Democrat pollster and consultant Pat Caddell has been warning his party for a while to abandon its arrogance and divisiveness and listen to the people. The top suits in Washington aren’t interested in such common-sensical advice, judging from the ongoing stubbornness in many areas, for example the continuing unsustainable spending. (At least the Senate voted $600 million for increased border security — it’s better than nothing, plus it’s paid for by increased visa fees.)
Caddell appeared on Fox News on Thursday and discussed a new poll from Democracy Corp, a firm run by Democrat stalwarts Stan Greenberg and James Carville, that indicates big trouble for the party in November:
Caddell: “Old-line Democrats like myself believe the Democratic Party is supposed to stand for ordinary people; well they think you should be worried about jobs first, not every other issue in the world but jobs. The Democratic Party has essentially been hijacked by an overeducated elite group who basically don’t care about the people […]
“We have a situation where we have 21% of the American people who believe that the government is operating with the consent of the governed, from the Declaration of Independence — 21. Sixty-eight percent say no. Fifty-seven percent of the people in a CNN poll a few months ago said they believed the federal government is becoming a direct and immediate threat to their own freedom.
“Now, I am telling you, that is pre-revolutionary. And what’s happening — this sense of pushing people, we’re gonna shove this down your throat, we know better for you — the issue is very simple: who is sovereign in this country? The people or the political class? […]
“We are headed toward a tidal wave in November — I don’t even know the dimensions yet.”
Here’s the poll under discussion with some relevant stats:
End of July Tracking: Real Economic Indicators, Democracy Corp
◦ Over a third, 35 percent, say the economy will get worse and another 25 percent say it is at the bottom but has not gotten any better. That leaves just 35 percent who say it is improving, down 10 points since April.
◦ Only 16 percent give a warm rating to the economy, the lowest level since March. It had been hovering at 20 percent or better since then. […]
◦ Real economic indicators on job loss, wage cuts and problems with home payments have all worsened. [...]As noted, the Democrats may see trouble this fall because of the direction of these real economic indicators. Voters now give the Republicans a 49 to 36 percent advantage on handling the economy, the worst for Democrats in all of our polling.
For the first time in our tracking, a majority of 54 percent believes that President Obama’s economic policies have done nothing to relieve the recession and run up a record deficit; just 39 percent that believe his administration’s efforts averted a worse crisis. This is not consistent with the administration’s argument about economic success.
For a similar message about Washington’s arrogance from a conservative, see Government Ignoring American People’s Will? with radio guy and author Hugh Hewitt.
