US Wrong Direction

Nearly everyone agrees: U.S. going in wrong direction, 'Dissatisfaction' GOP voters felt with Obama 'has spread to include all of Washington', by Bob Unruh, 10/25/15, WND

Editor’s Note: This is another in a series of reports on the polling by Clout Research, a national opinion research firm in Columbus, Ohio, for WND.com.

Americans are deeply divided on abortion, marriage, presidential candidates, school-board practices, spending, taxation, foreign policy, the military, homosexuality, guns and ammunition, Russia, Cuba, Guantanamo Bay, Benghazi, Trump, Hillary, Uber, Netanyahu, migrants, Islam, Syria, marijuana, privacy rights, wealth and even thanking God.

In fact, since the advent of the Barack Obama presidency, there’s little on which most Americans agree. Except one thing: The nation is going the WRONG direction.

That’s according to a new WND/Clout poll by Clout Research, a national opinion research firm based in Columbus, Ohio.

Its telephone survey Oct. 15-19 found 85.3 percent of likely voters believe the U.S. is in bad shape. That belief is held by 51.9 percent of Democrats, 83.9 percent of independents and 87.4 percent of Republicans.

“The latest WND.com/Clout Research survey shows that the dramatic dissatisfaction that Republican voters felt toward the Obama administration since early in his first term has spread to include all of Washington,” said Fritz Wenzel, chief of Clout Research.

“Given what we have seen in the first act of the race for the Republican presidential nomination, this is no surprise, as political outsiders lead experienced candidates by wide margins. But it is appears to be raw economic insecurity, not run-of-the-mill Beltway politics, that appear to be at the core of the problem.”

Obama scolded Republicans that “elections have consequences” as he took unilateral action on issues such as immigration after vowing to “fundamentally transform” America.

Republicans instantly were put on the defensive. They initially didn’t control the White House, House or Senate, and the divide on almost every issue deepened. Obama essentially snubbed GOP leaders, insisting that with his Democrat majority, he didn’t need them. He pushed through his massive Obamacare plan giving the federal government control over health insurance plans with only the support of Democrats. Not a single Republican voted for it.

When the GOP took control of the U.S. House, a stalemate with the Senate developed as Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid stalled legislation he didn’t want.

Budget crises came and went as spending plans to keep the government running were cobbled together at the last minute. Agencies such as the IRS took their cue from the White House and launched attacks on non-profit conservative political groups.

Then Obama won re-election and voters responded two years later by giving the GOP control in the Senate, creating a stalemate between the White House and Congress.

The new poll shows only 9 of 100 Republicans and 15 of 100 independents believe the nation is going the right direction.

Even with a member of their party in the White House, only 44 of 100 Democrats believe America is on the right track.

A huge majority, consequently, don’t believe Washington represents them. “It was always unlikely that most Americans – and Republicans in this latest poll sample – would become deeply immersed in the day-to-day operations of the federal government. As always, they seem to have a continuing sense of unease that things in Washington are not going well, but their concern – we might call it alarm – stems from the fact that they fear their own economic future and that of the nation,” said Wenzel.

“Just 12 percent of Republicans said they think the nation is headed in the right direction, while 85 percent said things are off on the wrong track. This would be a predictable response from voters whose party is completely out of power, but Republicans are not out of power – they control both houses of Congress. Clearly, their voters are not pleased with their performance.”

He said that when his team asked respondents about their personal financial situation and the state of the economy, a vast majority of 79 percent said it was either somewhat or very fragile. Just 21 percent said the economy was strong.

The poll found 92.6 percent of those who identified themselves as conservative believe the nation is on the wrong track. Among those who call themselves liberal, 90.9 percent said it is going the wrong direction.

When asked what they think of the American economy after seven years of Obama’s leadership and economic policies, nearly 80 percent described it as “very fragile” or “somewhat fragile.”

Self-identified Democrats, Republicans, liberals and conservatives were in general agreement, with about 75 percent to 80 percent describing the economy as “somewhat fragile” or “very fragile.”

The poll’s candidate-preference results aligned closely with other major polls, with 33 percent of the respondents picking Donald Trump for the GOP nomination, 24 percent Dr. Ben Carson, 10 percent Sen. Marco Rubio, 9 percent Carly Fiorina, 8.9 percent Sen. Ted Cruz and 7.9 percent Gov. Jeb Bush.

See the results:

Generally speaking, would you say things in our nation are headed in the right direction, or would you say they are off on the wrong track?

Without giving any personal specifics, based on what you are experiencing in your own household finances and the finances of other family members, friends and neighbors you are close to, would you say that the American economy is very strong, moderately strong, moderately fragile, or very fragile?

Question 17: If you were voting today in your state’s primary or caucus election for the Republican nomination for president … for whom would you vote?

What do YOU think? What is best way to move U.S. in right direction? Sound off in today’s WND poll.

 

http://www.wnd.com/2015/10/nearly-everyone-agrees-u-s-going-in-wrong-direction/