• Barack Obama,  Government Regulation,  Mitt Romney,  Polling,  President 2012

    Poll: Americans Don’t Want MORE Government Regulation of Business and Industry

    According to the latest Gallup Poll.

    Americans say there is too much (47%) rather than too little (26%) government regulation of business and industry, with 24% saying the amount of regulation is about right. Americans have been most likely to say there is too much regulation of business over the last several years, but prior to 2006, Americans’ views on the issue of government regulation of business were more mixed.

    The collapse of Lehman Bros., the failure of the secondary mortgage market, and other business problems in 2008 and 2009 might have been expected to increase Americans’ desire for more government control of business and industry. But that was not the case. Americans’ views that there is too much government regulation in fact began to rise in 2009, perhaps in response to the new Obama administration and new business regulation policies such as Dodd-Frank, reaching an all-time high of 50% in 2011 before settling down slightly this year to 47%.

    There has been little change since 2003 in the percentage of Americans saying there is too little regulation of business. The changes that have occurred in recent years have involved shifts between the percentages choosing the “too much” and “about right” alternatives.

    Congressional Democrats and President Obama are vulnerable on this issue and this is certainly exploitable by the GOP.

    I, certainly, would have expected to see some national cable television ads on this subject. But, maybe, they will be hitting this issue hard in the coming weeks with their ad buys.

    Even independent voters say there is too much government regulation of business.

    Here is the chart:

    Poll of Goverment Regulation by party preference chart

    What does this mean?

    Despite what some observers call a pattern of excess by big business that helped lead to the 2008 recession, Americans continue to say there is too much rather than too little government regulation of business. In fact, over the 15 times since 1993 that Gallup has asked this question, never have more than a third of Americans said there is too little regulation of business and industry.

    The increase in the “too much” viewpoint since 2008 largely results from Republicans’ increased agreement with this point — most likely reflecting their reaction to Democratic President Obama’s election and his policies once in office.

    All in all, the results suggest that a call from Mitt Romney for a reduction in government regulations and red tape may strike a more responsive chord from the average American, particularly independent Americans, than a call from Obama for more regulation.

  • Mitt Romney,  Peggy Noonan

    Peggy Noonan: Conservatives Thanked Me for Throwing Mitt Romney Under the Bus

    Peggy Noonan of the WSJ on Face the Nation

    Peggy Noonan, columnist for the Wall Street Journal

    Say what?

    Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan made as much news last week as either of the presidential candidates when she came out and advocated for an intervention to save GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney from himself. After calling the Romney camp a “rolling calamity,” Noonan was admonished by both Republican operatives and conservative commentators. However, on CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday, Noonan claims that she privately received thanks from anxious conservatives who felt the Romney campaign needed some tough talk.

    Peggy, who “jumped the shark” at least two Presidents ago, is a political legend in her own mind. Unfortunately, Peggy has become old, tired and crotchety.

    Noonan hated McCain-Palin, hated Bush, hell she hates every Republican. But, she makes the case for Obama.

    Time for Peggy to move along and start writing for Slate or the New Republic.

    Watch her act on yesterday’s Face the Nation:

    Peggy, don’t speak for conservatives, because you left us a long time ago.

  • Barack Obama,  Michael Ramirez

    Michael Ramirez: Don’t You Have Something More Important?

     

    Chris Muir’s Day By Day cartoon is down for a few days for upgrades, so I will bring you one of my other favorite cartoonists, Michael Ramirez.

    Ramirez’s point is that shouldn’t the President be discussing more substantive issues with the state of the nation as it is?

    But, remember Obama’s primary goal is to win re-election. Why talk policy if the media will allow you to do “fluff” interviews and coast to victory?

    I am feeling that even should Obama win re-election, that he will be a “lame duck” the minute he is sworn into office. Now, can Mitt Romney step up his game in the next 43 days and hold Obama accountable?

    Somehow, I doubt it.

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