Indies Not Sold On Approach To Climate Change
By Steven Shepard
A majority of voters believes the earth is warming, but the nation is split on what, if anything, the Obama admin. should do to stop or reverse climate change, according to two new polls released today.
According to a new Quinnipiac Univ. poll, 59% of RVs believe in global warming, though only 57% of those who do believe in global warming think it has been caused mainly by human activities.
Meanwhile, a new poll released this a.m. by the Nat'l Wildlife Federation shows that 67% of RVs believe in global warming, but 54% of GOPers do not. In the Q poll, 52% of GOP respondents said they didn't believe in global warming.
The Nat'l Wildlife Federation poll, conducted by Benenson Strategy Group (D), shows support for efforts to combat climate change, with 82% of voters supporting the U.S. gov't increasing investment in clean energy sources and 67% of voters supporting the gov't limiting carbon pollution and other gases that may cause global warming.
But the Q poll cuts to what could be the pivot point for moderate Dems as the Senate takes up climate-change legislation in '10: Asked by pollsters if the Obama admin. is "striking the right balance between helping reduce greenhouse gases and protecting American jobs," 38% of RVs say that the admin. is going too far in protecting the environment at the expense of jobs.
Just 36% of voters say the admin. is striking the right balance. Among indie voters, only 32% believe in the admin.'s approach, while 39% believe its going too far at the expense of jobs. Just 14% of GOPers believe the admin. is striking the right balance.
If unemployment stays in or near double-digits, public support for a climate-change bill may not get past the feel-good-slogan point as opponents try to paint it as "job-killing" legislation. And Dems representing GOP-leaning states and CDs could feel the heat on past and future votes.
Take House Budget Cmte Chair John Spratt (D-SC), for example. Spratt voted for cap and trade legislation in the House, which he touts on his website as "a clean energy jobs revolution that makes America more secure." But seasonally-adjusted unemployment in his state was at 12.3% in Nov., according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Only two states, MI (14.7%) and RI (12.7%), had higher unemployment rates this Nov.
Other moderate House Dems who supported the bill that passed in June -- a cross-section of vets like Rep. Ike Skelton (D-MO) and freshmen like Rep. Frank Kratovil (D-MD) -- could also find themselves weighed down by those votes in their re-election bids. And with a Senate bill slated for '10, moderate Dems there can also expect the pressure to mount.
The Quinnipiac poll surveyed 1,616 RVs from 12/15-20, with a margin of error of +/- 2.4%. The Nat'l Wildlife Federation poll surveyed 1,000 RVs from 12/12-15, with a margin of error of +/- 3.1%.
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