Rick Santorum 1 1 None of these (VOL.) 16 5 Other (VOL.) 1 * No opinion 33 223b. Of the following possible Republican candidates for president, which one do you think would do the most damage to the economy?
All adults Leaned GOP Michele Bachmann 15 14 Rick Perry 12 9 Ron Paul 7 11 Newt Gingrich 6 5 Mitt Romney 5 7 Jon Huntsman 2 3 Herman Cain 2 2 Rick Santorum 2 1 None of these (VOL.) 5 5 Other (VOL.) 3 1 No opinion 42 43
I wonder if Mitt Romney would fare as well if the low-information voters who gave him this not-so-high rating in this poll knew that he had selected some of the worst advisors to President 'W' Bush to draft his econimic proposal, and to be his economic advisors? Or that his foreign policy advisors were pretty much 'W' recycled faces as well.
I bet not, given the numbers who still believe that 'W' was significantly / mostly responsible for our current economic crisis; and that is according to this poll and this poll, and this poll, and a number of other polls in between. That last poll, taken last month shows 50% believe the economy is POOR, with more thinking it isn't good, and with 53% blaming Bush and the Republicans for the problems.
The Republicans are not a party of new ideas, and increasingly as they support the 1%, they are less and less the party of people either.
And THAT is only likely to be a more widespread opinion, as the news gets out about the REAL job performance of 'businessmen' like Herman Cain, who was not it appears the "Captain of Industry" that he represents, according to this examination of his supposed success. Nor is Romney going to be getting much credit for his career as it relates to jobs, when the facts get more circulation.
According to politifact.com, during Romney's tenure as governor, Massachusetts ranked 47th in job growth, one of the very worst states in the country. And Romney can't really in honesty take credit for improving those stats either. As an executive at Bain Capital, Romney's company consistently bought companies, and then sold them off piecemeal, resulting in the firing of thousands of people from their jobs as those jobs DISAPPEARED. Per the Bloomberg report on Cain, his performance wasn't any better for 'creating jobs' while CEO of Godfather's Pizza, and it has ended up worse, in comparison to it's competitors, than when he took over.
So.......for that question about making the economy worse? Yes, ALL of the Republicans in contention for the presidential race would make it worse. ALL of them; the only questions are: "how very much worse?", and "worse than 'W', or only as bad?".
