Southerners -- including GOPers -- want a federal jobs bill
by Jed Lewison
Wed Nov 11, 2009 at 03:00:04 PM PST
Winthrop University is out with a new poll on political views among southerners. By far, the most interesting result is that among southerners there is overwhelming support for a new federal jobs bill:
As you can see, support for a new jobs bill cuts across party lines. Even among Republicans, a strong majority wants to fund new federal programs to create jobs.
Moreover, by an equally overwhelming margin, southerners rank the economy as the nation's top priority (39% rank it at the top of their list, compared to 13% for the second-place health care).
Putting these two findings together -- that southerners (a) overwhelmingly favor a new federal jobs bill and (b) see the economy as the nation's top priority -- and you quickly see that on the most important issue, the south actually isn't that different from the rest of the United States.
In January, Gallup asked all Americans whether they favored or opposed individual elements of the stimulus package. The most popular component? You guessed it: creating jobs with massive new spending on infrastructure.
Creating new jobs with major new 78% 18%
government spending on the nation's
infrastructure such as bridges,
highways, and power grids
Tax cuts for businesses in order to 75% 20%
save and help create jobs
Income tax cuts of $500 for 72% 22%
individuals and $1,000 for couples
for most Americans
Providing federal money to state 49% 42%
governments that are facing budget
shortfalls
The conventional wisdom is that the south sees politics differently than the rest of the nation, and on many issues -- most of them cultural -- the conventional wisdom is right.
But on the most important issue -- the economy -- the south is completely in sync with the rest of the nation. They want a jobs bill, a jobs bill that will rebuild our nation, creating not just economic growth now, but investing in our infrastructure to enable future growth once the construction is complete.
Congress will confront no shortage of must-pass legislation once health care reform is enacted, including immigration reform and climate change legislation. These numbers clearly indicate that a major new jobs bill must be added to the mix.
It should be a clean bill, one that focuses on creating jobs and nothing but jobs, to rebuild our infrastructure. It should be the kind of bill that lets Democrats put to the test the GOP position -- as voiced by RNC Chairman Michael Steele -- that infrastructure jobs aren't real jobs.
A good jobs bill would give the Democratic Party an opportunity to take the fight to the GOP not just on a national basis, but also in the south. The GOP may be a regional rump party, but that doesn't entitle them to a free pass in their region. If Democrats can make a good jobs bill define the 2010 election, they will have put the GOP squarely on defense -- and completely turned the current crop of conventional wisdom about the 2010 elections on its head.
The opportunity is there. It's just a question of whether it will be seized.
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