Will Opposing the Stimulus Makes Voters See Blue?

By Adriel Bettelheim | January 30, 2009 12:32 PM | | Comments (0)

rush copy.gifRush Limbaugh may beg to differ, but lockstep votes against President Obama's stimulus package like the one seen in the House this week are steadily adding blue dye to the electoral map, according to a new poll by Democratic pollster Stan Greenberg.

A survey of 1,200 voters in 40 traditionally Republican congressional districts now held by Democrats Greenberg's firm conducted between Jan. 14 to 19 shows Obama's post-election honeymoon reaching a rapturous stage, with 44 percent of voters strongly supporting his policies.

A full 64 percent favor his economic plan, compared to 27 percent against. And precisely that same proportion favors the stimulus in 13 states that are expected to have competitive Senate races in 2010: Kentucky, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Colorado, Ohio, Kansas, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Illinois.

Greenberg says an incumbent's support for the economic plan appears to make voters more likely to reelect the lawmaker -- particularly good news for the 20 or so Democrats who in November captured districts that former President Bush carried in 2004. He said one-third of Republicans and two-thirds of independents are leaning with Obama's general goals on the recovery.

"If the Republican Party's goal is to cheer Rush Limbaugh, they're welcome to," Greenberg told a group of reporters, alluding to the radio talk-show host who's referred to the economic package as a "porkulus" bill.

Of course, Greenberg acknowledges that House members who voted no on the first go around will get another bite at the apple after the Senate strips out some extraneous items, and the compromise bill comes around for final passage.

But he predicts their first nibble will haunt them.

"This guy voted against health care for the unemployed?" the pollster and landlord of White House Chief-of-Staff Rahm Emanuel said, testing out a 2010 attack line. "This crisis is real and immediate ... this is a defining vote."

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