Greg Sargent
notes that even though
today's CNN poll shows that while a slight plurality of independents don't favor President Obama's jobs plan, most of them actually support the key provisions of the bill:
The CNN poll finds that a plurality of independents generally opposes the American Jobs Act — 39 percent are against it, and 35 percent favor it. More than one fourth of independents has no opinion.
But guess what — dig deeper into the internals and you find solid majority support among independents for the jobs bill’s actual proposals.
* Sixty five percent of independents favor extending the payroll tax cut for workers, versus only 34 percent who oppose it.
* Seventy percent of independents favor providing federal money to state governments so they can hire more teachers and first responders, versus only 28 percent who oppose it.
* Sixty three percent of independents favors increasing federal spending on building and reparing roads, bridges, and schools, versus only 37 percent who oppose this.
Despite the top line number, numbers like that are a good indication that if you're interested in appealing to independents, President Obama's general approach is the right one.
Moreover, 77 percent of independents say jobs should be the top priority of Congress and the White House. Only 20 percent list deficits first. That's nearly a 4:1 ratio—it would be political malpractice to do anything but focus on jobs.
So, naturally, Blue Dogs say that Democrats should be focused on the deficit, not jobs:
Leaders of the Blue Dog caucus held a press conference in the Capitol Visitor's Center Wednesday to push the Super Committee to "go big." But thanks to an explicit efforts by Democrats and the administration the deficit panel's work has become linked to the idea of job creation, and Obama's jobs bill. But the Blue Dogs didn't really want to talk about it.
After the press conference I asked Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC) whether he agreed with CBO chief Doug Elmendorf -- and by extension Obama -- that the wisest economic path involves near term stimulus followed by long-run fiscal restraint.
"I would definitely be at odds with his comment on that -- I mean we've got to get our fiscal house in order," Shuler said. "We're at 15 percent of GDP in revenue and 24 and a half percent of expenditures. You want to take that 15 percent to 13 percent and increase spending to 27 percent.... I've ran a business, that doesn't go good on my balance sheet. I'm in the red when that happens."
That's the worst kind of idiocy, because it's not just bad politics, it's bad policy. I mean, there's nothing wrong with trying to appeal to independent voters. But if you're going to try to appeal to them, shouldn't you start by listening to what they're saying?